When you decide to decorate your rental property, it’s sometimes hard to balance the decorating costs and the return on the investment. Still, there are inexpensive ways to decorate the property and still manage to increase its value significantly.
1. Know where the limit is
The most important step is to be clear that your rental property is not your home, so you shouldn’t decorate it the way you would your home. In other words, don’t strive for it to be perfect; just make sure it’s appealing and livable. In the end, your tenants won’t treat it as a hoe either, as it’s just a temporary home to them.
2. Paint – quick and simple
It’s amazing how a simple and cheap layer of paint can do wonders for a room. In a rental space, the best option is to choose a semi-gloss or satin paint because it’ll be easier to wipe off crayon marks, grease and scuff marks. If possible, paint the trim, too because dirty molding will be more visible in comparison to fresh paint.
If you are planning to paint outdoor siding, shutters and railings, find an appropriate paint that’s resistant to harsh weather and long-lasting.
3. Kitchen and bathroom upgrades
Kitchen and bathroom are probably the most important room in a property. They are the ones that will rent out the place. So, make an effort to make them appealing. Nobody says you should go and renovate them from floor to ceiling. Instead, you can opt for a cheaper alternative and buy an appliance cover (such as stainless steel cover) to match all the appliance in the kitchen when you put them over the existing ones. Non-stainless appliances can be improved and scratches dealt with if you use touch-up paint.
Regarding the bathroom, you can match the bathtub and the sink if you buy epoxy paint in a hardware store that will breathe new life into them.
4. Hide ugly switches and radiators
We can never get enough of light switches, plugs and radiators but we are always complaining they look ugly in a room, interfering with the style. If you can’t hide a radiator or a plug, then at least make sure they are painted in the same color as the wall around them Radiators can also be painted black if it suits the style of the room. If painting them doesn’t help, then try with a creative solution. A wood cover can be pretty successful in serving as a radiator enclosure.
5. Break small space
If your rental property is one small open-plan space, it could be hard to decorate it. With small rental places, it’s important to first remove all the unnecessary things to give your tenants as much space as possible. A simple solution is to use local and interstate removals to remove the stuff from the place and storage them somewhere safe. That way, you protect your stuff from being broken by the tenants. Next, try to give each part of the space a certain purpose. Do that by grouping specific pieces of furniture together. Another way is to get a nice cane screen to provide semi-transparent privacy. A tall bookshelf can also be used to divide the space and serve as additional storage for books and other items.
6. Update the lighting
Lighting can greatly affect the overall feeling of the room. Most of the time, rental properties have old lighting that doesn’t even match. The result – the whole room looks outdated. However, it’s easy to fix this problem, as it’s pretty affordable to buy a couple of floor and table lamps. They will make the space look more cozy and warm, and you’re free to choose any style you want.
7. Hide the blinds
There aren’t many things that can ruin the ambiance of a room than old, ugly-painted blinds. If it’s too expensive to replace them, then hide them by hanging nice drapery in front of them. You can buy a roll of linen and have a professional make curtains out of it.
8. Add plants
There aren’t many things that can bring life into a room as plants can. They are inexpensive and they are able to liven up any corner of the room. If you want them to last, choose undemanding types and the ones that can also be kept in shady corners with little water.
9. Replace doorknobs
This is a really cheap investment but porcelain or brass doorknobs can do a lot for a room. If you notice that the nickel doorknobs you have are pretty worn off, then the easiest thing is to get a new, better alternative.
All in all
A rental place is not something you should spend too much of your money on. Simple and cheap tricks can significantly increase the property’s value and attract tenants.