Top Tips: How To Apply Your Own Style In A Rented Home

"Today we have Hannah, the amazing interior blogger behind Hannah in the House, talking us through how to showcase your own personal style within a rented property. Enjoy!"

Making a home your own is an exciting thing to do, but when you’re a renter you’re often faced with restrictions. Not only are you living in someone else’s property, but generally you’re not allowed to change much. Having just moved into a new house, I’ve been battling with these obstacles and trying to work my way around it so that the house reflects my personal style and taste. The kitchen is one of the hardest rooms to personalise as a renter, it’s not like buying a new kitchen is ever on the cards.

The kitchen in my rental house came with mucky cream walls, a bright blue/green glass back splash, low ceilings and very little light. Cream stone floors and an empty space for a table. The kitchen felt so generic that something had to be done. Plus, I’m a lover of minimalism, simplicity and monochrome, you can only imagine how uneasy the bright aqua glass panels made me feel.

Starting the kitchen makeover, the walls needed to be painted white. Easily agreed with the landlord. Then I covered the glass in a subtle grey colour, calming the whole room down. This is temporary and easily removed when I have to move out. Having a calm and modernised base colour palette is a perfect start to making the kitchen feel more neutral, enabling you to add your personal touches.

Styling my shelves with beautiful bowls from Menu and a simplistic Karlsson clock not only reflects my style but also tells the story that this is an active kitchen and we like to cook, or just eat a lot. I’ve kept the colour palette quite muted, and mixed the textures on the shelves with a glass carafe, a broken oak chopping board and the ceramics.

My main advice for adding personal style is having small investment pieces on display. Not a new fridge but small appliances like a kitchen mixer. I have a KitchenAid mixer, in white of course (perfectly minimal), this mixer is iconic and adds instant style and personality to the room. Along with a KitchenAid, I’ve invested in a statement chair and a beautiful bench.

The muted monochrome palette flows through each area of the room and by displaying items that I love, especially the KitchenAid, I’ve created a kitchen that reflects my style without too much fuss.

Here are a few key points to consider when bringing your own style to a rented kitchen;

• Create a neutral and modern base, even if your contract says no decorating just ask the landlord if you can ‘refresh’ the walls with clean white paint.
• Treat each area of the room as a zone, with each zone having a specific function, then style it that way.
• Invest in small appliances that you can take with you wherever you go.
• Add greenery; plants and flowers are a great way to bring a room to life.

Shop KitchenAid