HOW TO DECORATE A RENTED HOME {10 BUDGET FRIENDLY IDEAS}

  T A B L E

1. My room came without a desk, so on a nice Friday morning, Two days after moving in, I ventured out to IKEA to get one. I like a big desk, I'm used to having all sorts of stationery and papers around when I work, but I had to find one that would be budget friendly. I absolutely loved seeing this white one with a yellow stripe in store. It was a bit of a surprise as I've scanned through their tables online the night before and hadn't seen a yellow stripe on either of them. I quickly found out why - it was out of production! Luckily, I knew from my previous IKEA shopping experience that sometimes they sell showroom furniture at a discounted price {the IKEA bargain corner}, and so I asked whether I could take the display piece home. And what do you know, I bagged it for £11! With a massive discount on both the table and legs I couldn't be happier - I saved about 15 quid!

2. I like to have flowers around; a bouquet lasts me almost two weeks and getting one priced at £2 doesn't really put a strain on my finances. Flowers make everything look prettier and are a great provider of a much needed morning {or afternoon} pick me up. Even if you don't have a vase, it's not problem! I used my flatmate's discarded coke bottles.

3. I'm also using a white IKEA plant pot as pen holder and 

4. I clipped my h&m hair flower clips on to the dull beige blinds to brighten them up a bit. 

5. Oh and the little lamp used to be yellow. I painted it pink {with the remains of pink wall colour we had at home} and decoupaged some roses on it.

  W A L L

6. If your tenancy agreement is anything like mine, you can't put anything on the walls. No nails, no hanging pictures. Blue tac leaves marks, as does white tac - it leaves greasy circles on some walls when you detach it. I've been searching for temporary ways to put things up and in the end I remembered masking tape! It's designed not to damage paint, yet it's powerful enough to hold light sheets of paper. So I created my little display wall: pictures, cut outs, print outs, polaroids, and even a V&A plastic bag. Anything goes. To preserve the colours on some of the more precious snaps, I put them in clear paper holders. It's an effective afternoon project.

  O T H E R   S M A L L   T I P S

7. My boyfriend and I made the cranes with origami paper I got him for Christmas. I hung them by a basic white thread. {You'll need a needle to pierce the paper.}

8. The black headboard was the least exciting thing about my room. I wanted to cover it with fabric or just remove it altogether. Now I feel like the room would feel a bit empty without it. Still, I decorated it using some pink {yes, pink again} tape. You can use washi tape or just any colourful tape you want. I only put two lines on as I just wanted something simple {and I didn't want to use all of the roll on it}. It looks a bit wonky in the picture, I'll blame it on perspective.

9. I don't have a bookshelf and first I had my books stacked up against the wall. They were sat in the corner or the room looking all sad. So I thought I'd display them propped up against the wall at the edge of the bed. I like looking at the covers and I see straight away which ones I've not read yet. 

  B E D

10. It's where I spend a lot of my time, reading, writing, blogging, sleeping. If there's one thing you should take away from this post, it's that pretty bedding pretty much equals pretty room. My bed is a double which means almost 4m² of horizontal surface that you can cover with beautiful sheets, pillows and throws. My bedding's from IKEA's bargain corner {I'm a one trick pony} and originally £60, I got it for about £28 because of torn packaging. It's still quite a bit of money and probably the most expensive thing in the room, but in return I'm getting a quality fabric and a gorgeous pattern. It's made of lyocell which feels like silky cotton. Soft to the touch but not slippery like silk is. It has no buttons, you have to lace it up in little bows, oh-so-pretty!

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These are just a few little things but trust me, they make a difference. I like pretty places and I now enjoy spending time in my room because of these small improvements. Even though a rented property is not a permanent home, it doesn't mean you have to come back to bare walls and uniform furniture. 

Have you got any simple ideas on improving your home?