Generation Rent: Making Your Rental House a Home
By Max Birkin for House of Henley
Although common in European countries, renting in the UK still carries not quite a stigma, but an air of impermanence. Students and the young are forgiven for it, but otherwise renting is perceived only as a stopgap, or a temporary arrangement whilst the inhabitant saves for a deposit or hunts for a permanent house to buy. There is a romance around owning the four walls one cocoons oneself in, and doubtless the attraction is the freedom to knock one of those walls down and hammer four hundred nails into the other three, should that be your desire. Kirsty and Phil of Location, Location, Location fame have just celebrated twenty years of helping first-time buyers purchase a house, but we are yet to see a Sloaney lettings agent in a floral skirt and kitten heels try to rent out a grimy studio flat in Luton to a fresh-faced couple. This is probably because it would make for deeply depressing television. However, your rented abode need not remain as a before shot in Living Etc magazine; it is possible to be a happy in a rented home, no matter what Margaret Thatcher believed.
No Nails
Picture Credit: House & Garden
Renting often feels rather imbalanced. Landlords can rent out a house with minimal outlay and maximum returns, whilst the renter’s lot in life is to pay hundreds or thousands of pounds a month for the privilege of changing someone else’s lightbulbs and living in a magnolia-painted nightmare. One of the most infuriating things is the clause in a rental agreement stipulating that no nails, blu-tack or other fastenings may be used to affix things to the wall. Doubtless, your landlord has Pollyfilla pockmarks all over his sitting-room wall from trying and failing to hang a mirror himself (pesky rawl plugs), but unless they are a faithful devotee of minimalism it is likely they will have some form of decoration upon their own walls. The solution to this is to fully embrace the art of leaning. Large mirrors will still look attractive if leant against the wall from a position on the floor or mantelpiece, and framed prints of different sizes look great grouped together on the top of a dresser or sideboard. Do limit yourself to a few of these vignettes per room, however, or your guests will start sticking red dots on frames. Something that most of us discover when we move to a new house is that the ‘home’ is not the actual building, but the objects inside it – we aren’t quite so sentimental as to think that home is where the heart is. So, you should focus instead on the furnishings and objects in the house – drinks trays, framed photos on a table, fresh flowers or indoor plants. Draw the eye away from the bones of the room (walls, doors and skimmed plaster ceilings). You may despair at your landlord’s choice of carpet or wall colour, but filling the rooms with furniture that you love, or precious pieces of art you’ve bought or inherited over the years, will detract from the negative aspects of the property and help the eye to focus on the more attractive parts. Mutton dressed as lamb, if you will. If you aren’t allowed candles, those little battery operated tealights and more realistic larger versions are now your best friend. Arrange in defunct fireplaces, place in jam jars and gather up the staircase, or arrange them around the bath. It’s a bit Pinterest, but if anything kills the mood, it’s the industrial-wattage spotlights that seem to feature in the kitchens and bathrooms of every rented property.
Fabric is your friend
In a similar vein, one of the things you are in control of as a renter is the fabric and textiles that you choose for your home. The obvious thing is to start with here is rugs. They present, all at once: maximum coverage for minimum effort; a more pleasing texture underfoot than whatever threadbare carpet currently exists; an opportunity to neutralise a chaotic space or brighten up a cold room. You’ll know where your taste in rugs lies – bold Axminsters, soft Berbers or millennial sheepskin – but the most advisable rug to buy is a simple sisal version. These can be found online in virtually any size, so you can fill the floorspace with them, and they are both hard-wearing and practical. If you are more of a maximalist, you could layer a bright kilim on top, but sisal works equally well with mid-century modern pieces. They are worth the investment, as they will come in handy in any future house you settle in (or you can recoup at least half of their cost by selling them on eBay or the like). The usefulness of fabrics in rented homes also extends to the walls; whilst the word ‘tapestry’ may put one in mind of Tudor dining rooms and anti-climactic school-trips to Bayeux, there are many pleasingly modern versions on the market that look more like a Matisse than a Lady Eleanor. These can add texture, interest and depth to even the most soulless of rooms, with the added advantage of protecting the very walls your landlord is so precious about. Finally, listen to your mother – a made bed does make a room look tidier, so sacrifice the extra minute in the shower every morning to pull the duvet across and lovingly arrange some cushions and an eiderdown. There is nothing better than spending a night in your own bed, whilst feeling like you really ought to be paying The Ned £295 for the privilege.
Be on good terms
Picture Credit: Lisette Voute Designs
The best way to ensure your rented house is a pleasant place to live in is by being on friendly terms with the landlord. This is easiest if they are a private landlord, and you are renting either their only property or one of just a few, as they are likely to be more involved in the letting process. Put aside a bottle of wine to thank them for their help/agreeable rent/allowing your Pekinese in the flat and stay in touch with them. Your hope is that they might one day allow you to hang that mirror on the wall or rip up the orange carpet and replace it with a less headache-inducing version. Be polite and courteous in all your communications with your landlord, and try to drop in personal touches when you are chasing up the replacement dishwasher – prefixing messages with “I hope you are well” and concluding them with other such pleasantries (but no kisses please). This is trickier if the house is owned by a company, or managed by a lettings agency, but here your best bet is to make friends with the people in the office – remember, they are in charge of arranging plumbers and new carpets when a pipe bursts, so chocolates at Christmas is a prudent sacrifice.
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