Top 10 tips for making a rented house feel like home

Whether you're 19 or 90, renting gives you the luxury of being footloose and fancy free, but it's important that anywhere you live feels like your own.
Having spent my fair share of time renting, I know just how to make a rented room feel homely. Wee personal details have always brightened up the places I’ve lived and I’m really into the Danes idea of 'hygge' (all will be revealed!) Here are my top tips on making anywhere feel like home.
A dash of colour
I love using colour to stamp my personality on any space. Curtains, rugs and throws are easy ways to add a block of colour.
Why not try matching details for splashes of colour throughout a room? Groups of items in similar colours are a great way to break up a neutral kitchen. Matching mugs, tea towels and tins on display are a quick way to do just that!
Bright lights, big city
The right type of lighting can help to change the mood of a room. Lighting options are especially useful if you've got a small space to use for every task! ‘Hygge’ means creating a cosy, safe space free of annoyance, and using lighting well is a huge part of creating a hygge atmosphere. Candles and lamps create pools of soft light where a central fitting might floods the room with brightness - thats very, very hygge! If you’re on a budget fairy lights can work magic too! Time and Tide have a great selection.
Storage, storage and more storage
You can never, ever have too much storage. IKEA’s the king of clever storage but they don’t have a monopoly. Our tins are great for keeping bits and pieces prettily – and they're stackable too!  Express yourself
Art you love makes a space more personal and lots of artists sell great prints like our Peace and Love range.
Framing makes a piece look finished and can cost as little as you want – and you don't have to stop at framing pictures! Customers have told me that they framed my tea towels as they were too pretty to use. I love this idea.
I love the idea of mixing and matching sizes and styles of frames - it creates a great eclectic look. Don't worry if your lease doesn't let you hang frames on the walls - leaning frames against a wall is the laid back way to display pictures!
On a budget miniature wooden clothes pegs and twine can look cool and arty. It’s cheaper and less formal than a frame but has a bit more class than blu-tac!
Rearrange your space
Don’t forget that your home is your space. Rental properties are decorated and laid out to appeal to as many people as possible but once you're in you can reorganise it to work for you. A new layout is great way to make anywhere feel more like your own.
Pull up your own pew
Just because it’s not your own place it doesn’t mean you can’t add your own furniture. Cushions are an easy way to add comfy luxury. That said, there’s nothing quite like a favourite chair to add a homely touch. Chairs and tables are easy to move so they will fit into your next home too. 
Feels (and smells) like home
Superstars whose riders insist on a certain smell in their dressing room aren’t total divas. Well maybe they are, but there’s sound reasoning behind it. Familiar smells can transport us, so having a trademark smell is a good way to quickly make anywhere home. Arran Arromatics and Jo Malone do luxurious diffusers but every supermarket has its own range so finding a smell that you love isn't hard.
Familiar faces
There’s nothing like having a framed photo, so get them off your phone. For printing from Instagram try Sticky9 for great quality prints – they do cute magnets too.
Finally, my one essential ingredient wherever I am is my own mug!
If you know anyone who's just moved and would benefit from these tips please share this blog with them. Have you got some top tips of your own? Let me know!
If you're struggling for art inspiration keep an eye out for our new prints. Here's a sneak preview...