The word “rental” has many connotations. For homeowners, these are usually negative due to the fact that most people have had bad experiences in apartments at any given point in their lives. Strict landlords, rude co-tenants, and poor facilities--these have all been associated with apartment living. Primarily, what most renters complain about is the lack of freedom when it comes to decorating their units. Landlords typically forbid any kind of renovations that could drastically alter the fixtures inside the units. Thus, painting the walls, wallpapering, installing new cabinets and fixtures, and even hanging frames are typically not allowed.

With these restrictions, renters are left with few decorative options to work with. Fortunately, however, there are some creative solutions available that can help renters solve this dilemma. Here are some tips to help you creatively decorate your living space:

Use colorful accent pieces

Most apartments feature neutral-colored walls, usually white or light beige. If you cannot paint over these nor apply new wallpaper, look toward other things through which you can add color to the interiors. For example, in the living room, you can use brightly-colored throw pillows and curtains. You can also accentuate a wall with metal wall hangings such as abstract metal art that will add modern strokes of color and design to bare walls. Two important things you have to remember, though, about using colorful accessories is that you must use a simple color scheme - a monochromatic color palette is ideal - and only use a few key colorful pieces. Otherwise, the interior might look too cluttered and disorganized.

Use storage units that are multi-functional

Especially for small apartments, one major problem has to do with finding extra storage space. In line with the principle of living with less clutter, place all your extra stuff in storage areas or containers that could cleverly hide them from plain view. Given the limited space, look for storage options that are multifunctional and decorative. For example use benches that can double as bookcases under the removable cushions or use colorful boxes where you can store cables, media implements, magazines, and the like. In the kitchen, install wall-mounted racks in lieu of cabinets in order to free up more space and give the interior a more expansive look.

Create a layout that is devoid of clutter

It goes without saying that a small apartment will look smaller as long as it is cluttered and disorganized. Thus, one creative decorative solution is to keep things simple. For the furniture, keep only those that you need. For the living room décor, use a single focal piece rather than a few scattered ones. Finally, in the kitchen, wooden wall sculpturesin the form of plaques or charming mini-panels can be used in lieu of permanent wall tiles and paint.

In closing, apartment living need not be a dreadful experience. There are ways for you to make it as pleasant as possible. At the same time, look at this as an opportunity through which you can flex your creative muscle in preparation for the time that you can finally decorate your own home.

All text copyright Relica. Photo from Flikr - "Our old apartment! It was nice knowing you." courtesy of longlostcousin.