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How to decorate a temporary living space?

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Home is the most special place in the world. In fact, there is a very popular African proverb that “Home is not where you live but where you belong”. Everyone wants a place to call home in this big world. Everyone wants to feel safe under the shelter of home. Everyone does not have the financial stability to purchase a home of their own. So, those who can’t afford a home of their own live in rental apartments.  Everyone dreams of decorating their dream home according to own choices and lifestyle. But instead we sometimes have to live in rental temporary apartments. The biggest disadvantage of living in rental apartments is that we cannot even decorate the living room of the rental apartment according to our own choice let alone decorating the other rooms like bedrooms, kitchen and balcony. [one_half_first]Living room can be regarded as one of the most important part of the house as the family members spend the most of their time in this room. This room reflects the memory of long chats with best friends or the chaos of a family gathering or even the lazy evenings are spent in this room doing nothing. Is it fair to left such an important part of the house undecorated?? Doesn’t that reflect the laziness and indifference of the people living in the house? But the idea of decorating the living room can leave the owner of the house perplexed.[/one_half_first][one_half_last][/one_half_last] As decorating a living room requires a large amount of investment which the owner might be reluctant to spend on a temporary or rental apartment. And sometimes there are lesser opportunities or options to decorate the rental apartments as the renters are not allowed to make changes in the structure of the house like painting the walls. But it is imperative to find a solution between these two paths. So, here are some tips and tricks to decorate a temporary living room without changing the total structure of the living room:
  1. Do the repairs

First things first, the things in the rental apartment that needs to be repaired should be done without any delay. There can be an electric line which needs to be repaired the light of the living room that needs repairing. So, without waiting for the landowner you should do this small job by yourself. Repairing damaged elements of the rental house may help you build an emotional connection with the house and with the living room.
  1. Paint the walls

The land-owner of the apartment may not allow you to paint the walls according to your choice and you may get forced to keep the walls untouched and pale. But there is no harm to paint the walls by the color white. In Fact, the landowner may not object using pastel shades on the walls as these colors can be easily changed. Painting the walls may remove the dullness of an old apartment and give the apartment a much needed freshness. If painting the whole apartment is way beyond your reach, then you can just paint the living room as it is considered the focal point of any rental apartment.
  1. Go bold and bright

A bold and bright color on the walls of a living room may give the room the much needed glamour and can certainly grab eyeballs. But due to the obligations of the land-owner and financial restrains we may not be able not use vibrant colors on the walls. But that does not mean that the living does not deserve the boldness and freshness of a bright and bold color. You can use colorful and vibrant curtains or sofas to add a zest of color and boldness to your living room and save it from the dullness it previously had!!!
  1. But still stay minimalistic

Going bold and bright does not mean that you need to overcrowd the living room with unnecessary furniture or using all elements of vibrant color. Balance the proportion of the room. Be practical yet quirky. If you are using a bright color sofa, then use simple artwork in the walls. Or use neon shades flower vases. Don’t overload the room with colors. And don’t use furniture of flamboyant designs. Be simple with your choices.
  1. Let the soft pillows give a rock-solid impression

A pillow unlike a book should be judged by its cover. So be bold and colorful with the pillow covers. They can also add a glimpse of happiness to the interior decorations of the dull living room. Pillows play very important part in the living room. They become a part of the long conversations that we had in the living room with our best friends or with our loved ones.
  1. Be smart with the space

A temporary living room can be a small place to adjust all your furniture. To make the living room feel less crowded use furniture that best compliments the dimensions of the living room. If needed, replace your old large sofa with a new comparatively small sofa. It can make the place look larger and eventually increase the architectural beauty of the rental apartment
  1. Be innovative

It is undoubtedly hard to decorate a temporary living room  but being innovative and smart can save you a lot of money and energy. You can make some DIY art pieces with unused or wasted stuff and create something new and innovative. For example, you can turn some old pieces of wood into a stool or you can use old bottles to make lights, you can color the empty champagne bottles and use it as flower vase etc.
  1. Go green and recycle

Green is always soothing for the eyes. So, putting a small tree can give a soothing visual to the eyes and add up to the freshness of the living room. Trees like considered can be regarded as the best option in this case. Flower trees of small sizes can also be taken under consideration. You can also grow herbs like thyme and rosemary in your home as they can be planted in small pottery and consume very less space. If you don’t have enough space left to keep a tree in the living room, then you can hang them on the wall. You can even make the hanging pottery at home by using DIY tricks.
  1. Second hand furniture can also be considered

You can also consider the option of buying second hand furniture if you have financial problems or your budget is limited. People also give furniture on rent. You can also consider that option.
  1. Work with Geometric patterns

Using floral prints has become a clichéd idea. You can work with geometric patterns while using the rug. Or you can use table cloths of geometric patterns. Experimenting with patterns and colors adds freshness to your living room and a touch of modernity.
  1. Work with different frames

A mirror in living room can make the living room look bigger. Also experiment with different kinds and sizes of frames. YOU can use posters of famous motion pictures to hang them on the wall which can add a sense of quirkiness to your living room. Decorating a temporary living room can be difficult as you have to brainstorm a lot and financial restrains also work as an obstacle in this process. But using some tricks and ideas these problems can be solved.  Just being innovative and smart can easily solve these situations. Another idea is to utilize your home articles more than they’re designed to do. You can minimize the total number of household articles that are needed this way, lessening the effort required to move your furniture to your next home. Wide but low bookshelves can double as a television cabinet. Just remember to keep style injected into each article. You really don’t want a boring old chest as a living room table, do you? Adding more portable decorative articles might be your ultimate solution to your ever changing dwelling. Simple and common decorations like plants or wall hangings such as paintings and artwork can best suit any home, even without semi-permanent decorations such as wall and floor paint jobs. If you ever need to move again, just tuck them away and you’re ready to put them again to your new home. So, are you ready to move again? Don’t worry, follow these general tips, and you will always have that color and life that your next living space would ever need.

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I love writing about interior design. I am in love with achieving harmony at home to improve the well-being of my family. I usually write for the "Visitacasas" blog, both in Spanish and English, and personally answer the questions about home decoration of all our users.