I’ve written many, many posts now on the subject of making our rented house, our home. Everyone who rents will know the struggle of not wanting to spend too much money on a property that isn’t yours but also desperately wanting to put your stamp on it. We’re lucky in that we are able to decorate our house however we wish, but that does also make it harder to resist the temptation of splashing the cash to make it ‘ours’. The best way I have found to not waste money on decorating a rental property is to keep the walls simple and neutral and to create the personality with accessories. It’s all in the details.
When Matalan contacted me to see if I would like to collaborate on this post, I had to pinch myself because the Matalan Home section has always been one of my favourite places to shop for home decor and accessories. Not only are they always right on trend with their pieces but they are so affordable too. It couldn’t have come at a better time as we had recently put down laminate flooring and were beginning to think about what accessories to put in our new, bright and airy lounge. I happily spent an evening browsing Matalan’s gorgeous Home section and eventually managed to pick some of my favourite pieces. When I asked Dan if he wanted to be involved he cheerfully said ‘no, you pick!’ so I may or may not have managed to introduce some pink, white fluffy cushions and a plant into the lounge. This is a big achievement for me in our house.
So here are some of the items I’ve added to our living space to create a cosy, relaxed atmosphere and to reflect a bit of our (my) personality into the room:
Scatter Cushions
Like the stereotype that I am, I love a scatter cushion and really do feel that when it comes to a relaxing space it’s a case of the more cushions, the merrier. Matalan have an absolutely gorgeous range and I found it so hard to pick just a few. In the end I went for a beautiful cream fluffy one, this ‘Nomad Print’ one, and this gorgeous large pink velvet one. We have two sofas in the lounge, one beige and one cream and with our new light laminate flooring I knew I wanted to keep the room bright and breezy and not dull it down with darker colours. All of the cushions we already had were light pink and cream so these new additions fitted in perfectly and added some new character and life into the room.
A Bit Of Greenery
I am a huge lover of plants. In a previous house we had a conservatory that I filled with plants and whenever I went into that room it would make me so happy just to see them all there. That might sound weird, but if you’re a fellow plant lover then you’ll get what I mean. Unfortunately a few house moves later and most of my beloved plants have got lost along the way. It can be hard to find homes for them all, especially when you live with a man who is fairly ‘anti-plant’ – is that a thing? And a toddler who is at that age where she has a tendency to love things a bit too enthusiastically until they break or get moved to a ‘safe place’ never to be seen again. For ages now I have wanted to have a big pot plant in our lounge like a Swiss Cheese Plant or some Bamboo, so when I saw this amazing artificial Bamboo plant, I couldn’t resist! When it arrived I was so impressed with how real it looks and I often have visitors asking me if it is real or not. The best thing is that Darcie can’t kill it and if Dan tries to hide it at least he can’t ‘accidentally’ kill in in the process either, this little beauty is here to stay.
Memories On The Wall
Myself and Dan have always been notorious for not having anything on our walls. I suppose it’s because we rent and we have moved quite often, we’ve never really stuck anywhere long enough to bother hanging much on the walls. But we’re likely to be in this house for a long time and are determined to make it our family home so the time has come for us to commit to some pictures on the wall. I love prints and posters but there is also something so special about having your own family photos on the wall. They remind us of the happy times we have shared and also allow visitors an insight into our lives. I decided to order five frames to hang in a row along the wall that you first see as you walk through the front door. I chose these hanging metal frames, three black and two gold to display some of our favourite photos. I love how they look in the room and I often get compliments on them too.
So those are just a few pieces we have added to our lounge to make it feel more like home and somewhere that we love to spend time together. I hope it has given you a bit of inspiration if you have a similar project and I would love to hear any tips you might have on making a house a home.
* I was kindly gifted these items from Matalan, all opinions are my own.