If you have been reading my blog for a while, you must know that this was going to be the year of turning our “new” flat into a home. 

Now, if you are into home and interior decoration, this might sound easy peasy lemon squeezy for you, however let me tell you that despite having inhabited more houses than I care to count in this country –becoming familiar with the term rental market volatility along the way–, there have been times when I felt like I was living on borrowed land.

Do not stain the walls with blue-tac, do not make holes, prevent indentation marks on the carpet, watch out for humidity stains, return the property as if you had never been living in it for X amount of months, *errmmmmm*… those contracts should rather advise the tenant to cover everything in a transparent film and shower at the gym as often as possible. Thank you very much.

A HOME, NOT A HOUSE

Anyways, when the flat hunt started after coming back from our epic world trip (I keep on calling it like that to convince myself that we managed to do something epic once in life and now it’s fine if I behave like a grandma for a good few years, because we went on such a big trip and we need to recover), I was determined to put our stamp into our new abode. 

It helped that there were already plenty of holes drilled into the walls, courtesy of the previous tenants, and for once, even the ever-present magnolia walls played to our advantage, as we could dress the house as we saw fit without having to worry about that lime green feature wall dominating the living room (#firstworldproblems).

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR DECORATION STYLE

You can imagine that a rental house comes with its limitations in regards to decoration, disposition of the furniture and even the space you have to work with. But that’s also the beauty of home decor: you work with what you have to make the most of it, in true IKEA style!

But how to choose a decorating style if you have no idea, or no money, or both?

Here are some of my tips!!

1. Make a list (or a Pinterest board) of the spaces that inspire you

We have moved a lot of times in the past 6 years, sometimes due to reasons out of our control. However, the positive side of it is that, with each one of those moves, I learned to pinpoint what were the things I liked to be surrounded by on my daily life, i.e. what sort of things I liked looking at when having a cup of tea or reading a book. Then I made sure those elements were back in the next house. Perhaps with some variation, but always keeping the essence of that piece.

If you are completely out of ideas, I recommend you visit Pinterest and start making a board with the spaces that inspire you. Here’s mine in case you are curious: as you can see, I am now into lots of wood, luminous spaces, plants & ceramics (perfect combo!).

Of course some of these are not suitable for a rental home, but it’s good to have a vision of how things can be, and you can work with what you have towards that vision. 

FRAMES (left to right): ANTIBES |  CLOSE  | GEOMETRIC FACE No. 2 | FLORAL TROPHY

The code SHETALKSGLAM25 gives you 25% off posters* on all of Desenio’s websites between January 8th and 10th. *Except for frames and handpicked-/collaboration posters. 

2. You don’t need to spend a fortune on re-decorating your house

When we go through a home decor makeover phase, it’s completely normal to feel the impulse of getting rid of everything we have in order to replace it with other nice things. We might be bored of the old decoration and need to shake things up a bit, or we might not have much home accessories and need to inject some life into those four walls.

If the former, I would advise you to have a closer look at the things you already own and think of original ways to make them work in your new decor aesthetic. For example, can you reuse a wooden plank with a fresh coat of paint? Can you restyle a corner table changing the pictures and adding a plant? Can you change the disposition of some of your furniture to make a room feel different and fresh?

Sometimes small changes go a long way!

If money is the issue, let me reassure you that not all decoration items have to cost an arm and a leg.

Of course if you want to have Sketch’s blush pink velvet sofa in the middle of your living room, that’s going to come at price. But if you just want to add a few nice touches to your home, you can always visit your local charity shops or buy decoration second hand, not to mention DIY your way into your dream house!

Two blogs that are perfect for DIYs are A Pair & A Spare, and my sister’s Fabrica de Imaginacion.

3. Less is usually better when it comes to home decor

First off, identify spaces that can be filled up, such as a corner table, a window sill or a shelving unit.

Now, how to fill up those spaces? My recommendation is to go with a few, contrasting pieces that add interest to the room. Mix in different materials (ceramics, metal, glass) and try to keep the balance.

Look around Pinterest for “how to style a shelf” to have more guidance and juicy ideas.

And when in doubt, fewer elements are better than more, easier to clean and usually more pleasing to the eye –unless you are going for the quirky maximalist aesthetic, in which case, feel free to fill up every inch of your house with stuff, hahaha!

4. Plants are the heart of any home

I know this might not be the best tip for those of you who travel a lot, or those of you who forget to water plants or who are allergic to them… but this has been one of the major realisations of my life in terms of house decoration.

Plants (and flowers) add life to any space. They fill the rooms up while keeping them airy and light, and you can have all sorts of plants depending on which part of the world you live in and the time of the year. Plus they are just such a cute decor item ♥

And hey, even if you do not have green fingers, you can always go for a cactus or even a fake plant. Your room will thank you, I promise!

FRAMES: LA LUNE | BREATHE

5. Desenio can help with the wall art

You have seen this post is a collaboration with Desenio, and I am really thrilled at that, because thanks to their kind team I could finally complete our bedroom and living room decoration with their beautiful posters and framed pictures (thanks Sophie!)

They have so many pieces to choose from that it can get a bit overwhelming, but once you are on the right track, the website keeps on suggesting you similar pieces or even better, the perfect pair for the poster you have just selected. And for full wall galleries, check out their Inspiration section. I could spend hours and hours browsing there!!

In the end, I decided to go with three rather minimal prints for our living room. How do you like the final result? I think they add a lot of sofistication to our magnolia walls and the floral trophy is a nice contrast between all the minimal lines. Wood is the main element unifying these wall pieces and I am really pleased with how it turned out.

For the bedroom, we went for this moon print which I looooove and which I think sets the mood for sleeping. This part of the house is still a bit empty, so I might add some more frames in the future.

Let me know your thoughts, guys!

Hope you enjoyed this loooong home decor post and remember: the code SHETALKSGLAM25 gives you 25% off posters* on all of Desenio’s websites between January 8th and 10th. *Except for frames and handpicked-/collaboration posters. Follow @desenio for more inspiration!

I really enjoyed writing this piece, so let me know in the comments if you enjoy home updates and I will prepare some more content for you.

Happy week ahead, glamistas!

Peace&Love

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