How to Personalize Your Apartment as a First-Time Renter

Your home deserves to be personalized. The design should reflect your style, your favorite colors, and your personality to help you feel happy and comfortable in your own space. Of course, this is a little more challenging with rental homes. Some homes come with rules about how you can and cannot affect the walls, while some landlords don't care how you decorate, as long as the wall is whole and undamaged when you move out. Some leases include a no-holes decoration clause and many cautious renters avoid punching holes in rental walls for any reason.

So how do you truly make a rental home your own within the no-holes restrictions? We've got a few great strategies for modern renters to personalize, hanging curtains and artwork, within the comfortable bounds of your lease.

Clever Places to Put Decorations When Renting

Windowsills and Half-Walls
Tables and Shelves
Along the Top of Appliances
Free Standing Decor

Before you start worrying about the walls, decorate your surfaces. Find creative and decorative places to put your artwork throughout the house. Windowsills with plants and sculptures brighten your day as much as a framed painting, while free-standing art can be a 3-dimensional display without touching a single wall.

Your rental home might have a hearth and mantelpiece to decorate, or built-in shelves ready to show off your favorite art pieces. There are many ways to decorate a rental home that don't require wall suspension.

No-Damage Decorating Tips for Rental Homes

If you have a no-holes clause in your lease or your landlord specifically mentions not damaging the walls, you can still decorate! Mounting tape distributes the weight of a mounting point to hold heavier loads without punching a single hole. The only question is whether it comes away clean or with a layer of wall paint.

Command Strips & Mounting Tape

Command Strips are the 3M name brand no-damage mounting tape strips. It's basically foam two-sided tape that works on walls. With a pull-tab, they will detach from almost any surface without any damage, even to brittle paint. Command strips can also mount points like hooks and picture frame wire for diverse no-hole decorating options. You can also work with rolls of mounting tape, cutting strips as needed.

Adhesive Hooks and Clamps

If you want to hang things like curtains and window treatments, affix hooks and clamps to build attachments in your rental home. You can hang potted plants, workout equipment, and extra storage throughout the house, provided each hook and clamp connects securely. Don't forget to pad the back of the plastic or metal fixture so it doesn't scratch the paint. This is a great way to add curtain rods and other features to a plain looking house.

Shelves and Backdrop Furniture

You don't have to mount your decor directly to the wall with something between the wall and your decorations. Experiment with shelves and end-tables of various heights. Try displaying your art on shelves, or on the back of a bookshelf with the shelves removed. This way, your art is mounted to an item that belongs to you instead of the rental home wall.

To Drill or Not to Drill: Mounting Art and Tech

If you live in a rental home that allows standard decoration (the occasional nail hole), when and where is appropriate? And how much mounting is reasonable? Many of us take one look at drywall anchors and wonder if that's a good idea in a rental. The answer, first, depends on your lease. Then it depends on the security deposit risk. From there, you can make any plans that can be undone with a new coat of paint.

Ask yourself these questions:

"Does the wall already have holes? Can you re-use them?"
"Is the wall receptive to nails or screws?"
"Will you need drywall anchors, and will they blend?"
"How obvious will the hole left-behind be?"
"How easily can I repair the hole?"

Interestingly, drywall anchors of the right color can be less obtrusive than an unadorned hole in the drywall. Be strategic when and where you choose to add a new hole - and how easily you can repair and touch-up any small changes you have made.

Cleaning Up After Decorating a Long-Term Rental

Longer-term tenants are more likely to hang semi-permanent decorations and install mounting points into the wall. In fact, years of built up wear-and-tear and steady rent provide for this choice. But when it comes time to move out, you want to leave those mounting points as nearly invisible as possible by filling and repainting each spot.

This method can help you repair and cover almost any size of mounting hole damage left in a rental home wall.

Fill Holes & Damage with Drywall Putty

Get a pot of drywall putty and a plastic putty knife, the kind with a flat square end. Apply a small scrape of putty over every nail and screw hole in the wall, whether or not you remember making it. If you repair a few extra spots, it only costs you a few seconds and secures your damage deposit either way. For each spot, use the flat edge of the putty knife to press putty into the hole and scrape it flat and flush against the wall. Remove excess putty as needed. Give the putty a few hours to dry and it'll be ready to repaint.

Repaint with Matching Interior Paint

Get a pot of paint that matches the home interior. This can be a very small supply, as long as the color and finish match. For each putty spot - and for every scuff and stain - add a fresh swipe of paint. Follow the grain of the existing paint to make your touch-ups blend in. Give this paint a protected day or two to fully dry and check your work.

Your rental home can be beautifully and personally decorated while still fully within the terms of your lease. Whether you cleverly use Your attention to detail ensures a return of your security deposit and win the good favor of your property manager - however you choose to decorate. Contact us today to explore more great decoration tips and custom window treatments for personalizing your home interior.

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Up Your Home Office With These Inspirational Ideas

10 Apr, 2024

Up Your Home Office Game With These Inspirational Ideas As the the remote work trend grows, more people are working from home now than ever before. The home office has become an essential part of home design, and it's become more than just a spare room with a desk. Your home office is your personal workplace, one that you have complete control over. What began as a backup plan has become a permanent fixture, and you can design it any way you want. Whether you've always dreamed of a bright and sunny office, a light-protected focus zone, or an adaptive space that shifts with your mood, it can be yours. All that stands between you and your dream office is a little redecoration. Design Your Ideal Home Office Everyone has an ideal office environment. Each of us is happiest and the most focused under different conditions. It's one of the things that makes working from home so great compared to working in corporate-designed shared office. Envision the office environment you've always wanted. Do you want bright colors or stately elegance? Potted plants or mounted screens? A dedicated design table or extra space to move around? Your ideal home office is at your fingertips. Repaint and Refinish Your office can be any color palette you desire. All you need is a few cans of paint and wood finish to make it happen. If eggshell white isn't your thing, you can choose an all-new palette of colors and finishes. Design an office that makes you feel calm and focused, with an elegance that makes you smile every time you enter your inner sanctum. You can make your office feel light and airy or beautifully formal. You can design the perfect backdrop for video calls and create an uplifting work environment all at the same time. Consider a solid color for the walls, a nice accent for the trim and cabinetry, and a complimentary wood or metal finish for your desk and furniture. Rearrange the Furniture Speaking of furniture, this is your chance to optimize your ergonomics. Try an all-new desk design that perfectly supports your working style. Give yourself a wrap-around space with plenty of storage or a lightly furnished space where you can exercise and clear your thoughts. Place organizational features in the perfect locations for your reach and workflow and docking stations for all your devices. Give yourself the perfect number of screens, get your keyboard and mouse at just the right height, or even get a desk that converts between sitting and standing heights. Find the perfect office chair and enhance your comfort with a mini-fridge or kettle that makes your day complete. Take Control of the Light Levels Light levels play an important role in any working environment. You can install a brighter bulb or even a smart bulb in your overhead lights for clear, high-quality light to work by. You can add accent lights and task lights to illuminate specific areas of the room. If you love natural light, you can also take control with dynamic shades and blinds on the window. One of the best upgrades for a home office is adaptive light-filtering shades. You can set the light based on your mood and focus level any time of day. You can combine black-out blinds with cellular or Roman shades for an efficient and layered look, and even motorize your shades to control exactly how much natural light you let in depending on your task and the time of day. Integrate Smart Home Features Smart home features are a great update for your home office. A smart speaker can act as an intercom with the rest of the house, help you keep notes, and play music through linked Bluetooth speakers in the room. Smart lights and smart-home-connected motorized blinds give you complete control over the light levels in your office. You might also enjoy little extras like a voice-controlled fan, a smart thermostat to keep your office at exactly the right temperature, or digital frames to display your own album of artwork and photos. Enhance Your Home Office with Custom and Smart Blinds Here at Just Blinds, we can help you transform your home office into your ideal work environment. Select your favorite design, fabric, and color of light-adaptive shades and blinds powered by smart-home motorized systems. Contact us today to find home office window treatments that are beautiful, uplifting, and delightfully versatile.

Are Plantations Shutters Still a Solid Option?

06 Mar, 2024

You are looking to change your windows, but you have some questions. Would plantation shutters look good in my house? Are they still in style, and how long do they last? New shutters are not permanent, but they are an undertaking, and plantation shutters will last a lifetime if you want them to, so you want to ensure that you get them right the first time. The good news is that plantation shutters never go out of style, and there are many benefits to dressing your windows with this durable option. What Are Plantation Shutters? Plantation shutters are window coverings that instantly add an air of elegance to any room. They are usually made of wood, but some newer versions use faux wood to achieve the same look. They are installed on the interior of the window and function much like regular blinds since you can angle the wood slats like you would traditional blinds. Not only do they look amazing, but plantation shutters also come with significant benefits. What Are the Benefits of Plantation Shutters Of course, plantation shutters have many benefits. Otherwise, people wouldn't talk about them as much as they do. Here are just a few of the more talked-about benefits of plantation shutters. Pure Aesthetics Plantation shutters' solid look instantly gives them a high-class aesthetic that people will love. Adding these shutters can instantly enhance the look of a room like a fresh coat of paint. Privacy and Light Control These heavy shutters will completely block outside light when fully closed. Since you can adjust the shutters to be fully horizontal or vertical, you can easily adjust how much light enters a room and from which direction. If no light gets in, that also means that no one can see through your blinds, making these the best shutters for total privacy. Sound Suppression Again, since these shutters can be closed and are made of thick material, they are an incredible sound barrier. This is a fantastic option for those living near noisy streets and highways. Durable and Easy-To-Clean One more reason people love switching to plantation shutters is their ease of care. They last a long time, don't get brittle or break like traditional blinds, and are way easier to clean. They also take less time to finish and look better. Energy Efficient Since these shutters are so thick, they act as insulators, preventing air exchange through the windows and keeping sunlight from heating surfaces in the house. What to Consider When Choosing Plantation Shutters Not all plantation shutters are the same, and there are a few things you should consider before buying. Work With a Reputable Company Unfortunatley, some companies see shutter installation as a job and not part of someone's home. Plantation shutters need precision installation to reach their full potential, so you want to work with a company with proven results and reviews. DIYers may be considering installing these shutters themselves, but it takes professional tools and experience to get them exactly where they need to go. The Size of the Shutters Sometimes called louvers, the slats of the blinds come in many sizes. The size of the louvers will impact how the room looks, so it is essential that you try different looks to see how they transform your room before you make a final decision. Materials You will want to decide if you want a more traditional look with wood or a more contemporary look with faux wood. Other materials, such as locks, invisible hinges, and shutter pulls, can also upgrade your shutters. Are They A Good Investment? Plantation shutters cost a little more, but they are one of those home improvements where you get what you pay for. They last a lifetime, so over the lifetime of your plantation shutters, you would probably end up buying the equivalent cost, if not more, in traditional blinds. Finally, their energy efficiency means that these blinds will likely pay for themselves in energy costs over time. For a long-lasting, quality product, choose plantation shutters. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and give your windows the love they deserve.