How to add a personal touch to a rented home

Living just outside Galway city with her husband, Ben, and their two children Ari (4) and Ada, who is still a baby, Nathalie Marquez Courtney has made every effort to turn their temporary home into a warm and cosy retreat from the world for her and her family.

“We had been living in Lisbon before moving here in 2019, and the first time I saw the place was the day we signed the lease and got the keys,” she says. “Ben flew over for a viewing a few weeks before, and I got a glimpse of each of the rooms on FaceTime, but hadn’t seen the house properly until we moved in.”

And, after living in a compact two-bed apartment in Lisbon, moving into a four-bedroom semidetached was a bit daunting.

“But we had kept lots of our possessions in storage during our time abroad, so I was excited to get them back and start making the house our home.”

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The photographer and magazine journalist says that like many other people in a similar situation, there were a few “less-than-ideal” things about the property. But after speaking to the landlord, they decided to make some changes to make the place work for them.

“The entire downstairs, including the hallway and living area, was tiled, which was very cold and uncomfortable underfoot,” she says. “There were several more beds than we needed, and very little storage, along with no shed or access to the attic. Also, the kitchen was quite dated and the furniture, art and soft furnishings were not what we would have chosen ourselves.

“The biggest challenge was figuring out how to inject our style into each room, without risking our deposit or damaging the property in any way. And this has forced us to be creative and work within the limitations of the space we have and what came with it.

“One of the first things we did was carefully pack away any art that came with the house and, in some rooms, replace the curtains and lampshades. Without being able [allowed] to paint [the walls], we had to find other ways to inject colour through accessories, wall art, plants and soft furnishings. Storage was also a huge issue, so we chatted to the landlords and over time we floored the attic ourselves, with their permission, and they also got a shed put in, both of which helped a lot.”

The mother of two says the hallway has become a “much happier place” since they put down vinyl flooring and a fun runner. They also added hooks to the wall for storage along with a bench and small bookcase.

Where you live has a huge impact on your emotional wellbeing, and creating a space you love and are happy to come back to should be accessible to everyone, even if they don’t own or never plan to

—  Nathalie Marquez Courtney

They made a few changes in the kitchen, including replacing the big dining table and chairs with a smaller eating area, and also added some shelving and a “fun and colourful gallery wall”.

But the biggest change to the downstairs of the house was the living area.

“Our landlord agreed to rehome the very large and dark faux leather couches which had come with the house and we replaced them with a sleek, light grey sofa from the DFS Sofables range,” she says. “This has transformed the space, immediately making it feel brighter and airier.

“It is also completely modular, which was a huge plus for me as a renter as it means I know we can adapt it to suit a very different space should we have to move again. We wanted an L-shaped sofa but were a bit wary of getting a couch with a fixed L in case it didn’t work in our next home, so this was a great find.

“As the livingroom is our main family space, it’s also great to be able to reconfigure the seating to suit our needs on the fly – stripping it back if our son is having a play date or adding units for movie nights if we’re having friends over. We also added free-standing storage units for my son’s toys, lots of wall art, plenty of house plants as well as cushions and rugs with texture and colour.”

After living with very cold and unsightly tiles in the living and diningrooms, the vinyl flooring made a huge difference to their home.

“We went with a gorgeous parquet-effect design,” says Marquez Courtney. “No adhesive was used, so it won’t damage the floor below, but it feels – and looks – so much nicer, not to mention it is so much easier to clean. I know a lot of people would be baffled by the idea of spending money on something we may not end up taking with us when we leave, but it makes a huge difference to our day-to-day lives when we’re here. It has been down over a year now and still makes me happy.”

Together with her husband, who is a games developer, Marquez Courtney also made some changes to the first floor of the property by adding storage in some bedrooms, replacing the bed in another, and turning another room into a home office by removing the furniture and replacing it with shelving and two desks.

Most of their home improvement purchases can be easily transported, if, and when, they move again or can be sold online.

The seasoned renter says there are a lot of online forums on helping others in a similar situation to make the most of their rental home, and, while it can be hard trying to figure out what to invest in or how to hide a carpet or paint colour you don’t like, with some easily removed accessories, most decor issues can be solved.

And she says that while most people in this country would prefer to own their own home, there are many ways in which to make a temporary home work as a long-term solution.

“When we lived in Lisbon, many of our friends had been happily living in their rental properties long term, some for over 10 years, and not only was their rent affordable but they had been able to make the place their own, in some cases replacing the kitchen and even moving walls.

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“But we really don’t have that kind of rental market here and many feel stuck renting while they save for their own house or end up having to move more often than they’d like to. However, I feel that shouldn’t mean you have to put creating a space that feels homely and welcoming on hold too.

“Where you live has a huge impact on your emotional wellbeing, and creating a space you love and are happy to come back to should be accessible to everyone, even if they don’t own or never plan to.”

Nathalie’s tips for creating a home when renting

• Choose somewhere unfurnished or with an attic space, so existing furniture can be stored.
• Chat to your landlord to suss out your options – if you don’t ask, you won’t know. It can be mood sapping, for example, to live with a paint colour you hate but often, as long as you paint it back to the same colour before you move out, chances are you’ll be able to do something that feels a bit more you.
• Don’t be put off buying key pieces like furniture or art just because you’re renting. If you choose pieces you love, it will be one less thing to buy if and when you get your “forever” home.
• Put some time into figuring out what your interiors style is. Having a well-defined sense of what you like means anything you invest in now, you will still be happy to use in your next home.
• Start by thinking about the feeling you want to evoke in each room. We wanted the living space to feel cosy and calm and that has affected everything we have brought into the space.