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August 12, 2015 5 Comments

5 Quick Steps for Decorating A New Rental

Filed Under: DIY, home decor, My Home, my military life, Rental Living, tips and tricks 5 Comments

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This post is sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart all opinions are 100% mine. This post may contain affiliate links. For more information see my disclosure policy.

Every time we move it’s like a mad dash to unpack boxes. I hate living in chaos and it seems like the months leading up to a move are so chaotic that once we finally arrive to our new destination – I want to get unpacked fast. I even like to do a little decorating as I go. Remember when I did a “summer home tour” only a week after moving in to our new Florida house? Sometimes, it’s great to have a bit of calm amongst the sea of boxes and packing paper.

5 steps to pulling together your new rental

I’m not sure if I’m completely insane or if this is how everyone rolls but I’ve learned over the years – pulling it together quickly keeps you sane. Since I’m a self proclaimed moving professional at this point, I thought it would be fun to share my 5 tips to quickly pulling together a space in your new rental.
Pulling Together A New Space-5

I’m using our current bedroom as an example for decorating a new rental space. When we first moved in the only thing in this space was the bed, mattress and nightstand on the right. I really should have taken a before picture – but you can imagine – very bare.

Pulling Together A New Space-3

Step 1 – Dress Your Space. This may seem like a no brainer when it comes to pulling your space together quickly but it makes a world of difference. Great bedding with some throw pillows immediately makes your space feel polished, even if you have nothing else in the room. I love white bedding because it’s so easy to bring color in and change things up.

Pulling Together A New Space-8

Step 2 – Personalize your space. If you want to pull together your rental space, quickly, one huge piece of that is bringing in bits of YOU. It’s so difficult sometimes to make a rental feel like home. Whether your are in a dorm, an apartment, or a rental house – they all come with challenges. Putting your mark on it helps to pull it together. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love doing this by using family photos. I love filling these white frames from Walmart.com with photos of our family and accessorizing with them.

Step 3 – Bring the outdoors in with some greenery. From the tiniest potted plant, to the most beautiful fiddle fig, having some greenery in your rental space will immediately make it feel more homey. It will also bring you some sanity if you live in a space that has a limited outdoor living area.
Pulling Together A New Space-7

Step 4 – Use your own light. It almost always happens that rentals have the worst lighting. We lucked out recently and have a ceiling/light combo in every bedroom of our new house. Still, having some beautiful table lamps not only allow you to bring more light in, they are also just great accessories to your rental space. This lamp with the shimmery gray shade is perfect in our bedroom space. It’s just another opportunity to personalize the new space to your taste without breaking the bank.
Pulling Together A New Space

Step 5 – Use what you have. It never fails that every time we move into a new rental space items get shifted from room to room. There’s nothing better than shopping your own house. This little ladder has been floating around our house since we moved in before it finally found a home next to our bed to hold books and such.

Pulling Together A New Space-6

The same goes for this pedestal table that I’m currently using a bedside table. And you might recognize that blue quilt in the basket next to the bed. It’s the same colorful quilt I used on the bed during the spring and it’s now rolled up displaying the opposite side for a more calmer coastal feel. I love being able to use and reuse pieces from place to place.

Pulling Together A New Space-5

So there you have it – a quickly pulled together space that is completely budget friendly. For me, decorating a home is always a journey so nothing ever comes together overnight. Even this space is still a work in progress for me but I am super proud to say that after living in our home just a few months I was able to quickly pull together this space.

What are your tips and tricks for decorating a new space?

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About Chelsea

Chelsea Coulston is the resident decorator, baker, and pillow hoarder around these parts. A wife to an active duty Sailor and mom of two girls, Chelsea's got a knack for decorating even the most challenging spaces (just see her military base house!) She's inspired by cool beach tones and warm natural elements that remind you of a day at the beach. After living in a half dozen rentals, she's enjoyed spending the last few years in a cute ranch style home that she and her husband have almost completely renovated themselves. Chelsea lives in sunny Jacksonville, Florida with her husband and two daughters.

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Comments

  1. Emily says

    August 12, 2015 at 9:49 pm

    We are preparing for a move to our first-ever duty station (with 2 preschoolers and a newborn in tow!) so I’m desperate to hear any tips on pulling together a space quickly after moving. This motivated me to try and put at least one room together. I totally agree that even if every other room is overflowing with boxes, having one room in order will help a lot. I use this method just when cleaning my house (when not preparing for a move) because if I have one room that is a place of calm, my day goes so much smoother!

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      August 13, 2015 at 9:20 am

      oh Emily! Where are you headed? It’s a great adventure but can be so stressful – especially with a newborn. When we moved from Texas to San Diego my daughter was only six weeks old. She did amazing on the drive though. This last PCS (San Diego to Florida) my daughter and I flew – and my husband drove our car out. Huge props if you are doing the drive with all the kiddos – I totally wasn’t brave enough this last time 😉

      Reply
  2. Debbie @ Refresh Restyle says

    August 13, 2015 at 9:46 am

    Beautiful ideas! Doesn’t look like a rental!
    Debbie

    Reply
  3. [email protected] says

    August 14, 2015 at 6:20 pm

    Such a great room! I have a little ladder like that, except it’s orange. I need to add something to it, thanks for the inspiration!
    ~Liz

    Reply
  4. Corinna - A Designer At Home says

    August 18, 2015 at 6:03 pm

    Lovely tips, even for homeowners!

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Chelsea!

I'm Chelsea. Wife to Matt, and mama to P and Millie. I'm a fan of making and decorating things and everything blue + white. I believe that there is no such thing as too many throw pillows. Lover of iced coffee and cocktail Fridays. I'm glad you're here.

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#ad Homeschool/General parent “pro” tip - buy #ad Homeschool/General parent “pro” tip - buy a shower caddy and stuff it full of art supplies to keep your kids from having their markers and crayons all over the place. For real though, this was a game changer. Previously, I had one hard and heavy caddy for all of our supplies that I would plop on the table during our school day but I found my kids constantly getting up to grab a pink crayon or the blue marker. Or at the end of the day things weren’t getting put away properly and the next day we couldn’t find the glue or the scissors. Now, they each have a caddy that they are responsible for. I’ve partnered with @walmart to share this simple organizing solution. The girls keep their supplies together and carry the caddy around to wherever they choose to school that day/minute. I used my Walmart+ membership again to pull this off. I was able to order all the art caddy necessities online using the W+ free shipping, no order minimum (excludes oversized/freight & Marketplace items) benefit so I can limit my time in stores. #walmartplus
Sitting here thinking about everything that’s go Sitting here thinking about everything that’s gotten me through this last year.
1. My family - having my girls home has been everything I never knew I needed. 
1a. My mom - in those early pandemic days, when we didn’t leave the house, she would meet me halfway between here and Vegas. We would sit in the middle of the desert with our masks on and just visit. I needed that so much and I know she did too.
2. My friends - it’s hard to imagine making it through this year without the friendships I have. They’ve carried me. A small group of neighbors here that would meet at the park for some outdoor fellowship and our weekly dinners made life feel a little more normal. Having regular calls with my best friend in FL was gold especially since we can’t see each other. And regular chats with @bykaithanson got me through especially in those early days.
3. Regular therapy - if I wasn’t already going before all this happened I surely would need to now. This all is very heavy stuff and having someone that is outside your circle to talk to is so important. This saves me again and again.
4. Making bread. I started making last year so when it blew up during that first quarantine I was so excited that we all were baking together. Whenever I’m feeling anxious making dough helps.
5. Exercise - this was the year I finally made exercise a priority. I love how much better I feel when I move my body each day. I’m less anxious and I’m more at peace.
6. All the technology that connects us. Marco Polo, FaceTime, texting, FB Messenger, all of it. Being able to reach all of my loved ones with the tips of my fingers has made it a lot easier when I can’t see them.
7. Television - how many shows have we binged this year? I don’t even know but I remember tackling Friday Night Lights in the beginning of the pandemic and being so sad it was over. 
8. This community. One thing I wanted in 2020 was to CONNECT with you all here and that has happened and its been wonderful getting to know each of you!
💙
We’ve been through a lot this year what has carried you? Tag a friend that’s gotten you through. 
Hoping and praying for a truly happy new year. 💙💙
Merry Christmas from our home to yours! I wish you Merry Christmas from our home to yours! I wish you everything good this Christmas and in the new year. 🎄
#ad Fun festive morning with the girls! My girls l #ad Fun festive morning with the girls! My girls love making and baking anything! We made cinnamon roll Christmas trees then decorated them with m&ms and sprinkles. I bought everything from Walmart, used canned cinnamon rolls to make them quick and easy so we could focus our energy on decorating them. Holiday memories made! How are you making memories with your family this season? @walmart http://liketk.it/34rdO #liketkit @liketoknow.it #walmart
I want to hear about your collections!! I don’t I want to hear about your collections!! I don’t collect much but I do have a few Christmas things that I’ve been collecting over the years. These nutcrackers are one. The girls pick out a new one each year. I have a small collection little white village houses and since the first year we were married we bought a peace dove ornament from Pier 1 (Li Bien brand) - they quit selling them so this will be the first in 14 years that we don’t get one of those. What do you collect???
Military base house kitchen but make it Christmas! Military base house kitchen but make it Christmas! 🥰🥰🥰🎄
I really don’t love this kitchen but I’ve worked hard to make it easier on the eyes with a faux backsplash and with some mini wreaths on the cabs. Feelin’ festive. Sources for the backsplash are on the blog + @liketoknow.it 👍

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