The 4 decor mistakes I made as a renter – and how you can avoid making them too

Home decorator Ammarah Hasham is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts infusing her rental house with plenty of personality. See the rest of her articles here.

Today’s post is me opening the closet and sharing a few decor skeletons as a renter. It also meant scrolling all the way back through my Instagram feed and coming face to face with my overexposed, oversaturated photos that still make me cringe a little.

The intention behind today’s post is to share the messy middle of finding your core style. It is trial and error, a few rookie mistakes, and a lot of learning as you go. No preaching here, just a few lessons I learnt from my home (wait until you see the size of my coffee table).

1. Hesitating to buy my own pieces

One of my biggest regrets after moving into my current home is how long I waited to buy my own furniture. The rental came semi-furnished, including a bulky black sofa set.

With little kids back then, it was practical, easy to wipe down, and hard to ruin. For all practical purposes, it did the job, and that became my excuse not to question it.

Looking back, I realise my hesitation slowly turned into acceptance. The little rebel in me actually came back to life when I added the IKEA Strandmon chair. One handpicked piece created a ripple effect. I could see the room more clearly, and what it could become.

How renters can fix it: Start with one piece. Choose something that can move with you. You can style it differently in your next space or resell it when the time comes.

2. Letting the lighting slide

My space stayed poorly lit for far too long. The basic rental ceiling fitting paired with bright white bulbs was the culprit. Nothing says rental faster than that combination.

At first, I felt hesitant to swap the light fixture because it sounded like a massive chore. Little did I realise all it needed was a trip to IKEA and a simple switch. The JAKOBSBYN pendant changed the feel of the room, and once I switched to warmer bulbs, the space instantly felt more welcoming.

The landlord’s original fitting is safely stored away for when it’s time to put it back.

How renters can fix it: Switch to warmer bulbs for a cheap fix. Add ambient light if you can, and keep original fittings safely stored. Place lamps in corners to soften shadows.

3. Rug gone wrong

My rental has wall-to-wall carpet which felt like quite a win in terms of warmth and underfoot cosiness. But in a high-traffic home like ours, maintaining it became quite cumbersome in the long run.

For quite some time, I put off buying a rug and focused on other key pieces instead. Looking back, I can see the room was missing an anchor, and the carpet underneath started showing signs of its age.

When I finally introduced a rug, I rushed the decision. I bought one that was a size too small. An expensive mistake I did not even realise at the time. With a little more research, a bit more patience and a few extra pounds, I could have chosen a rug that actually anchored the room and made the whole space feel more cohesive, instead of trying to fill the gap in other ways.

How renters can fix it: Treat rugs as foundation pieces, not accessories, and size up, always. Aim for furniture legs to sit on the rug, not float around it like mine.

4. Skimping on the coffee table

This is a good one. I know my coffee table is embarrassingly small for this room, and because everything seemed fine, I never bothered changing it. In my head, the shape worked with the rest of the space, and the size didn’t dominate it either. How wrong was I.

Buying a coffee table that works and still looks good isn’t rocket science. You just need a piece that suits the scale of your seating and your everyday life. You can easily source a great piece from eBay or Facebook Marketplace depending on your budget.

How renters can fix it: Measure the width of your sofa, then pick a table that is roughly half to two thirds of that length. If you can, choose a coffee table with usable storage underneath. And don’t just pick a “cute” table, pick one that actually supports your daily life.

Wherever you are in your renting journey, I hope this post was somewhat helpful. I’ll leave it there for now and take a breather.