admin Not much is allowed to change in a rental, and weather or not you are using rented furniture or have your own, there might be a challange in getting the space to look nice and cosy and feel homey.
What is needed getting a rental looking great
Generally a fresh coat of paint on the walls, or new wallpapers, makes a huge differens.
Followed by covering an ugly floor with new flooring that does not need to be glued in place, such as click-solutions of laminate and vinyl, or simply place large beautiful rugs in the different areas of the room.
Add som e clean and cosy drapes covering the window, and perhaps other areas of the room to soften it up. A large squared white room can look a bit dull, adding drapes in a corner where you can have the breakfast nook is an awesome solution for the aesthetics.
Cosy one-room rental apartments transformed
Furnishing a rental home in Stockholm can mean that you need to be very clever. Many places are small and easily get cramped. This little den on Södermalm underwent major changes in 2017, without much impact on the walls and ceiling since it is a rental.
A one-room apartment with a kitchenette and no sleeping area can be difficult to furnish because you need to fit a bed in the open area. If you start from where you can fit the largest pieces of furniture in a household, bed and sofa, you can eventually find a furniture arrangement that is optimal.
Info about the tiny apartment in Stockholm:
- A square room with white walls
- A large window and exit to the balcony facing the courtyard, which made it very bright
- Kitchen with fridge, small oven and two hotplates
- A large window adjacent to the kitchen
- Built-in wardrobe next to the entrance/hall
Make 23 square meters roomy
There is no hall, but that was an advantage in this case as the surface behind the entrance’s inner door was used with a hook strip. Shoes fit in a narrow shoe rack behind the door. Next to the entrance is the bathroom and the door opens outwards, so it needs room to swing.
A sidetable directly by the entrance is great for collecting things, letters and assisting with a table lamp for spot lighting.
Bed and sofa are close to each other but the different areas of the room are separated by a curtain from a ceiling rail. A thin fabric lets daylight through.
When there is no room for a proper headboard, paint the area on the wall and top it off with a smaller display shelf.
A carpet under the sofa all the way to the TV bench frames the ”living room”. As a TV stand, I use two Ikea Beståskåp which have been screwed together and fitted with wheels for easy movement. It acts as a linen closet.
Loose headboard for the bed
When not posible to use a headboard that can be mounted into the bed, nor the wall, just lean a piece of wood in a decent size towards the wall behind the bed.
A few summers ago we managed a place in Gävle that was used as a pied a terre. The 18.5 square meters was perfect for two people during weekend stays in Gävle and the surrounding area. The apartment was in fairly good condition when acquired, with a nice wooden floor and white walls. The small kitchenette had already undergone a refreshment, so the simpler renovation in my possession was only to replace a broken bathroom door to a new one and to plaster the former owners marking after having a sleeping loft in the bed alcove.
Info about the tiny apartment in Gävle:
- A square bright room with white walls and a large window
- Kitchenette with fridge/freezer compartment, small oven/stove and microwave.
- Wall-mounted kitchen table.
- Sleeping alcove with space for a 120×200 cm bed.
- Wardrobe in the hall with clothes hangers, behind a double mirror door.
- Bathroom with toilet, sink and tiny shower area.
So this was basically a staging job, where choosing the furniture was important since we were gonna use the place occasionally.
How to furnish 18 square meters
We found second hand furniture to use and was able to get everything we wanted in the home:
- Three-seater sofa
- Carpet (which framed the living room area)
- Coffee table (with storage)
- Bureau/relief table
- Punk lighting of stall lamps
- Kitchen furniture in the form of a wall-hung folding table and two folding bar stools
- 120 cm wide bed
- TV stand made from Ikea kitchen cabinet, on wheels
Before the make over, there was a loft acting as bedding area. Not suitable for all….
Covering ugly floors
Apply large rugs on floor that have seen better days, or are of a color not matching anything else in your home.
