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    Damage Free Decorating For Rental Properties

    Here are some design loopholes residents can take advantage of to make them feel at home while minimizing the damage done to your rental property in the process.

    By: Nick Massie / 2018 / PayYourRent.com
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    With rental properties, damage and wear and tear is inevitable. However, there are some design loopholes residents can take advantage of to make them feel at home while minimizing the damage done to your rental in the process. Depending on the leasing contract, you may have rules for your rentals about decorating limits, such as no holes in the wall or nails. These clauses can turn away some residents, which is why it is helpful to offer an alternative that both you and your resident can be happy with. These tips will help keep your apartments healthy and reduce maintenance cost.

    Protect Hardwood Floors

    Hardwood floors are great for protecting floorboards from liquid spills and other mess, but scratches from furniture is another matter. Luckily, there are a few ways to protect your hardwood floors from furniture and moving damage. An area rug is a great solution for protecting common areas from scratches. These areas see the most traffic, and this is usually the place guests will move chairs around to participate in watching a game on TV or playing cards. These rugs can also be a great decorative addition to any room, and can be customized to fit any mood or setting. It’s a design win-win.

    Want to go a step further and make furniture like chairs and couches even safer? Go with some felt floor pads to soften the hard edges of your furniture. This can serve as an additional precaution to protect both the floors and your furniture.

    A more common sense tip that is often overlooked is, take your shoes off in the house!

     

    Forget The Nails – Protect The Walls

    Walls are often the first target for wear and tear damage to rental properties because, well, renters love nails. You can prevent the constant wall damage on your rental by issuing a no nails policy.

    While nails prevent hanging some of the heavier canvases and wall pieces, there are some creative solutions that will allow you to display your favorite painting or photos in style.

    Want to hang some frames? Use command hooks. These serve the same purpose as nails and screws without the wall damage. Simply peel the sticky back off and stick it on a wall or door. Depending on the size, command hooks can hold up to 8 pounds.

    Don’t have any curtain rods built in? Consider finding a tapestry you like and place it over the window. You can use a command hook on the wall to pull back the tapestry and let some sun in. This isn’t as luxurious as curtains, but if you find the right tapestry you can feel at home with some character.

    If you have lots of photos, consider using a no-nails pin-board. This will provide plenty of space to pin photos with thumbtacks which allow an easy workaround for the no-nails rule.

    Art and photographs don’t have to be hung on the walls to look great. Consider shelving as a home for your decorations. A nice set of shelves will look great and provide all the space you need to display your favorite pieces.

    Are you a wallpaper fan? You can find removable wallpaper at most hardware stores. If you are looking for a more DIY approach, you can even use wrapping paper and textured cloth as a backdrop for your walls.

     

    Protect The Kitchen In Style

    You can add a personal touch to any kitchen without damaging the paint or cabinets. Not a fan of the cabinets? Try replacing the pull knobs with something that is more suitable to your taste. While you can’t paint the cabinets (usually), this small adjustment can change the overall look of the space.

    Looking for a more interesting backdrop for your cooking space? Try lining the wall with removable tile. This can allow you to spice up your kitchen without losing your rental deposit. It’s a win-win for everyone.

     

    Keeping A Clean Rental

    There is no way to prevent wear and tear damage in a rental unit. In fact, the rental deposit is there for this reason. But with some of these safe decorating alternatives, you can greatly reduce the amount of damage done to your walls by residents while giving them the creative freedom they need to enjoy their living space.

     

    What’s Next?

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