Renting with Family Survival Guide

As more and more of us are sharing living spaces to cut back on expenses, we find ourselves turning to family.  Living with family can be wonderful, harmonious, and healthy—not to mention an ideal way to save money or pay down debt.  However, the opposite can be just as easily the case.  Old patterns, frustrations, grievances, and annoyances with family can quickly resurface as soon as family members move in.  Despite this, by establishing a clear game plan, setting up solid guidelines, and remaining grateful, you can avoid these pitfalls and keep your family relationships in tact while living together.  

Have a Game Plan

Before your family member moves in, it is crucial to establish clear objectives, priorities, and timelines.  This way, all parties transparently know what the living arrangements include.  To do this, you need to have a conversation about what is hoped for and expected from the living arrangement, including finances (how much is required for rent and utilities), and timelines (when will they be moving in and out).  Determining the “what” and “when” of the living arrangement, in a clear and open manner, lets you avoid problems down the road.

Establish Rules and Guidelines

With a general agreement in place, the next step is to drill down to the details.  Every living arrangement will fall apart without clear guidelines, so take the time to determine, together, what the expectations are for cooking, cleaning, entertaining, and the use of communal space.  By figuring out what the roles and responsibilities are around groceries, meals, cleanliness, and individual boundaries, you can do a lot to create a harmonious home.  Being observant and respectful of each other’s space is particularly important.  For instance, if a parent is moving in and you happen to have children, be sure to implement clear ground rules governing when your child can knock on your parent’s door, and when they should allow your parent his or her privacy.

Be Gracious and Grateful

Unlike a casual roommate family is for life, so no matter how annoyed you might find yourself, remember to remain gracious, and to pick your battles.  Your familial relationships outbalance the small annoyances that might come from sharing a living space, so think twice before losing your temper.  It might be worth letting some dirty dishes go, if it means keeping the peace.  Also, by sharing your living expenses your family member is doing you a huge favour, so keep your gratitude level high when you feel the old annoyances and frustrations creeping back in.

Giving your Apartment a (Non-Permanent) Facelift

As more and more people are renting on an increasingly permanent basis, they are finding themselves in a home-improvement bind: how do they update or renovate their units, when they do not own the property?  Renters in their third or fourth year of their lease might find they want to make some changes, but it is often difficult to justify the cost, and the effort, of making improvements to a rental property.  While all maintenance issues should, of course, be communicated to the property owner, here are some more cosmetic, and non-permanent, changes you can make to your apartment that will breath new life into your home. 

Temporary Wallpaper and Wall Decals

After a few years into your lease, you might find yourself staring at the walls, so why not change them!  Temporary wallpaper—wallpaper that easily affixes to wall surfaces and peels off without damage—is a wonderful way to do this.  Temporary wallpaper allows you to brighten a room, to give a room texture, or to add some plain old variety to your white-walled unit.  If temporary wallpaper is a little too much for your tastes, consider adding some temporary adhesive wall decals.  Wall decals are widely available, and easily peel on and off all surfaces, and they bring an unexpected and unique flavour to your apartment.  These are especially great for redoing or upgrading a child’s room.  Decals of trees, animals, stars, or castles bring an imaginary and creative element to your child’s room.

Add Some Faux-Finishing Touches

If you adore the bones and the layout of your apartment, but feel like your space is missing that more modern feel, there are some wonderful, non-permanent additions you can make.  Try using click-decking squares to convert dirty, weathered balconies or terraces into sleek, polished outdoor spaces.  You might also find the rich wood of click-decking squares to be just the thing to cover up bathroom or kitchen linoleum that is not to your taste.  You can also breath new life into your kitchen by “installing” non-permanent countertops and backsplashes.  Convert an old and ugly counter into something modern and crisp, by using Instant Granite counter covers, which adhere to any surface, and are easily removed.  If you find the tiling, paint, or paper in your kitchen to be a little passé, consider adding a removable stainless-steel backsplash.  This small, non-permanent touch gives your kitchen a more modern, brighter, and sleeker feel, and you can take it with you when you go.  

Remember, property owners are always looking to improve and invest in their properties, so keep a clear line of communication open with them when it comes to home improvement.  However, there are many small and impermanent things you can do on your own, to give your apartment the upgrade it deserves, and to give you the home want—even if it is only temporary.

Simple Design Ideas to Personalize Your Apartment

It is easy to lose track of your own, individual style when decorating your apartment.  With all the ready-made home furnishing solutions available today, you can decorate your space with ease and affordability, but you run the risk of losing your own uniqueness in the process.  Despite this, personalizing your apartment does not need to be a challenging or expensive process—all it takes is a little creativity and the ability to keep in touch with yourself.  Here are a few tips to allow you to retain your own personal style as you design and decorate your apartment.

Think Beyond the Big Box Store

The big stores have so many affordable and convenient options for home furnishings and décor, and they will invariably be part of your design, but do your best to accent and offset those more common items with some rare and unique finds.  Thrift and second-hand stores let you add more offbeat, character-heavy items to your apartment, at very affordable prices.  Vintage lamps, or bowls, old paintings or signs, or old maps, tapestries, or mirrors are all wonderful ways to let your own sense of style complement your more functional and generic furnishings.  If vintage or kitsch is not your thing, try accenting your apartment with plants, curtains, and rugs.  Small touches like these allow you to project your own personality onto your space.

Put Yourself on Display

It is easy to forget that you have done a lot in your life.  By placing objects and artifacts of your interests and experiences on display, you imprint your own mark on your space.  For instance, framed band or concert posters, or framed record covers, help you reveal your musical interests; or, an old pair of skis, an old bike, some skateboard decks, or some framed jerseys mounted on your wall, help show your love for a particular hobby or sport.  Another way to let yourself shine through in your décor is by incorporating one signature piece of furniture from your past.  Whether it is an old easy chair, grandfather clock, painting, or a kitchen table from your parents’ house, by integrating something from your past into your more modern design you project a clear vision of who you are, and where you come from.

Let Your Work-Life Shine

 

As more and more of us work from home we find ourselves in need of a viable, functional, and efficient space to work.  Rather than hiding your work away, build your work-life into the very aesthetic of your apartment.  Your job is a large part of who you are, and by showcasing this aspect of your life—by incorporating it into the design and flow of your space—you leave a clear stamp of yourself in your apartment’s appearance.  Incorporate a workstation, a large memo or blackboard, or a work library and comfortable chair into the flow of your unit, to harmonize your work-life with your home-life, and to allow your space to reflect who you are and what you do.

It is easy to get lost in the design shuffle, but by incorporating your own life, your past, your work, and your style along with the more basic and affordable furnishings you need day to day, you can be sure that your own sense of style will be front and centre.