Renovation Ideas in a Rented Home | The Yorkshire Dad of 4

Renovation Ideas in a Rented Home

We rent our home which means we’re limited as to changes we can make to it. But when I sit in some rooms and allow my mind to wander there are so many ideas I have about what we could do here. 

Floors

On the ground floor, we enter at the front to a narrow hallway then into the kitchen/dining room. Through the hallway and kitchen, the floor is tiled. Frustratingly, the dining room as is carpeted and I detest it. I’d replace it with a good quality laminate or hardwood floor.

The same carpet is used throughout the rest of the house – including two bathrooms. I would really love to replace that with a good quality vinyl floor.

Renovation Ideas in a Rented Home | Wooden floor | The Yorkshire Dad of 4
This is not our home but I would love that flooring in our dining room

Walls

Often, living in a rented house can feel like you’re living in a magnolia box. But there’s so much more you can do than paint walls.

I installed wooden cladding in the dining room of our old house. It looked awesome and set it apart from other rooms (it was also easy to wipe the mess up from a young family at meal times).

There are also so many great wallpapers out on the market now and you can use that to make a gorgeous feature wall. 

Renovation Ideas in a Rented Home | feature wallpaper | The Yorkshire Dad of 4
This is a wallpaper similar to one we’ve used in the past. It’s dominating but works if used on a feature wall.

Windows

Our home might be a new build, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream about replacement windows.

The master bedroom has two small windows. They fit the design of the house, but ideally, I’d create one big window that would allow for more natural light.

In the dining room, there are floor-to-ceiling windows and patio doors. There still isn’t a lot of natural light coming in though due to the shade of the tree in the garden. Ideally, I would install full-width folding doors that would open out on a decked area. 

Renovation Ideas in a Rented Home | feature wallpaper | The Yorkshire Dad of 4
I’d love to have folding doors like this as the rear of our home. It wouldn’t let much more natural light in but it would allow for a better combination with the garden.

Garden

The back garden has issues. The house is built on what was once a railway station and is where the tracks once were. The garden banks steeply and has poor drainage. This makes it awful in winter and just about tolerable in summer. In reality, it’s pretty dysfunctional as a garden and I can’t say we enjoy it.

I’d love to install a deck that starts at the patio doors. At the very back, steepest section we’d plant raised beds of hardy shrubs against the rear fence. 

Renovation Ideas in a Rented Home | garden decking | The Yorkshire Dad of 4
It would be lovely to have a decked area like this with a table and fairy lights to enjoy on a warm summer evening. Add in a chiminea and we could be enjoying the cooler nights too.

So there you have it. My dreams of the things I’d love to do to our rented home.

Thanks for reading.

Dave


 

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