ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT!
Make That Rental Feel Like Home
It’s time to pack your bags and head for the beach, lake, or mountains. Your summer rental might have been secured this past February, or just a week ago – or maybe you’re still hoping to score a last minute deal. One thing is for sure, if you plan on feeling at home in someone else’s pad, and if you want to entertain on summer weekends, you’ve got to personalize the generic décor that characterize many summer homes. The transformation requires you to pack an extra bag of decorating tricks that first weekend (and of course you have to haul it all back with you when the season’s over) but it’s so worth it to rid your rental of that barren feel. Here are ten easy ways to add your own stamp on summer fun, without breaking the terms of your lease. Everything can be picked up for a song at your favorite discount store (and from your own closets and cupboards). With a little pre-planning you’ll feel right at home:
- Inexpensive throws in summery colors can be tucked into chairs and sofas to create a unified, colorful look.
- Coordinating pillow covers bring the look together. Both throws and pillow covers protect the owner’s furnishings, and can be washed easily.
- Scented candles get rid of musty odors and add life to coffee and end tables. Place a couple in bathrooms as well.
- Dining room slipcovers add a punch of color to dreary mismatched wooden chairs. They pack up flat, are washable, and you can use them for several seasons before they start to wear out. You can even use them at home.
- Fluffy towels – lots of them – are so much nicer than the scratchy ones the landlord leaves in the linen closet.
- Dishes, glasses and your own tablecloths and napkins make giving parties more elegant. An acquaintance of mine, Nancy, hauls her Baccarat crystal martini glasses, china decorated with sailboats, and whimsical table linens out to Martha’s Vineyard every year. She serves very stylish meals (and cocktails) with them.
- Fresh flowers bring some life to dull décor. Always pick up a bouquet on the way out of town – or at the farmer’s market when you arrive at your destination. Bedrooms, bathrooms, and the dining table all deserve to be graced by a few buds. A few potted annuals on the deck bring color outdoors, and are easy to care for.
- A few current bestsellers stacked up on bedside tables – along with the latest fashion magazines – make guests feel at home.
- Spa toiletries in pretty containers – luxurious French soaps, sea salt scrubs, and fragrant bubble bath and shower gels – are beautiful and useful.
- Chiffon scarves tossed over lampshades in the bedroom and living room adds nighttime ambiance – nothing wrong with that!
Finally, don’t forget to bring your Barbara K! toolkit and barbeque set to make simple repairs and to make flipping burgers fun!
If I Can Do It So Can You!
Happy Summer!
Barbara K
