Interior Design Details Renters Should Look for

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Apartment hunting is difficult, especially when you’re looking for something long term to call home. If you’re a renter you won’t be able to renovate or add style details, so it’s important to keep in mind the aesthetics of your new home in addition to prices, location, and amenities. You’ll be living here for a while, even if it’s only for the short term, so you want to live in a space that is warm, welcoming, and unique.

But what do you look for?

Top interior design specialists suggest looking for the subtle details that make an apartment or home classic, modern, and stylish all at once for a timelessly gorgeous space. Landlords are often updating their offerings in order to attract renters, those who also pay extra care to interior ornamentation are the ones to look out for.

Here are the top timeless designs to look for in a home:

Modernized, Old Buildings

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Older townhouses, apartment buildings, and homes have more recently been upgraded to appeal to modern interior design trends while keeping the cozy, elegant features that transcend time. Think fireplaces modernized with stylish mantels, ceiling centers, wall banding, crown molding, columns, pilasters. This twist takes once over the top features and tones them down for a balanced, yet unique appeal.

Since these buildings are old, the chances of them having been renovated recently is pretty high. Some might even have smart home technology installed which is an extra bonus. Installing and designing new plaster ornamentation around older buildings can be tricky, landlords should use seasoned professionals such as Arkada or DecoCraft USA, who seamlessly integrate modern design that highlights the classic touch well.

Minimal with Contrast

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Minimal styles are clean, open, modern, and offer the chance to decorate with pops of color. Minimal however doesn’t mean there aren’t amazing interior design touches built in. These touches, the wall panels, plaster molding, friezes, cornices, crown molds, are what keeps the minimalistic styl­­e from feeling cold, barren, or too industrial.

It’s rare to see such well-done interior architecture, though with all the apartment inventory available, the effort landlords take to draw renters is becoming more common, and it works – There’s no need to settle for plain, unattractive apartments anymore!

Singular Neo-Classical Designs

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Even small spaces gain the upper hand with just one major element borrowed from the Greco-Roman, Victorian, Baroque, or other classical eras. The owner of this New York apartment for rent, located in Brooklyn, sought to take advantage of its height using custom made ornamentation to add appeal to an otherwise less than stellar apartment.

These creative touches not only reflect well on the landlord, but on your own creativity and choice when you have guests, friends, family and other visitors over and creates a warmer, more welcoming environment to live in.

Dark-Toned Elements

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Dark colors tend to be avoided since they can make a space look smaller. When you do see them, and the space still looks open and wide, you know you have a keeper. While it might be difficult to coordinate the look, it’s refreshing to get away from the standard yellow hues of hardwood floors.

Some renters might complain that an apartment that appeared decent in size, suddenly isn’t once their belongings and furniture are moved in. The contrast of dark and light colors isn’t only aesthetically pleasing, but also a great way of making the best out of your apartment size.

Key Takeaways

The design of your apartment and home is of high importance, since you’ll be living there quite a while, so make sure you find a place that looks amazing and you love. Especially if you’re looking to rent long term. Avoid the plain, typical, otherwise barren spaces, that will affect your life at home in the long run.

Renting a home that is balanced, offers some contrast, feels welcoming, is the best way to feel positive about your decision. Keep an eye out for those elegant ceiling centers and designs, wall patterns, frames and other trimmings.

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Mihaela Buzec is a senior writer and online content developer for RentCafe. She covers topics about everything related to the renting lifestyle, from decorating and interior design to finding the right apartment, frugal living, money saving advice, and more. She dives deep into topics of interest, writing well-researched comprehensive guides on subjects such as renting with pets, saving on utilities, or avoiding rental scams to help renters stay informed and live smart.

Mihaela holds a BA in English and German Language and Literature, an MA in Current Linguistics, and she is currently pursuing a PhD in neurolinguistics.

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