Paint options for rentals
Rental properties are often painted in neutral colours to appeal to the widest range of potential tenants. However it can be dull to keep looking at those same neutral colours, so here are a few options to liven the place up.
Volunteer to paint the house yourself
If you are going to be in the house for a long time, it can make sense to paint your house yourself. This can be a good deal for the landlord if they don't want to pay for the house to get painted themselves, and you can agree to paint it back to a neutral colour when you leave if you are aiming for a more vivid hue in the short term. If you have friends or family who are professional painters that can help, this can help make your proposition even more attractive to the landlord.
In some cases, if you have been a great long-term tenant, the landlord may even get in professional painter to do the job in order to keep you renting their property.
Use temporary solutions
There are a range of temporary wall decals and removable wallpapers that can be added to walls and easily removed at the end of tenancies. These come in a range of styles from colour decals in the latest cartoon characters for kids rooms to delicate quotes and designs for family rooms. You can often order the pieces precut to the right size as well, to minimise the amount of work involved in installing them. While these should be fine, be sure to let the landlord know before installing them so that there are no surprises come rent inspection time.
Paint fabrics and screens
Another option if you regularly move is to use painted canvases or bedsheets in your favourite colours. You can easily move these to any new home and you can hang them from the roof to create the impression of another colour. This can be a good idea if your ultimate idea of a room colour is a bright red based tone, or a black, both of which can be very hard to fully cover over with lighter shades.
If you are not happy with your current paint job in your rental property, be sure to chat with your landlord about which paint options they may be open to. It is in their interest to keep their property looking presentable and attractive to tenants. For more options, talk to a professional painter.
