Renting a furnished apartment has obvious advantages. There’s less to buy, less to move, and less hassle overall – no struggling to squash a mattress into a lift, or eating dinner on the living room floor while you wait for your new dining table to be delivered. But with the basic furnishings already in place, you may be left wondering how to make your new home feel more personal. The good news is that there are so many ways you can add your own unique touches to a space without making drastic changes! Here are eight easy furnished apartment ideas to get you started.
Start with Soft Furnishings
Soft furnishings are an easy way to build layers of texture and personality in any space. Take a simple rug: a well-placed one can ground the room and visually separate open-plan areas. Cushions, throws and blankets let you personalise a plain sofa and, of course, there are endless options when it comes to duvet covers and bedding.
Furnished apartments are typically decorated in a neutral palette, so you won’t have to worry about colours clashing. You can choose muted tones for a calming feel or bright and eye-catching hues for something a little more energetic. Go for a stylish co-ordinated theme, or mix-and-match patterns if you prefer a more eclectic style.
Experiment with Lighting
While your apartment will already be fitted with overhead ceiling lights, there’s nothing stopping you from adding your own lamps. This simple step can completely transform a space, whether it’s a stylish floor lamp by the sofa, a low-glow table lamp in the hallway, matching reading lights on your bedside cabinets, or even a string of fairy lights around a mirror.
Don’t forget to experiment with bulb colours. Cool white ‘daylight bulbs’ are great for home offices and bathrooms, whereas warm whites add a cosy feel to living areas and bedrooms.
Customise Your Walls
Decorating your walls can make such a huge difference to the overall feel of a space. At Affinity Living, all of our furnished apartments come with the freedom to decorate. But if painting isn’t an option for you, there are plenty of temporary ways you can dress your walls.
Hang framed prints, mirrors, or fabric wall hangings using removable self-adhesive strips or hooks – this way, you can avoid nails and screws, and won’t without leaving damage. Removable wallpaper or decals can also add interest to a feature wall.
Add Decorative Displays
You may not be able to fit your own shelving, but what you choose to display matters just as much as what it sits on. If your furnished apartment already includes shelves, bookcases or sideboards, adding decorative items that reflect your style is an easy way to inject personality into your space.
Carefully-arranged stacks of books, candles, ornaments and other trinkets can all add colour and interest. Group items in threes and vary the height for a balanced, styled look. Don’t worry about everything needing to match: contrast often makes a display more visually interesting!
Bring Nature In
Houseplants can instantly breathe life into a furnished apartment. What about a statement monstera or dracaena, a row of succulents along a windowsill, or a trailing ivy on a high shelf? Natural greenery instantly softens any space and helps it feel fresh and alive. If you’re new to houseplants, start with low-maintenance options like snake plants or pothos. Alternatively, invest in some realistic artificial plants. You’ll never have to water them, and they’re a safer option for pet-friendly apartments (many houseplants are toxic to cats and dogs).
Add Fragrance
Decorating isn’t always visual; it’s about how a space feels, and scent plays a big part in this. Just like lighting, scent helps create emotional comfort, anchoring your sense of place in a new environment.
Scented candles and reed diffusers are popular choices, as are essential oil burners and plug-in air fresheners. Choose your favourite scents, or match aromas with the atmosphere you want to create in each room. For example, you might go for calming lavender in the bedroom, citrus in the kitchen, warm amber or sandalwood in living areas.
Rearrange What’s Already There
Just because you’ve landed an apartment with furniture, that doesn’t mean your chairs, sofas and so on have to stay where you found them. Rearranging the layout allows you to customise how a room feels: more open or closed, more functional or quirky.
For example, you can often make a living room feel less sterile by pulling the couch away from the wall and placing it at a slanted angle. If your bed is next to a window, rotating it 90 degrees means you can add wall art above the headboard. If the provided pieces feel too uniform, you can also try breaking up matching sets by swapping furniture with items in different rooms.
Highlight Your Personality
In the end, the goal is to make your apartment reflect who you are. Displaying personal items – art you love or have created, photos of family members, souvenirs from travel – can make even the most neutral space feel individual. Don’t worry if things don’t “match.” What matters is that the pieces hold meaning for you. The more personal details you include, the more your furnished apartment will start to feel like yours.
Luxury Furnished Apartments in Manchester
Looking for an apartment to rent in Manchester that’s designed around you? Affinity Living offers thoughtfully furnished, move-in-ready apartments that you can truly make your own, with the freedom to decorate to your heart’s content. With spacious layouts and neutral hard floors throughout, it’s easy to add your own personal touches. Our central Manchester apartments are pet-friendly and boast luxury amenities such as on-site gyms, terraces, and 24-hour resident support. Browse all of our locations or contact Affinity Living today to find your new home!