The minute you hear the word “Manhattan,” images of luxurious, majestic, and spacious apartments or apartment complexes and townhouses pop into your head, isn’t it? And when the word “luxurious” is used, it automatically translates to unaffordability. Correct? Maybe. However, unlike the unrealistic ideas projected in magazines and TV soaps and movies like “Sex and the City,” Manhattanites will give you the real picture when they tell you that rental spaces and rents don’t match at all! Nonetheless, while rentals in the city may not be huge, they are fashionable. Is it your dream to rent a room in Manhattan? Not to worry, because there are many trusted portals to turn your dreams into reality!
Let’s assume that by a stroke of good luck, you’ve gotten an opportunity to move to Manhattan and have even found a rental space. You want to spruce it up so that it feels like you own it, but you have no idea how to go about it. You’ll have no reason to feel dejected when you implement the ideas and tips we share here. Let’s take a look at them.
Times Square, Manhattan. Source: Pixabay
- Create the illusion of space: As space is a constraint in Manhattan, it’s advisable to create a sense of space by using bright colors on walls and the furnishings. How? By using paintings, throw pillows, beautifully-patterned rugs, and curtains as well. Now that we’ve mentioned rugs here, let’s add here that you should select a variety of carpets of different patterns. At the same time, ensure that they are of the same color so that they blend beautifully from one room to another.
- Decorate your windows: If the room for rent in Manhattan has tall windows, use light-weight curtains, and make sure that the colors include pastel shades. But if they’re small, use long-length curtains that fall to the floor, giving it a tasteful and sophisticated look.
- Get some outdoor influence: Cities are often referred to as concrete jungles, and rightly so because you hardly get to see any greenery. Trees and plants are an integral part of nature and are very therapeutic. Needless to say, what we can’t experience outside, we can always make its presence felt inside our rental space. Residents of Manhattan also feel the need for more exposure to nature, both within and outside their homes. So, if you have a room for rent in Manhattan, make sure you get potted plants of different kinds. Not only do they add color, but they also soothe the mind and the eyes. Even if you don’t have green fingers, you can always go for cacti and succulents, which come with a deep green shade and don’t require too much water to survive.
- Lighting works wonders: Lights not only brighten up a room but also make it look bigger. In your room for rent in Manhattan, make sure you put up different types of lights, including direct and indirect. Indirect lights comprise recessed and torchiere floor lamps, while direct lights include task lighting and table lamps. Softer, yellow lights will add a warm and homey touch to your room rental, so you can put some of them up too.
- Use of furniture: It’s imperative to select the right kind of furniture based on the size of your room for rent in Manhattan. Of late, the Scandinavian style of furniture has come up in a big way and has positively impacted the rentals in the city. It’s a blend of modern and antique furniture, with neat lines. It’s not minimalistic (unlike popular opinion), neither is it over the top. If you’re a simple person at heart, Scandinavian is the way to go!
- Build your storage space up: When you move into your room for rent in Manhattan, you may be bringing a few things with you, but over time, you’ll be purchasing more stuff based on your interests, so you may end up requiring extra storage space. To make it work, you can install a floating shelf near the top of the ceiling that runs throughout the room’s entire boundary. Next, when you add books, showpieces, or frames, the effect will resemble crown molding. Finally, you’ll end up killing two birds with one stone: one, you’ll get extra space to store stuff, and two, you’ll enhance your room decor and beautify your rental space! Another wayt to create space is by adding a home elevator. Surprisingly, residential lift cost outweighs its benefits to the overall property value which can increase by 10%. Additionally, you only need a small space to built it (600mm x 600mm).
- Use large-scale pieces: Assuming that the room you rent in Manhattan will be less spacious as the rent you pay needs to match what you can afford, don’t set up the place with small pieces of furniture. It’s a common misconception that small areas require small furniture pieces. Instead, use large pieces of furniture to make the room look bigger than its real size. At the same time, make sure it’s about the quality and not about the quantity. In other words, select a few big pieces as opposed to multiple smaller ones for your rental.
- Choose double-duty pieces: In case you’re not familiar with what ‘double duty’ is, it’s any piece of furniture that serves a dual purpose. For instance, a sleeper sofa can be used both as a bed when you have a guest and as a sofa to sit on in the living room. Another example is the ottoman that can be used for three different purposes: a footstool, a seat, and a storage container. Fascinating, isn’t it? So, why not go ahead and try it out? Buy a few pieces of double-duty furniture and keep them in your rental space in Manhattan. Imagine the expenses you can save without having to buy one piece of furniture to serve each of your uses, from sleeping to eating to sitting to working!
So, are you stoked about getting a room for rent in Manhattan and decorating it using the excellent ideas shared here? Then, get moving and find your ideal room rental, and a roommate if you want to share the decorated space with someone!