When you spend a lot of time traveling for work, you may find yourself living out of hotel rooms or short term rental apartments that never quite feel like home. Since your stay is short-term, you’re limited in what you can bring and the kinds of changes you can make to the rental space. Luckily, there are several easy ways to make short term apartments for rent feel more like your own personalized living space without jeopardizing your security deposit.
Welcome to our guide on transforming short term rental apartments for rent into cozy, inviting havens that truly feel like home. Whether you’re on a short-term corporate assignment, relocated temporarily for school, or have found yourself misplaced from your home for some other reason, our short-term housing experts have gathered seven simple yet effective strategies to infuse warmth and personal touches into your short-term rental spaces.
#1 – Personalize the Space
When staying in short term rental apartments, it’s common to feel like you’re in an unknown or unfamiliar environment. To combat this, consider personalizing the space with items that hold sentimental value. We encourage you to bring along items that will help you feel comfortable in your temporary space, such as your go-to items you reach for each and every day.
Surround Yourself with Familiar Items
Bringing along framed photos, artwork, or small decorative items can instantly transform the rental into a more welcoming and comfortable place. Photographs of loved ones, cherished mementos, or even a few potted plants can inject a sense of familiarity and warmth into the space.
By surrounding yourself with these personal touches, you not only create a connection to short-term apartments for rent but also a link to your own life outside of it. These small reminders of home can provide comfort, reduce homesickness, and help you settle into your temporary abode a bit more easily.
#2 – Add Soft Furnishings to Short Term Rental Apartments
To make short term rental apartments for rent feel more like your own comfort space, consider packing some soft furnishings to add to the existing ones in the space. Items like your own pillows, blankets, and throws can not only enhance comfort but also infuse your personal style into the space.
Make Your Living Space Comfortable
These soft furnishings can serve both functional and decorative purposes. They provide extra comfort for lounging on the couch or curling up in bed, making your stay more enjoyable. Additionally, they can add pops of color, patterns, or textures that reflect your taste and personality.
Enhance the Existing Furnishing with a Personal Touch
Whether it’s a cozy fleece blanket, a few decorative throw pillows, or your favorite quilt, these items can help you create a warm and inviting atmosphere. You can drape a throw blanket over the back of a sofa, arrange decorative pillows on the bed, or even use a colorful throw rug to define a seating area.
#3 – Enhance the Mood with Sight and Smell
Creating a homely atmosphere in short-term apartments for rent involves engaging multiple senses. Scent and lighting play crucial roles in establishing a cozy ambiance. To that end, opt for your favorite incense or candle. You can bring along ones you already own or pop out to a local store and shop around for a brand new scent that speaks to you. After all, getting to know the community in which you temporarily live is essential.
Target Positive Memories with Scent
The sense of smell is powerful and closely linked to memory and emotions. To make fully furnished apartments for rent feel like home, consider using scented candles, diffusers, or room sprays. You can choose scents that remind you of your own home, whether it’s the comforting aroma of freshly baked cookies, a soothing lavender scent, a refreshing citrus fragrance, or something that emanates the warmth of a fireplace or the seasonality of a pine tree. Just be sure to follow safety guidelines when using open flames or diffusers.
Create Ambiance with Lighting
In addition to scent, lighting can transform the mood of a space. Most short-term apartments for rent have functional overhead lighting, but it may not create the warm and inviting atmosphere you desire. To enhance the lighting, bring along string lights, table lamps, or floor lamps. These additional light sources can provide softer, more ambient illumination.
String lights can be hung along walls or draped across windows, creating a whimsical and cozy feel. Table lamps and floor lamps can be strategically placed to create pools of light in specific areas, such as near reading nooks or seating areas. Consider using warm-colored bulbs or even smart bulbs that allow you to adjust the color temperature to suit your preference.
#4 – How to Cook in Short Term Rental Apartments
One of the joys of being at home is the ability to cook your favorite meals in your own kitchen. When staying in short-term apartment rentals, you can recreate this sense of home by taking advantage of the provided kitchen facilities.
Bring Quality Ingredients You Love
Start by visiting a local grocery store to stock up on your preferred ingredients. Whether it’s breakfast staples, your favorite snacks, or ingredients for a special dinner, having a well-stocked kitchen can make your stay more enjoyable. To enhance your cooking experience, consider bringing along your own spices and condiments. These small additions can transform a basic meal into something more flavorful and personal. A pinch of your favorite spice blend or a drizzle of your go-to sauce can make all the difference.
Set the Table
In addition to cooking, dining in can be a more intimate and home-like experience. Set the table with your own placemats, dishes, and utensils. Enjoy your meals at a leisurely pace, just as you would at home. While enjoying your culinary creations, take the opportunity to savor the moment and appreciate the comfort of having a home-cooked meal, even if it’s in a temporary living space.
#5 – Organize Your Belongings
Organization plays a significant role in making fully furnished apartments for rent feel like home. When you first arrive, it’s tempting to leave your belongings in your suitcase, but taking the time to unpack and organize can greatly improve your comfort and sense of belonging.
Utilize Storage Spaces
Start by using the provided storage spaces effectively. Most short term rental apartments for rent come equipped with closets, dressers, and shelves. Use these spaces to stow away your clothing, shoes, and personal items. Hanging up your clothes and neatly folding your belongings can make the space feel less cluttered and more inviting.
Bring Your Own Storage Bins
Consider using packing cubes or storage bins to keep your items organized within the drawers and shelves. This makes it easier to find what you need and prevents your belongings from becoming disheveled during your stay.
#6 – Use Fully-Furnished Spaces to Your Advantage
While you may not have the option to replace or modify the furniture in short term rental apartments, you can still make it more comfortable and suitable for your needs.
Rearrange Furniture
Start by arranging the existing furniture in a way that maximizes comfort and functionality. Move chairs and tables to create cozy conversation areas or reading nooks. If the rental has a dining table, consider using it as a workspace if needed. Furthermore, you can invest in a screen or room divider to separate different sections to reflect your own hobbies and lifestyle.
Request Furniture from Management 
Some fully furnished short term rental apartments may have the flexibility to provide extra furniture or amenities upon request. Contact the host or property management to inquire about any available options. They may have spare chairs, cushions, or even an air mattress that can be added to the space temporarily to better suit your needs. Additionally, they may have items like coffee machines, televisions, or lighting accessories or know of budget-friendly, local places where you can purchase items to enhance your time living in the space.
#7 – Stay Connected
In today’s digital age, staying connected to the world outside your temporary abode is essential for making short-term apartments for rent feel like home. Bringing along your own devices and setting up a comfortable tech environment can greatly enhance your stay.
Bring and Connect to Tech from Home
Consider packing your laptop, tablet, or e-reader for work and leisure activities. These devices allow you to stay connected with work, friends, and family, just as you would at home.
If you enjoy streaming movies, TV shows, or music, set up your own streaming services on the rental’s TV if available. Most short-term rentals come equipped with smart TVs or streaming devices like Roku or Apple TV. Logging into your own accounts allows you to access your favorite content and enjoy it on a larger screen.
Let Music Ease Your Mind
To make your tech setup even more comfortable, bring along a portable speaker for music or podcasts. You can also pack your own chargers and cables to ensure you have everything you need to stay powered up and connected throughout your stay. Additionally, bringing a small record player and a few favorite vinyls from home so you can kick back and relax in short term rental apartments with something familiar. This is always a great way to put your mind at ease at the end of a busy day away from your permanent home, all while making your temporary housing feel like your own space.
Make Temporary Housing Feel More Like Home with Corporate Accommodations
At Corporate Accommodations, we strive to help you feel more comfortable when you’re away from home. Bring your own items and enhancements to our fully-furnished apartments for rent and enjoy your time away from home more than you ever thought possible.
Whether you are in need of relocation housing, student housing, military housing, or individual and family housing options for any other purpose, our short-term housing professionals are here to help you find the perfect short term apartments for rent.
Call us today at 336-299-1312 or fill out the contact form below to get started.