Whether you're a would-be buyer delaying purchase because of the credit crunch, or you've just moved into your first rental property, you will be desperate to make your new place feel like a home. But if you're stuck with bland beige walls and non-descript flat-pack furnishings, or worse still – bad taste décor, this may seem like a daunting task. Here are some fab ideas to help you customise your flat while still being able to recover your full deposit.

Living room

If you've inherited an ugly patterned sofa, use a throw to cover it up - the larger the better as then you can tuck it right in behind the cushions to make it look as fitted as possible.

If you're stuck with awful curtains, buy some cheap replacements in a plain colour from somewhere like Ikea and keep the old ones safely stowed in a plastic bag until the end of the lease. If you're handy with a sewing machine, you could try running up some simple tab-top curtains using old sheets, or adding a trim or braid to your existing curtains to jazz them up.

A large rug will personalise a living area and cover up a stained or unsightly carpet. Bare shelves will always make a place feel like temporary accommodation, so fill them up with books, vases, antiques and retro accessories from junk shops.

Kitchen and bathroom

You can make a big difference to a grotty bathroom by brightening up discoloured grouting using a whitener and the landlord is hardly likely to complain about such an improvement.

Buy a new bath mat, towels and replace the shower curtain if it looks old. Establish a colour scheme with these items and then buy candles and soaps in matching or complementary colours to decorate the bathroom shelves. Keep ugly toiletry bottles in the cabinet.

In the kitchen buy a table runner or cloth and place mats to dress the dining table. A vase of flowers will give the room a fresh and cared-for look. Get some good fake blooms if you can't afford to keep buying them fresh.

Rental properties are often equipped with mismatched crockery, so invest in your own dinner service for a more unified feel as these can be bought very cheaply at home stores and large supermarkets. The same applies to glasses and cutlery, as after all, these will come in useful when you come to buy your own home.

Bedroom

Decide on a colour scheme, whether complimentary or harmonious and use all the removable furnishings to encompass this. If you have an tacky headboard that you cannot live with, see whether you can unscrew it and do without. Alternatively, if it is padded, buy some trendy fabric to cover it and tape it down at the back using small tabs of gaffer tape or pins.

Just as with the living room, if you cannot stand the soft furnishings, hang new curtains over the old ones and and cover the carpet with a large rug.

To liven up the walls, you could get one of your photos printed on canvas from a shop like Photobox. Alternatively, turn your favourite photograph into a work of art by using photo-editing software such as Photoshop to create a painted look or turn it monochrome.

A large mirror will give the illusion of space in a small room. A statement bedside lamp with a flamboyant will instantly give the room a designer look, but if this is to be the centrepiece of the room then keep other furnishings relatively plain.

Rol.vn - Source: UKTV