Versatile decorating for frequent movers

For people who find themselves on the move a lot, making your house feel like a home can be a daunting experience. Whether you are in the military, a college student, or a business professional that transfers from location to location, having a comfortable home where you can relax is still important. To move often and still have some semblance of stability, you must be able to pull your home together quickly and easily. Here are some tips you can use to make your home comfortable as quickly and easily as possible.

Walls:

Distract: Chances are you will not want to paint for a short-term residence, and even if you are willing to paint, your property owner may forbid it. You can draw the attention away from bland or ugly walls by hanging tapestries, and lightweight paintings on canvas.

Coordinate: To make the walls match your furniture, paint large stretched canvases, each with a single color or simple pattern that matches your furnishings. You will want to stay away from any pictures framed with glass, as they will eventually break during a move. If you do not want to bother with moving a large canvas, you can hang fabric on the wall around your room to create your own removable backdrop.

Furniture:

Buy small-scaled items: That oversized sofa may be tempting and even fit into your current living space, but chances are, it will not fit into your next home.

Sectional: You can get that same comfortable cozy feeling found in larger items by purchasing sectional furniture. The pieces will be small enough for you to move into tight spaces. In addition, you will find it is just as comfortable as a sofa. Sectional pieces can be re-arranged depending upon the amount of space available in any dwelling.

Modular: Just as you would purchase sectional seating, you should also purchase modular entertainment centers and shelving units. They may be rearranged to fit into any floor plan and remain attractive.

Versatile: For very frequent movers, your furniture should double as moving containers. Every room should have a large cedar storage chest in which you can pack the contents of the room. These chests make great coffee tables, side tables, and benches. There are also other attractive options like leather, wicker, and bamboo. You should also purchase furniture items that may serve different uses at each location. In one home, a dresser can be used in the bedroom. In the next home, it can serve as your living room TV stand.

Be creative: Use your moving materials in your decor. Top your moving barrel with a tablecloth and a piece of glass to make a foyer table. Attractive fern trunks double as coffee tables. Long-term storage boxes can double as the base of any table or TV stand when camouflaged with fabric. A shoe chest can double as a bench and sturdy moving container for your shoes. Keep and display your small items in decorative boxes as well.

Windows:

Do not custom order: Avoid purchasing window treatments that are custom fit. It will be nearly impossible for the same custom treatments to fit into your next home.

Keep it simple: Purchase simple curtain panels in the widest width possible in case your next window is larger. As a window topper use sheer valence scarves that you can play around with to get different looks.

Multi use items: Sheets work well as an easy window treatment that can be reused differently in every residence. Be careful to purchase light colors, as dark and rich colors will fade from the sun. You can also make attractive window treatments from a length of fabric, a shawl, or even a chenille throw blanket.

Floors: Because the floors in your temporary living situation may also clash with your furnishings, you will want to have lightweight floor coverings that you can place on top of whatever flooring exists. Look for floor cloths, and rugs that you can launder or dry-clean. If you prefer a wood looking floor and your temporary house has an ugly carpet, you can cover it completely with sisal squares.

Other items: For a desk that you can easily assemble and disassemble, use two file cabinets and a glass or wood top. Dressers can be modular as well can come apart in two drawer sections eliminating the need to pack and unpack. They can also be rearranged to fit any new room configuration. Ottomans and storage benches can double as storage and moving boxes. Keep your clothes packed and accessible at the same time by using hanging organizers in your closet. When it is time to move, just zip the organizers, and your clothes are ready to go.