The Rental Edit

Lachy's Bedroom
Rental tips for design lovers

We are back for another installment of our Rental Edit series. This time we are super excited to show you my son's Lachy's bedroom.

Natty and I have transformed our kid's rooms many times over (fun fact - it was over one of these transformations that the idea for norsu was born!), and without question, children's spaces are still one of our favourite to design and bring to life. There's something truly magical about designing a space that evokes your child's own personality, especially given it's one area of the home where you can get super creative and have some fun! But as our children are growing and evolving at such a pace, it's hard to keep up with clothing that fits, let alone artwork and room decor!

Lachy has just turned 11, and let's be honest - styling tween spaces are particularly challenging! Our little people are growing out of their junior spaces, but are not quite ready for an adult styled space. Add into the mix the fact that they're also growing 'opinions' of their own about how they'd like their room to look, and it suddenly adds a whole new layer of complications...

We are lucky enough to have another dedicated area in this home for Lachy to lounge in, spend time with friends, study and play video games - so when it came to designing his bedroom, it was all about creating a cosy environment to wind-down in at the end of the day.

Basketball and skateboarding loving Lachy worked closely with Georgia from our norsuHOME design team to plan the perfect tween bedroom to suit his style. It's a compact room, but we've managed to pack a punch using his walls as the main focal point. The result is a fun and age appropriate space with a level of sophistication that is sure to carry him through the next few years.
We are super excited to share this space, along with the hacks we have used in our funnest transformation so far. Enjoy!

Big love, Kristy xx

This week we are covering:
- Creative ways to add personality to blank walls
- Extending the lifespan of your art and frames

CHALLENGE
Adding personality to blank walls
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Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects to renting that we hear on the daily is decorating walls. Many feel the limitations to hanging artwork without adding a permanent wall fixing, which often leads to permanent blank and boring walls. What would you say if I told you that not a single permanent fixing was used in this space? Hard to believe isn't it?

Our top tips for decorating your walls without a hammer or drill:

Firstly, think of the WEIGHT OF YOUR ARTWORK. You have seen in our previous instalments that we selected lightweight stretched canvas art in the living room and my bedroom, and in Lachy's room we have used smaller and lightweight frames with a perspex front instead of glass. These are both the perfect rental friendly options because they can be fixed to your wall with removable adhesive strips. Our go-tos are the Command 3M velcro Picture Hanging Strips, as they can be adjusted if you don't get an even hang on the first go. Just make sure you follow the instructions and use the appropriate weight recommended sized strips to avoid your art falling and damaging. Hot tip - always use a few extra strips for good measure. ;)

Without question, the thing that's made the biggest impact in this space is the REMOVABLE WALLPAPER from Pickawall. This product is relatively new for us, but it's an absolute winner, and was so simple to install!! Without being able to permanently paint a half-wall in here, we've opted for a custom wallpaper print in a Dulux colour (Roland, if you're wondering), and wow, it sure delivered the look we were going for. It fixes beautifully to the wall, and can easily peel off when you no longer need it without damaging the paint underneath. It's so versatile in fact, that it can also be peeled off and reused in another room (or home) down the track. If a half wall is not your thing, some other great options could be a feature panelled wall, or smaller decals such as an arch bedhead, or an artwork design - Pickawall have some great options from some of our fave artists such as Megan Hess and Dom Gauci. You must check them out!

Another way to add personality is USING EVERYDAY OBJECTS AS WALL ART. The original source of inspiration for Lachy's room was the aqua skateboard deck, with all items having a subtle connection to this piece. We've mounted it using an innovative product called Deck Dock, which again uses removable adhesive wall strips, and was super simple to use. The result is a stylish look that adds interest and has put a designer twist on this space.

And finally, one of the easiest ways to decorate your walls in a rental is to LEAN YOUR ART. If you've got a large piece that gives you anxiety at the mere thought of hanging it - simply lean it against the wall. This also works well with objects such as floor mirrors - like the huge arch one in my bedroom. For smaller art pieces, think about higher surfaces that you can use to lean on, such as on top of a sideboard or console to keep them at eye level.

CHALLENGE
Challenge: Extending the lifespan of art and frames (especially for kids)
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There's no denying this a tough one, especially as our children's stages and interests are changing constantly. But, trust us, it's not entirely impossible...

If you belong in the 'invest well, and only once' camp, our biggest tip would be to SELECT QUALITY ARTWORK THAT WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH PHASES. Choosing a hero piece that will carry their room through multiple iterations is a fantastic way to get longevity from artwork. We engaged an incredible Melbourne artist Dom Gauci to create a piece for Lachy that falls into this category perfectly. The 'Sour Power' Warhead inspired artwork could look right at home in a nursery, all the way up to a teenage retreat (and if I'm being honest, I could totally see this in an adult's room too). We are beyond excited to welcome this new piece and a couple of others to our norsu collection, and have a sneaking suspicion they may have some more friends join then in the not too distant future *wink wink* - stay tuned for more. Vintage posters are another great example of suitable art to carry your child's room from birth all the way through... Sammy from Vintage Posters on High Street is the best if you're in the market for one!

If changing things up in a cost effective way is more your style, then you can't look past AFFORDABLE ART PRINTS. This style of art has been at the heart of norsu since the very beginning, and is something we've always been passionate about. For Lachy's room, we've also selected several standard sized photographic and graphic art prints in pre-made frames that can be reused whenever you're in the mood to replace your art prints. Just make sure you choose art that fits your existing frames, and you'll be set! Shop our range of affordable artwork here.

Shop Affordable Art Shop Affordable Art

Thanks again for following this journey. I hope we've transformed the way you think about your wall art, and not just for the little ones! If you have any topics of interest you'd like covered, or feedback on how you've implemented these hacks at home, please drop us an email here, or reach out on Instagram..we'd love to hear from you. xx