Can a rented space feel like home?

Written by: Ivana Nady, Zen Interiors

Every international family knows the routine: the moving boxes arrive, the keys change hands, and suddenly you are standing in a house that doesn’t yet feel like yours. The thrill of a new beginning is often mixed with the unease of disorientation. How long will it take before this unfamiliar space feels like home?

I often think of Thich Nhat Hanh’s words: “Our true home is in the present moment.” Yet for many globally mobile families, the present moment looks like another relocation, unpacking suitcases, navigating a new rental, and trying to make sense of surroundings that feel foreign. You wake up grateful for the opportunity, yet quietly unsettled. The curtains don’t reflect your style, the floors sound different under your foot, and the walls seem to carry the echoes of someone else’s life.

This rhythm becomes familiar. Each new assignment brings a new country, a new school, and a new home. It’s tempting to hold back, to tell ourselves: ‘Once we go back home… once we buy a house…’ But while we wait for that elusive permanence, life is happening right here. Homework, family dinners, laughter, tears, milestones, all unfolding under this temporary roof.

But you don’t need a mortgage or a deed to a house to create a true sense of belonging. Home isn’t defined by ownership. Home begins with presence, with the way you and your family inhabit a space, even if it is temporarily.

YOU DON’T NEED OWNERSHIP TO BELONG

It’s a common misconception that buying a house secures belonging. Many families living in their forever homes still feel unsettled, restless, or disconnected. Equally, there are renters who move every two years yet manage to create spaces that feel deeply nourishing, supportive, and alive.

What makes the difference is understanding what home is to your family. It comes from arranging the furniture, so it reflects your family’s habits. Your children feeling safe to fall asleep in their new bedrooms. It’s about creating space for your family’s rituals, like Friday pizza night on the sofa or bedtime stories under the same lamp, that create continuity in a world of constant change. Your home should be shaped around your family rather than your family trying to fit between the walls.

FENG SHUI WISDOM FOR RENTED HOMES

In Feng Shui, the ownership is irrelevant, intention is everything.

Even in a space where you can’t paint walls or knock down the partitions, you can shape it by furniture placement, objects, choice of colors and materials. A family photo by the entrance signals to you ‘home’ every time you enter. A small plant on the dining table reminds you of growth, even in temporary soil. Positioning a bed with a solid headboard creates safety, an essential cue for deep rest.

These subtle cues send signals to your nervous system, reinforcing that you belong here, at least for now. And children are especially sensitive, the way their home feels can directly influence their sense of stability in a new school and culture.

RENTED SPACES REFLECT YOU, SO SHAPE THE STORY

Every home is a mirror. It reflects your inner state, your values, and your energy back to you. If the space is cluttered and chaotic, family life can feel the same. If it’s too bare, white walls, unpacked boxes, nothing personal, it can send a message of impermanence, which may echo as restlessness in your children. 

That doesn’t mean you need a big investment for decor. It means making small, deliberate choices that align your home with the story you want to live. Ask yourself: Does this space reflect who we are as a family? Does it support the habits of our daily life? If not, what can you shift, even in small ways?

HOW TO TURN A RENTAL INTO A HOME

Here are practical, simple steps to create belonging in any rented home:

Create zones that ground everyone.

Boundaries matter and if the floor layout doesn’t fit to your family’s habits, use rugs, screens, or furniture placement to divide areas into zones for sleep, work, and play. Kids thrive when their environment prescribes to them: this is where we focus, this is where we rest. Adults do too.

Anchor your space with meaning.

Let each family member choose one or two objects that represent a home for them; a favourite blanket, a travel souvenir, or a favourite framed photo. Place these objects prominently, not hidden away. They act as anchors, reminding everyone that wherever you are, you belong together.

Welcome energy at the entry.

The doorway is your transition point, the threshold between the outside world and a family life. Often it’s decorated for functionality: a shoe rack, coat hangers. Bring some warmth to it and you will relax as soon as you step over the threshold. A small rug, a lamp, and a plant at the entrance sets the tone. Every time you walk in, it tells your nervous system: We are home.

Tweak without permanence.

Landlords may forbid repainting or drilling holes, but you still have options. Use removable hooks or removable adhesive tapes for artwork, layer textiles over generic furniture, swap harsh lighting for warm lamps, and bring in plants to soften the atmosphere. If you feel it still isn’t enough, use removable self-adhesive wallpapers, they are back in fashion. Think of it as temporary personalization.

Let the space evolve.

Don’t put pressure on yourself to finish the house immediately. A home is a living system, it grows with you. Rotate artwork, change up cushions, and involve your children in evolving their rooms as they settle in. Flexibility is a strength.

Carry rituals with you.

One of the most stabilizing influences for mobile families are the rituals that travel with you. Playing board games together, having pancakes with favourite toppings every Saturday, or celebrating birthdays with the same decorations, these are habits that keep family strong across countries and houses.

YOUR HOME IS IN THE PRESENT MOMENT

Even if you know you will pack up again in two years, now matters. Your children will remember how their bedroom felt, not the details of the lease. They will remember the meals you shared, the warmth you created, the way you made a rented apartment into a home.

Home is about claiming your space, right now, with intention and love. So hang the artwork, light the candle, invite your kids to help, and let your home reflect the family you are, wherever in the world you may be.