There are a lot of perks to living on base or renting a house, but it definitely has it’s drawbacks too. Especially if you are as obsessed with DIY and home renovation as I am.
As much as I want to do a complete make-over on every single house that we move into, it’s just not feasible. Since we move around so much, we live on base or find a rental instead of buying a house. And it doesn’t make sense to invest in a house that doesn’t belong to us. Not to mention the fact that military housing/landlords won’t let us change or renovate anything anyway.
So, over the past 11 years, I have searched for ways to decorate our base housing and rentals to make each of our 6 houses feel like home.
7 Tips to Decorate Base Housing & Make It Feel Like Home
Gallery Walls
You can even buy a boho-inspired gallery wall kit or this perfectly square black and white set from Amazon for less than $40.
One of the first projects I did when we first moved into our little apartment in Tacoma, Washington was put together a gallery wall. We had a big empty wall in our dining room that desperately needed something, but we didn’t have the money to go out and buy a big piece of art/decor.
I put together a photo gallery wall with a mix of our wedding pictures and Lainey’s newborn pictures using cheap Wal-Mart black pictures frames. And I loved it so much that I ended up hanging it in the next 3 houses!
(I hung this little gallery wall in the playroom for the girls’ art work.) 
(This boho gallery wall uses more than just pictures.) 
(Forgive my terrible 2012 cell phone photo, but this was the gallery wall that hung in our first apartment.) 
(This nature-inspired gallery wall is perfect for travel landscape photos.)
Big Pieces of Art or Big Mirrors
When we moved into our house on Fort Polk, there were 2 large walls that were still empty after we finished hanging everything we had. The cheapest and easiest way to fill them was with one large item instead of another gallery wall.
We ended up using a large mirror that I found on sale for one of them and a black and white photo in an old window for the other. Years later we still use those large pieces to fill those big blank walls.
If you can’t afford large pieces, there are plenty of tutorials on Pinterest for large DIY wall art, from abstract painting ideas to macramé yarn hangings – something for every style and budget.
(There are plenty of pins for abstract art that you can make yourself or for purchase.) 
(You can learn how to make these dyed yarn hangings or purchase from a small business.) 
(I think everyone has swooned over the Anthropologie mirror or its dupes at some point.) 
(I made that wooden mosaic to help fill the space in our current rental.)
Furniture That You LOVE
When you decorate base housing, buy, make, or refurbish furniture that you LOVE!
This is probably the BEST tip I can give you. And one that I have taken to heart the past 11 years after we started this crazy military journey.
Since we can’t invest our time, efforts, or money into renovating the houses that we move into, instead we invest in our furniture. These are things that will last us a lifetime. Most of the pieces that we refurbished will come with us to our forever home, so we don’t mind putting time and money into this little hobby of ours.
(This natural wood sofa table from World Market is on my wish list!) 
(This antique hardware cabinet will house my small craft supplies for years to come.) 
(A big comfy sectional is also on my wish list!) 
(This refurbished bed will definitely last for years.)
Decorate Base Housing with Lamps
Rental houses and base housing typically uses the cheapest supplies and building materials possible. That means the cheapest light fixtures, which can result in poor lighting throughout the house.
If you’re not into a dark and shadowy interior, the answer could be a few strategically placed lamps to help brighten things up.
(What a beautiful way to repurpose old books.) 
(Floor lamps are great for rooms that don’t have enough light!) 
(You can find a unique lamp for every style.) 
(We found a pair of these lamps for our nightstands while we were stationed at Fort Bragg.)
Buy All the Plants
Plant-filled shelves and entire rooms have taken the home decor world by storm. They are a huge part of the boho trend that is so popular right now. And I am totally on board!
Plants are also a fairly cheap way to decorate base housing. You pretty much can’t go wrong with a beautiful green plant. And there are several varieties that are easy to care for and thrive even in low light.
(I’m still arranging and re-arranging this huge built-in bookshelf in our living room.) 
(One day, I hope to be able to take plant shelfies like this one!) 
(These were some of the first plants I bought for my shelf!) 
(This is plant lady goalsss!)
Removable Wall Paper
Removable wall paper is one extremely impactful way to decorate base housing or rental house. It comes down without a trace and can bring a lot of color and interest to your most boring walls.
Sadly, this is the only tip that I haven’t tried yet! But I do plan to try it soon! I actually have 2 projects that I’m considering using removable wall paper for. I’ll definitely post the results here on the blog when I do.
(Put a bold color/pattern in your bedroom!) 
(I wish I had known about this when my girls were babies!) 
(Adding removable wall paper to your bathroom has a huge impact!) 
(Removable wall paper could transform your entryway!)
Use Books to Decorate Base Housing
Another way to decorate base housing or rental houses using something that you already own is to use your books as decor.
Take a trick from the DIY Edit and arrange them in a rainbow or do like all of the shows on HGTV and turn them backwards so that only the pages show. There are all kinds of interesting bookshelves on Pinterest if you’re looking for something different or a DIY project.
There are endless ways to use books as decor and bookshelves are one of my favorite things to decorate.
(Turning your books backwards creates a whole new look!) 
(Mix books and plants like Joanna Gaines for a Magnolia inspired look.) 
(These rainbow bookshelves are one of my favorite things!) 
(This home library is what dreams are made of!)
Decorating all of our different homes has been one of the most enjoyable parts of military life for me.
It’s not always easy to decorate base housing or rentals houses, but you can always make them feel like home!
