TOP 5: Decorating Tips for Landlords on a Budget! | Decorating Centre Online

TOP 5: Decorating Tips for Landlords on a Budget! 

Decorating your own home in your own style with your own colour scheme is such a wonderful way of putting your own stamp on your own space. However, if you are a landlord, decorating your properties can be a very different adventure!

With most home renovation decoration projects, you can be creative and individual, however, a rental property usually requires a level of objectivity, where a potential renter can look at the bare bones of your property and see themselves living there.

It is also essential that your neutral decor is hardwearing and durable because not only do you want to have to redecorate while your renter is inside the property, but it can also be quite a task to get the property back up to standard after your renter has left too.

This means that not only must your rental property be neutral and decorated correctly but it must also be as durable and strong as possible as well as being cost-effective too.

Although this may seem like an impossible balancing act, decorating your rental properties in the correct way can be the difference between an easily rented property and one which sits idle with no occupier for quite a significant amount of time. 

1. Choose the correct paint finish for the right job! (Hard wearing matt OR Acrylic eggshell!)
2. Touch up, rather than replace, kitchen cupboards (Sand, prime and then paint!)
3. Painting tiles instead of replacing them! (Prime and paint!)
4. Using the right paint for bathrooms! (Acrylic eggshell or Colour Match Perma-white)
5. Paint your front/garage doors! (Using AllCoat!)

To help you, there is a list of DCO’s Top 5 Tips for decorating your rental property for landlords:

1. Choose the correct paint finish for the right job!

Choosing the right paint for the right job is the difference between the decorating lasting for a long period of time, or the paint chipping off quickly and becoming a nuisance to not only yourself but also the people renting the property from you too!

One of the best ways to ensure that your paint will last a long time, without wearing away quickly is to purchase a hardwearing paint, rather than a ‘normal’ emulsion.

For example, painting your property with a hard-wearing matt paint, rather than a matt paint, will not only ensure that you get the correct coverage for your rental property, but this paint finish is also very durable too. 

Hardwearing matt is a paint finish which is designed to withstand high-traffic areas as well as areas which accrue a lot of dirt and debris from everyday living. This means that this strong paint finish is scrubbable and can be used in kitchens as well as on wood such as your trim or even bannisters too.

This brilliant paint finish is both washable and scrubbable as well as being both stain and moisture resistant too. This means that this type of paint finish is ideal for high traffic areas which will result in marks or scuffs to the walls, and therefore will require regular cleaning to keep your walls looking fresh and new.

However, there is also another hardwearing paint finish which you can use too. This is acrylic eggshell which is a great paint finish for areas which may need scrubbing and also has a slight bit of s sheen to it- unlike the hardwearing matt paint- which means that it can also reflect a bit of light and make the spaces seem newer than they perhaps are.

This brilliant paint finish is perfect for use in kitchens and bathrooms too as it is a paint finish which is also moisture-resistant and can be scrubbed too. This paint finish is perfect if you want to clean the walls of your rental property rather than taking the laborious task of painting them all over again.

By choosing durable paint finishes like the ones detailed above, as a landlord, you can save yourself money in the long run by choosing paints which will last and won’t need as much touching up as a more sensitive paint finish such as a matt or satin. 

Decorating Centre Online- Colour Match Paint from £13.99

2. Touch up, rather than replace, kitchen cupboards

Through no fault of your renters, the kitchen cupboards in your rented property are usually, the first items to show signs of general everyday wear and tear. Unfortunately, they are also one of the most important places in your rental property to keep looking fresh and clean as a result of the room in which they are positioned.

Replacing all the cupboards in your rental property can not only be very time consuming, but it can also be very costly too! Replacing all the kitchen cupboards will be a long process of ripping out the old cupboards and hiring a professional to replace them as well as paying for brand new kitchen cupboards too.

However, this time-consuming and costly task can be easily avoided by simply painting your kitchen cupboards which not only makes them look much better than they previously did but will also help to protect the wood from any everyday accidents and spillages which often occur in kitchen spaces.

Depending on the material which the kitchen cupboard is made from depends on what preparation will be needed to paint them.
Below is a quick and every general step-by-step guide on how to paint kitchen cupboards in a cheap and durable manner- if you need a more detailed step-by-step guide, please check out the blog post ‘How to Paint Kitchen Cupboards and Kitchen Tiles (FEATURING MRS MELDRUM) | Decorating Centre Online’ for some handy tips & Tricks! 

Decorating Centre Online- Zinsser B-I-N Interior & Spot Exterior Primer-Sealer Stain Killer 1L £21.49

How to Paint Kitchen Cupboards:

Step 1: Sand and Fill in any imperfections.

In general, wooden kitchen cupboards will need a light sand and filling wherever there are holes or imperfections in the wood of the cupboards before priming and even painting the cupboards.

Step 2: Prime your kitchen cupboards with an appropriate primer

After this step, it is essential that you prime your kitchen cupboards before even thinking about painting them. Different primers are used for different materials, however, for this quick step-by-step guide, you should use Zinsser’s B-I-N primer for your wooden kitchen surfaces.

Primers create a friction layer for you paint to stick to which will not only create a smoother and generally better-looking finish, but it will also make your kitchen cupboard’s paint last longer as a result of creating a friction layer which the paint will be less likely to chip and flake off of.

This means that investing in a good primer for your kitchen cupboards is essential in your rental property’s renovation as it will save you time, effort and most of all money in the long run.

Step 3: Paint your kitchen cupboards!

This is the best- and final- part of painting your rental property’s kitchen cupboards.

You can choose any neutral colour for your kitchen cupboards, something like a white, grey or greige would work perfectly for a rental property.

However, the paint finish must again be hardwearing and durable, not only as a result of the cupboards being in a kitchen, but also as a result of excessive everyday wear and tear that kitchen cupboards often get. 

The two different paint finishes that DCO recommend are the same as the ones detailed above:

Acrylic Eggshell paint finish: This paint finish is water-based- unlike its Eggshell counterpart- and therefore has a quick-drying time.

It is a very hard-wearing finish which is one of the best paint finishes for spaces which require extra cleaning and a stronger paint finish too!

This paint finish has a slight sheen to it which allows for the paint to be easily wiped down! This is the perfect paint finish which you will need to scrub your paint down and can withstand knocks, scrapes, and other high traffic incident areas, perfect for kitchen cupboards!

Hard-wearing Matt paint finish: This paint finish is very durable, and just does what it says on the tin really! It is a matt finish paint which is extremely durable and can be cleaned much easier than the matt finish!

It is both a washable and scrubbable finish which is stain and moisture resistant, making it the perfect finish for kitchen cupboards!

This paint finish is perfect for high traffic areas such as kitchens, which require regular cleaning for them to keep on looking as fresh and new as the day you painted them!

Decorating Centre Online- Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Interior & Exterior Primer-Sealer Stain Killer 500ml £8.25 

3. Painting tiles instead of replacing them!

Much like your rental property’s kitchen cupboards, painting your rental property’s tiles instead of replacing them can be a very inexpensive and quick way of making your space look cleaner, neater and generally better than it previously did- especially if the tiles which are in your property are particularly bold, bright or just a general eyesore which could potentially impede any potential renters from renting the property from you.

Painting tiles is also a very easy process too! Just like painting your kitchen cupboards as featured above, you can easily follow the step-by-step guide below or you can head on over to our other blog post ‘How to Paint Kitchen Cupboards and Kitchen Tiles (FEATURING MRS MELDRUM) | Decorating Centre Online’ for some handy tips & Tricks!

How to Paint Tiles:

Step 1: Fix anything that needs fixing!

The first thing that you must do before you begin priming and painting your tiles is fix any tiles which need fixing. Obviously, if there are more tiles which need fixing than ones which don’t, its probably best to replace all the tiles, rather than painting them.

However, if you have a couple of slightly cracked tiles, filling them and then sanding down the filled areas is a great way of making your tiles last much longer than they originally will.

The cracks in the tiles won’t even be visible after you have painted them- so long as you have done a good job of filling and repairing the tiles and sanding it down to it being as smooth as possible. 

Step 2: Prime, prime, prime!

The only way that you will ensure that your paint will stick to your tiles is by using a high friction-creating primer underneath your top layer of paint before painting them.

The very best primer for this is Zinsser’s Bulls Eye 1-2-3 as this primer is specifically designed to help adhere paint to tiles and creates a very high friction surface of a wide variety of paint finishes to stick to.

Step 3: Paint your tiles!

When you are about to paint your tiles, make sure you are using a small mohair roller to apply the paint as this will give the smoothest and most consistent paint finish!

The best paint finish to use on your rental property’s tiles is acrylic eggshell- as detailed above- as it is moisture resistant and very durable too!

You can also use a self-priming Colour Match Paint called Zinsser’s AllCoat on your tiles too as this paint is designed for interior as well as exterior use and is a very durable and strong paint which will last many years. 

Decorating Centre Online- Colour Match Paint Perma-White Interior Paint from £21.99

4. Using the right paint for bathrooms!

There are a couple different paint finishes which you can use for your rental properties such as acrylic eggshell or even our perma-white paint!

Able to be colour matched into any colour which you are after- although I would suggest sticking with neutrals and greys- and is perfect for bathrooms.

Not only can you save time and money on decorators as this paint is a self-primer which means that you will not have to primer your walls before painting them.

This paint is also moisture and mould resistant as well as being perfectly scrubbable, peel resistant and blister resistant too. 

This paint is perfect for bathrooms, especially ones which have little to no ventilation and are often subject to mould and other sources of damp too. 

Decorating Centre Online- Silver Wallpaper Collection from £9.99 per roll

5. Paint your front/garage doors!
First impressions always count, so why would it be any different with your rental properties? 

If your property’s front door or even the garage door is old, rusty and lacking care and effort, it could impede anyone renting from you- after all, the doors are an extension of the property too!

It is very easy to paint your front/garage doors with the help of our Colour Match Zinsser’s AllCoat- detailed above- which is a self-priming paint as doesn’t need a primer underneath- however, this does depend on the material that the AllCoat is being painted on top of. 

You can also purchase a Front Door and Garage Door All Coat Bundle which will make the painting not only cheaper, but less time-consuming and easier too!
This fantastic bundle includes a Colour Match tin of All Coat in your chosen size, a brush, dust sheets, Zinsser Universal Degreaser and Cleaner and a roll of low tac Deltec Tape - everything you need to paint a front door or garage door! 

Decorating Centre Online- Front Door and Garage Door All Coat Bundle from £34.99

If you need a more detailed step-by-step guide on how to paint the front/garage doors on your property, you can check out the blog ‘How do I Paint Exterior Doors? | Decorating Centre Online’ for a detailed step-by-step guide!

Whatever colours you decide to paint your property in, we can colour match big name brands for a fraction of the price in interior and exterior paint finishes too!