Can a Rented Space Feel Like Home?

By Ivana Nady

“Our true home is in the present moment. The miracle is not to walk on water.The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment.”— Thich Nhat Hanh

The warm ray of the summer sun wakes you up in the morning. You open your eyes and still half-asleep you appreciate the moment. But only for a split second, before the thought I hate those curtains enters your consciousness.

Every morning you wake up in a space that you tolerate, that isn’t legally yours, and this is the story that you keep telling every time you think about improving your it. I’m renting, what is the point in investing into space that isn’t mine!The floors carry someone else’s choice, you don’t like the tiles that you walk on every day. The walls have seen other lives and better days. And while you may have added a few plants, a beautiful throw, a candle or two, there’s still a quiet question that lingers:

Can this space ever truly feel like home?

You might be holding your breath, waiting. Waiting until you buy something. Waiting until you feel settled. Waiting for a sense of "real" belonging to finally arrive.

But here’s a thought:While you are waiting for a permanent home, your life is permanently slipping away. What if the home isn’t the problem - it’s the permission to ground yourself?

The Myth of Ownership

We’re taught to equate ownership with security, meaning, and identity. Once we own a home, we’ll finally “arrive.” We’ll invest, personalize, and allow ourselves to relax. We need to earn money first so we can buy and then invest into making it perfect…. And that’s when it will finally feel like a home.

But I’ve spoken with people in million-euro villas who feel disconnected and restless.And I’ve also walked into half-destructed modest homes that radiate soul, warmth, and security of a family home. Because ownership doesn’t guarantee belonging, and renting doesn’t mean disconnection. Belonging begins with presence, a rented space can still be a sacred space, if you allow it to be.

When we return to the moment fully, consciously, we begin to realize:Your true home isn’t a legal deed or a mortgage approval, it’s your relationship with space, self, and stillness - right now, right here.

Feng Shui Wisdom: Energy Knows No Contract

In Feng Shui, we don’t ask whether you rent or own, the energy doesn’t care.

Chi flows wherever intention goes. Your presence, your choices, your placement of objects - they all tell the space what kind of life you’re ready to live. You may not be able to knock down a wall or remodel the kitchen, but you CAN shift the energy.You can create a layout that supports your flow, you can choose to place something meaningful by your entrance and let that be the story your life begins with each day.

Your space begins to hold you the moment you begin to hold it, not just physically, but energetically.

Design as a Mirror

Every space reflects something, even the details you didn’t choose.

Recently I saw a photo of a scary looking, deep-water creature with a caption: Adapted to high pressure and dark environment. It was a funny meme, but it spoke volumes, because we indeed adapt to the environment. We can thrive or we can shrink and harden. And regardless of the ownership, decision is yours.

So pause for a moment and ask:What does this place currently say about me?Is it a reflection of a person I’m becoming, or the one I’ve outgrown?

Does the clutter by the door reflect my overwhelm?Do bare white walls mirror the way I’ve been postponing self-expression?Does the outdated furniture echo a part of me that still feels temporary and holding on to the past?

Design is never neutral, it’s always telling a story. And when you shift the story in your space, something shifts inside you, too. You don’t need to wait for ownership to feel anchored. You just need to begin showing up for your space as though it matters. Because it does.

How to Claim a Rented Space as Your Inner Home

So how do you begin to transform a space that isn’t legally yours into a sanctuary that deeply supports you?

Understand what you really need in your home, how you use the space. What areas are important to you and what areas you consider as private. Here are some practices that may help you:

1. Create Energetic Boundaries

Even if you can’t physically remodel, you can still define zones with intention.Use rugs, screens, curtains, or plants to carve out areas of purpose - work, rest, creativity.This helps your nervous system feel safe and grounded. Keep your bedroom as a place of relaxation so you teach your body its time to relax when you go to sleep. If you are working from home, like me, don’t work in the same spot where you relax as your body will never truly disconnect from work.

2. Place Symbolic Anchors

Choose objects that hold meaning: a photo, a sculpture, a stone from a place you love.These become visual affirmations of who you are and what you’re calling in. Its important to bring into your space the object that hold a meaning to you, it can be a small token that holds a big meaning to you.

3. Honor the Entrance

In Feng Shui, the entrance is the “mouth of chi”- the point where energy enters your life.No matter how simple or small, treat it with love. Clear the area, add light, and place something that welcomes you home. You can add a scent in that area so you signal your brain that you are at home as soon as you enter. This will also help you recreate the feeling when you relocate.

4. Clear What You Don’t like

Rented spaces often come with leftover energy - furniture, fixtures, or vibes that aren’t yours.Let the space know: I am here now. Remove any objects that you don’t like, if you are allowed to do so. If you are not allowed to redecorate, you can add a throw and cushions to cover the old sofa, you can reposition the furniture to correspond better your own needs, you can add plants and flowers for fresh Chi. Use curtains, art, sculptures to reduce the effect of fixtures you don’t like.

4. Moment in time

We are constantly changing, our taste changes, we have different moods and space can reflect that. Too often we consider our home as a final product, a photo that we saw on Pinterest. But let’s turn this thought upside down. The space can be our canvas, a panting never to be finished but always evolving, the same way we go through the life ourselves. I have throws and cushions in different colors and I change them occasionally to suit my mood. I have several pieces of art that are safely packed, waiting for their turn to hang on the wall. I also have unfinished jobs in my apartment, and there are also parts of me that are still waiting in the shadows for the time when Im ready to shine a light on them. Wherever you are in your journey, your space reflects that, rented or not.

You Deserve to Feel at Home - Now

We spend years of our lives in “temporary” places. Apartments we’re just passing through. Rooms that weren’t meant to be forever. But you are not temporary, and neither is your energy. The way you treat your current space, how you tend to it, how you invest your presence, shapes how life responds to you. So don’t wait. Place the art. Burn the incense. Rearrange the furniture. Hang the mirror like you belong here. Because you do.

Your rented home can be your inner home. Not someday but now.

Ready to Feel Truly at Home?

If your rented space feels stuck, disconnected, or just doesn’t feel like you, I can help you change that.Through Feng Shui analysis and space alignment coaching, we’ll look beyond the surface to uncover what your space is really saying, and shift it to support the life you’re ready to live.

You’ll walk away with:

-          A deeper understanding of what you need from your home to feel grounded, connected, and supported in your daily life

-          Practical, personalized Feng Shui recommendations you can implement immediately, no renovation needed

-           A simple roadmap you can carry with you and apply to any future home

-          A noticeable shift in how you feel in your space: more calm, clarity, and flow

-          A renewed sense of belonging, even in a space that isn’t forever

You don’t need to wait for a mortgage to feel at home. You just need to begin.

If you would like more information you can contact me on info@zen-interiors.com, visit my website www.zen-interiors.com or you can follow me on Instagram @zeninteriors_com

By Ivana Nady

From Zen Interiors