You have found yourself a new travel nurse assignment and you just arrived at your new “home”!  Yay!  Now to try and make it feel a little cozier and more comfortable since it’s where you will be coming “home” to after every shift.

Making your new travel nurse temporary housing feel welcoming is an essential part of your health and happiness while on assignment. Below are a couple of examples of easy and inexpensive tips to help guide you through decorating temporary housing (without breaking the bank!) and making it feel more like home.

Plants:

Flowers are an attractive and fun addition to your temporary home furnishings. Grab low-cost flowers from the grocery or some easy to care for green plants.  Plants and flowers can brighten any room!

Art:

Not many things are more depressing than dull, generic walls. Grab some inexpensive artwork from discount stores like TJ Maxx or Marshall’s to spruce up the walls a bit. Wall decals are an awesome (and cheap) way to decorate as well, and the best part is that they easily peel off when you’re done with them.

Candles and/or Diffusers:

The scent is known to trigger memories and feelings.  Whether that smell takes you to a place or reminds you of a person, we’ve all had that experience. If you burn certain candles at home, bring that scent to your new temporary home.  Different smells have different effects, and certain oils or incense can help make your home more inviting and calming!

Add some color:

Whether these colors are homelike themes or you want to go with a bright palette you’ve never tried before, color is a lively way of helping you forget that this home is temporary. If your housing is completely furnished, try buying a vibrant throw blanket to dress-up the couch or substituting the comforter with a crazy quilt. Making your home away from home colorful will help it feel much less boring and bland.

Pictures:

Bring some pictures of loved ones, animals, and family with you and put them up in your bedroom, on the refrigerator or buy some frames and hang them on the wall!  Nothing beats the comfort of a reminder you feel when looking at pictures of people you care about or places you have been!