Small flat decoration ideas for renters in Bangladesh, no drilling

How do you decorate a small rented flat?

Lean, stand and layer instead of drilling, and spend only on things that move with you when you leave. In Dhaka the two limits are space and the landlord. A 900-square-foot flat now counts as a luxury in the city, The Daily Star wrote in July 2025, and every hole in a rented wall is one you may have to fill and paint before you hand the keys back.

So: art leans on a shelf, light comes from lamps rather than new fittings, colour comes from textiles, and furniture does two jobs. Don't paint, don't buy anything that has to be screwed to a wall, and don't spend on a flat you'll leave in two years what you'd spend on one you own.

What a rented flat needs, and what it costs

The prices come from dated press reports and shop pages, so expect some drift.

What should you check before you put anything on a wall?

Your agreement, the paint and the damp.

• The agreement and the landlord. If the agreement doesn't say, ask before you drill, paint or stick anything, and keep the answer in writing, even a text message.
• How new the paint is. Many flats are repainted between tenants. Command, the adhesive-strip brand made by 3M, says to wait 7 days after painting before using its picture-hanging strips, and its Australian site advises 28 days on fresh paint.
• Damp. Feel the outside walls and any wall shared with a bathroom during the rains. Wallpaper doesn't repair a wall, The Daily Star pointed out in June 2026; on a wall with damp, leaks or cracks it traps moisture and makes the problem worse. Keep art and textiles off those walls too.

How do you make a small flat look bigger?

Mirrors, pale fabric, tall storage and clear floor. These come from The Daily Star's July 2025 piece on tiny flats:

• A large mirror opposite a window doubles the light and the view. Interior designer Nilima Hossain puts a tall mirror near the dining space or hallway. If you can't drill, stand a full-length mirror on the floor.
• Pale, light curtains. Swap dark, heavy drapes for cotton, linen or voile. Hanging them from just below the ceiling makes windows look taller. If your rod is lower, use it and buy longer curtains.
• Go vertical. Tall bookshelves and cabinets free the floor. Choose free-standing ones you can take with you.
• Furniture that does two jobs. Architect Imran Rahman told the paper that storage is often an afterthought in Dhaka flats; a bed with drawers, a storage ottoman or a folding table makes up for it.
• Clear walkways. Nothing in the path from the door to the windows.

Pick two or three colours and repeat them across cushions, curtains and a throw, so the whole flat reads as one.

How should you set up each room in a small flat?

A one-room flat or studio

Use rugs to mark zones: one under the bed or sofa, one under the table. By day, the bed becomes the sofa with a bed cover and three cushions against the wall. A folding table works for meals and work. If you need a divider, hang a curtain from a rod that's already there, or stand a bookshelf sideways.

The bedroom

Start with the bed: one bed cover, one colour of pillow covers, and a lamp beside it, so you never need the tube light at night. A bed with drawers or a box underneath holds everything that isn't for today. Stand a full-length mirror against the wall, and keep anything heavy or breakable off the wall above the bed.

The drawing-dining room

Many Dhaka flats have one room for both. Put the sofa and a carpet at one end and the table at the other, with one lamp in the sitting half. By the door, a slim shoe rack with a mirror leaning on top keeps the entrance clear. Our drawing room guide has layouts for small and combined rooms.

The balcony

Plants in pots on the floor, a cane mora or folding chair, and a Shital Pati or mat to sit on. Use railing planters that hook over the rail instead of brackets that need screws, and bring textiles inside when the rain comes.

How do you hang pictures without drilling?

Lean them, stand them, or use adhesive strips for light frames only.

• Lean art on a shelf, a cabinet or the floor. A large frame resting against the wall on a sideboard looks deliberate, not temporary. Overlap two or three pieces of different sizes, and put a small rubber pad under the bottom edge so nothing slides.
• Know the strip limits. On 3M's product sheet, Command's small strips hold 900 g with 2 pairs and 1.8 kg with 4 pairs, and the heaviest set holds 7.2 kg with 4 pairs, for frames up to 61 by 91 cm. Stay well under the figure on the pack.
• Follow the steps exactly. Wipe the wall with rubbing alcohol, not household cleaner or water, press each strip on the wall for 30 seconds, then wait an hour before hanging the frame.
• Know what strips aren't for. Command rules out valuable or irreplaceable items, anything over a bed, wallpaper, and tapestries or other fabrics.
• Use what's already there. A nail the last tenant left, a curtain rod or a window grille can carry a light kantha or a woven hanging on a cord.

That rule about irreplaceable items matters for handmade work. An original painting is one of a kind, so lean it rather than stick it. Stand a round canvas on a small easel or a ledge with a lip so it can't roll. These two are hand-painted by Dhaka artist Karunika: Ocean Melody, a round canvas with real seashells in its waves, and a calligraphy canvas with gold-foil detail.

One of a kind

Ocean Melody

৳750

Karunika, Dhaka

Sold out

Islamic Calligraphy Canvas

৳300

Karunika, Dhaka

More are in wall art.

Do adhesive strips hold in Dhaka's humidity?

Not reliably, so use them only for light, replaceable things. Command's own FAQ warns that its regular hooks and strips may not perform as well in humid areas, and points to its water-resistant bath range for damp spaces. Its Australian site suggests that range for regions with regular high humidity, and warns the adhesive can soften above 40°C. Dhaka's average humidity stays above 80 percent from June to September.

• Light, replaceable things only: prints, posters, a small mirror.
• Nothing breakable on strips above a bed, a sofa or a desk.
• Check strips monthly in the monsoon, and take a frame down if a strip has started to lift.
• Fresh strips every time you rehang. Command's picture-hanging strips are single use.

Which textiles do the most work in a rented flat?

Textiles change a room without touching the walls, and they pack flat when you move.

• Nakshi Kantha. In January 2026 Prothom Alo priced kantha cushion covers under ৳600 and bed sheets at ৳3,000 to ৳4,400 at Karupally in Dhaka, and kantha wall mats at ৳700 to ৳2,200 at Kumudini. A wall mat hangs from an existing nail or rod, or lies over the back of a sofa. Read about Nakshi Kantha before you buy.
• Shital Pati. A cool cane mat used for sitting, as a bedspread or for prayer. In a small flat it's extra seating when guests come, and it rolls away after. Our Shital Pati price guide has prices.
• A jute rug. It marks a zone and survives a move. See our jute rug price guide.
• Curtains. The largest piece of fabric in any room. Pale cotton beats dark polyester in a Dhaka summer.

Air textiles on dry days in the monsoon. Dirty or starched cloth is the first to grow mould.

What can you do with ৳5,000 or ৳15,000?

About ৳5,000

• Two kantha cushion covers, under ৳600 each.
• A kantha wall mat, ৳700 to ৳2,200.
• A table lamp, from ৳633 at Aarong.
• A vase from ৳235, or a money plant or snake plant in a clay pot.

At the top of each range that's about ৳4,800, with room for a pack of picture-hanging strips for two or three light frames.

About ৳15,000

• Everything above.
• A kantha bed sheet, ৳3,000 to ৳4,400.
• A larger lamp: Aarong's ran to ৳4,367 when we checked in October 2026.
• One piece of art for the main wall, leaning rather than hung. Prices vary by size and artist, as our painting price guide explains.
• Only if your landlord agrees, peel-and-stick wallpaper on one small, dry wall. The Daily Star put budget wallpaper at ৳80 to ৳150 per square foot in June 2026, and said peel-and-stick suits renters but doesn't match installed wallpaper for finish or lifespan.

Need furniture? Second-hand is the renter's friend. Prothom Alo counted more than 250 used-furniture shops in six Dhaka markets in 2023, with beds at ৳5,000 to ৳26,000 and prices usually half of new or less. Where to buy all of this, online and in Dhaka, is in our home decor shops guide.

What should you do when you move out?

Take everything down the way it was designed to come off, then pack it so it survives the van.

• Remove strips slowly. Peel the frame away from the bottom corners, then pull each tab straight down along the wall, at least 15 inches (38 cm), never out towards you. That's Command's method, and it keeps the paint on the wall.
• Roll textiles. Roll a kantha or a Shital Pati around a towel instead of folding it sharply.
• Wrap art in soft things. A blanket or bed sheet around each frame, and carry canvases upright.

Leave the walls as you found them, and the next flat starts with everything you own already in the boxes. For a single room in a hall or mess, see our hostel room decoration guide.