How can I make a flat homely?

I don't think it's at all unreasonable to put pictures and paintings on the walls.  Most landlords expect a bit of natural wear and tear, and unless they stipulate 'no holes to be made in walls', then I'd go ahead and put pictures up.  I've actually got a wall-mounted bookshelf, which required drilling six deep holes in the wall.  It sounds like major damage - but whenever I've taken it down in the past to move, it's usually just needed a small amount of filler (you can buy tubes or tubs of the ready-mixed stuff in pound shops), then a blob of paint on top when it's dried.  I'm no DIYer, either, but that kind of thing is easy enough even for me.  Personally, I find it's those very things - pictures, prints, mirrors, photographs - that make a place seem more homely and less bare.

I know it's not everyone's preference, but I like to be surrounded by books, so I have a couple of large bookcases full of books.  I tend not to like modern stuff so much, so I haunt charity shops for little things - candlesticks, vases, bowls - that I can put here and there for homely touches.  My sofa came from a charity shop.  So did my armchair and coffee tables.  Many people would look at my living room and see it as very cosy and homely, but it didn't cost much to do and it was relatively easy to find the stuff locally.

I don't think it's at all unreasonable to put pictures and paintings on the walls.  Most landlords expect a bit of natural wear and tear, and unless they stipulate 'no holes to be made in walls', then I'd go ahead and put pictures up.  I've actually got a wall-mounted bookshelf, which required drilling six deep holes in the wall.  It sounds like major damage - but whenever I've taken it down in the past to move, it's usually just needed a small amount of filler (you can buy tubes or tubs of the ready-mixed stuff in pound shops), then a blob of paint on top when it's dried.  I'm no DIYer, either, but that kind of thing is easy enough even for me.  Personally, I find it's those very things - pictures, prints, mirrors, photographs - that make a place seem more homely and less bare.

I know it's not everyone's preference, but I like to be surrounded by books, so I have a couple of large bookcases full of books.  I tend not to like modern stuff so much, so I haunt charity shops for little things - candlesticks, vases, bowls - that I can put here and there for homely touches.  My sofa came from a charity shop.  So did my armchair and coffee tables.  Many people would look at my living room and see it as very cosy and homely, but it didn't cost much to do and it was relatively easy to find the stuff locally.

I do a lot of wall repairs and I've found that the Wickes powdered filler that you mix with a little water to be best - easiest to apply and easiest to sand smooth.  A splodge of paint makes it perfect.

There's also Command strips that magically hold things to the wall with no holes banged in and the come off easily afterwards leaving no damage.