Our New Apartment
We’ve been living in our new apartment for just about three months now. It feels like home and I *think* I just unpacked the last of our boxes. Settling into a new space takes a while, don’t you think? Likely, when you choose the place, you have an idea of where you’ll put the bed and the couch and so on, but beyond that, there are a few months of finessing that those of us with un-resolved perfectionism must perform. I admit I’m still in this phase. This apartment is just a little weird to me. No matter how I adjust things, they just don’t seem to fit right yet. But we’re getting there.
The specific reason that I chose this apartment was not that I loved it because I do not, but because it had potential. There’s likely something there that a therapist would love to look into, but once again, I do not. The other reason I chose this apartment was for SPACE. The literal amount of space. Square feet to spread out in. closets to devote entirely to crafts. I’m hoping that I can add the charm that is so sorely lacking.
And, dear reader, if you are reading this and thinking to yourself - “well now, you surely must have something better to do with your time than to obsess about decorations in a rental apartment,” I can assure you that I do not and that this is NOT THE BLOG FOR YOU.
Do I only have my aesthetically obsessive viewers left with me? Okay good. Because here’s what I’m thinking. I want to try it all! All of the “renter friendly” Pinterest and blog ideas out there. I want to see if I can add enough charm to this basic-B condo from the 80’s that you’ll look at the pictures and think - is that an English Cottage?
Here are the top things that I want to try:
peel and stick floors
faux beadboard
that painter’s tape wallpaper hack
and something to cover the God-awful mirrored closet doors that isn’t curtains because I’ve already done that
What am I missing?
I don’t want to go overboard, but I do want to make a space that speaks to my personality and brings me joy. I say me because even though I live with my partner, these updates are all for me - he appreciates them but also doesn't really care because he’s, you know, normal and sane.
Doing DIY’s in a rental is definitely a “for you” or “not for you” situation and that’s 100% okay. They are for me. And I also believe that there is a fine line in not going overboard. A lot of DIY’s I’ve done in the past have been furniture-related, so I’ve been able to take them with me, or a functional improvement that has made our experience of living in our space significantly better. And I’ve certainly learned from all of them, both in terms of skills gained and a stronger clarity about what I like.
Do you want to see a full before and “currently” tour of the space? I’m linking the video here.
And I’d love to know - what do you think about DIYs in rentals? Have you tried any rental DIYs that turned out great? Or that you regretted?
as ever,
Keya (and Pickles)