adult(ed) EPISODE 1: Customizing Your Rental Space!
My First Place
My first apartment in LA, I had a mattress on the floor, a glass table and two plastic chairs - all from IKEA. I thought I would only be in LA for 3 months at the time, then that quickly turned to 6...then 12 months. Well, eventually I had to do something more with my space to make it feel like home! Being in a rental space, I was limited to what I could do. I couldn’t paint the walls, I was limited to the amount of things I could hang on the wall (unless I wanted to fill all those holes when I moved out), and I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money on a place I didn’t know how long I’d be in.
Most likely, your first few places will all be rented, as well. So how do we go about making our mark without leaving a mark? I brought in my friend Julie Tecson to help us out with this in our first episode. She is the ultimate DIY queen and a renter herself. It has amazed me to see the creative ways she’s changed up her space and made it her own. All while limited to things like green and pink wall colors she currently can’t paint over.
If you are looking to make some changes to your space, here are some tips we covered in Episode 1!
Add Some Greenery
Adding greenery to your home literally livens it up. I don’t know what it is about having a little potted plant on a dresser or one in the corner of your room, but it instantly makes a space feel welcoming.
House plants can seem intimidating (although we will be talking more about those in a later episode), but if you currently want something more low maintenance here are some great fake plants you can check out.
IKEA Jade Artificial Potted Plant
Nearly Natural Snake Plant
Ahvoler Monstera Palm Leaves
Pure Garden Tropical Yucana Tree
Keep in mind stores like Home Goods, IKEA, and Michaels have great options as well. You can also get lucky at places like GoodWill, which is where Julie got some of the greenery to create Marissa’s room divider!
Give Me All The DIYs
I love how many DIYs were incorporated in the transformation of Marissa’s space. It only took copper pipes, fittings, tees, glue, and a copper cutter to create a super simple and stylish headboard! If you want more details on the copper headboard, curtains, or room divider from the episodes, be sure to check out Julie’s blog where she talks all about the process! While you are there, be sure to explore her page to find even more creative ways to personalize your space. She’s got so many great “do it yourself” posts that you can check out!
Command Hooks Are Your Friend
Command hooks really come in handy when it comes to finding a non-damaging way to hang things in your rental space. I thought it was so creative how Julie made a make shift curtain rod with dowels and command hooks! Make sure you read the directions when utilizing command strips/hooks. We didn’t cover this in the episode, but usually there is a waiting period before you can hang your item on them once they are placed on the wall. Trust me when I say, be patient and wait the 30 minutes or hour (whatever it suggests) because I’ve gotten impatient and broken things this way because it wasn’t ready to support it.
Don’t Break The Bank
Remember, there are so many creative ways to bring updates to your space all while keeping within a budget! You can freshen up an old dresser with new hardware. You can keep an eye out for sales and snag a cozy rug for under $50 dollars. You can order prints of your photos and find frames at thrift stores. Even adding a pop of color with some pillows can transform a space! Keep in mind too, you don’t have to reach perfection overnight (even though we all want to). You can always tackle it one corner at a time as you customize your space! I still have to remind myself of this because there is so much I want to still do in our home. Enjoy where you are and enjoy the journey of creating.
We Did It
I’m so happy episode 1 of adult(ed) is out in the world! I hope you were able to learn something new. I know I did. We got 9 more episodes coming to you this season so be sure to keep checking back as we tackle this whole grown up thing one subject at a time.
We came. We saw. We adulted.
Megan