by - Nnedinma Obiwuru, 31, don’t let renting from living in the house of her dreams.
- Obiwuru changed its white-box rental apartment to a chic oasis through do-it-yourself projects and economical finds.
- Some millennials sink time and money in renovating rental when Homebuying seems out of reach.
When Nnedinma starts renting Obiwuru, she will do it in style.
Obiwuru, a 31-year-old marketing specialist, and her partner have spent $ 7,000 on transforming their rental apartment in Austin into a sanctuary inspired by Paris. Her goal: take the $ 3,000 a month a month with two bedrooms from a white box to a chic boutique hotel.
Her inspiration for the primary bedroom with his vintage hand-cut bed frame, a hand-me-down of the grandmother of her fiancé and a chandelier of $ 130 from Amazon-Was a suite in the famous Relais Christine van Paris. Rooms in the 17th-century mansion were the luxury hotel with rosy decorated for around $ 650 per night. For the guest room handmade red velvet banquette chairs and a do -the -self -beam that can fold up and stored in a cupboard when they are not in use. The projects in the space of 1,300 square foot took a total of five years.
“Our guests always panic when they visit,” said Obiwuru. “Every time they come, there is something new. People usually stay at least six hours.”
Since the American real estate market remains historically expensive, some young Americans have postponed or given their dreams from homeowner. Instead, they are diverted their resources to renovate their rental properties. They can spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars, along with a lot of time and effort, to have their homes reflected their personal styles.
She bought the Bedroom Chandelier from Amazon for $ 130 and spent two days together. The bed frame was a hand-me-down. Thanks to Nnedinma Obiwuru
In Austin, where Obiwuru lives, house prices have fallen but they remain far above the American median. The high costs of homeowners have led to many residents opting for long -term rents.
“Own a house in Austin feels more like a 10 -year dream,” Obiwuru told Business Insider. “Renting is where I am, and many of my friends are in the same situation. That is why I concentrate on making my place feel like home.”
The guest room took the most -it -yourself -work
Before the renovation, the guest room looked like another standard room that you would find in an apartment – nothing special, with ordinary cream -colored walls and a brown carpet.
The room when Obiwuru moved. Thanks to Nnedinma Obiwuru
Now a space with a bar-and-restaurant theme, Obiwuru and her fiancé, John, built the majority of the furniture itself. The Red Velvet Booth chairs made of wood, foam and fabric, costs $ 700 to make.
“It was the first piece of furniture I have ever made,” she said. “I would not necessarily recommend it was a lot of work. But I really wanted restaurant style seats, and everything online was more than $ 4,000, and I just couldn’t justify that there is anything to leave something.”
Obiwuru spent only $ 80 spent building a foldable bar made of “only plywood and hinges. She went to Home Depot, had workers cut the wood to size and then added panel on the outside and painted it brown.
Obiwuru’s Restaurant-theme Logering room. Thanks to Paige Newton
She said she stores the bar in her closet and usually brings it out when she makes drinks and host friends.
“The nice thing is that everything I build and design in the apartment is tenant -friendly,” she said. “We think we can move the bar to our living room or kitchen later. It is easy to move and leave no stains.”
Renovating a space to look high-end does not have to be expensive
The design style of Obiwuru is deeply formed by her love of travel and the hotels she has visited.
“I am a Nigerian American of the first generation,” said Obiwuru. “My parents took care of everything we needed, but traveling with five brothers and sisters was not a top priority. When I started exploring the world and stayed in hotels, I really started to feel more like myself.”
She is recently used to Maison Metier, a five -star hotel in New Orleans, where rooms are around $ 250 per night, as a blueprint for laying seemingly eclectic furniture and art.
Obiwuru describes its design style as a mix of traditional elegance with a touch of flair. Thanks to Nnedinma Obiwuru
Obiwuru said that most pieces in her house are economical from local stores and costs between 49 cents and around $ 20.
However, she has issued a few larger items, such as the large brown leather sofa in her living room, which cost $ 1,000 from Wayfair.
The couple drove this consolet table for just $ 25, and the central painting on the wall is actually a Samsung -Frame TV. Thanks to Nnedinma Obiwuru
The gallery wall in a bathroom wall is also covered with economical items.
“I love it when I go to a bar, and it feels like you are being transported somewhere else,” said Obiwuru. “Bathrooms or ladies are where designers can really become creative because they contain spaces. I knew I wanted to fill mine with frames.”
The framed art on the walls of a bathroom reflects the interest of Obiwuru in the Harlem Renaissance and the prohibition. Thanks to Nnedinma Obiwuru
With a budget of just $ 100, she and her fiancé visited various goodwill stores in the Austin region, where they found 51 photo frames. To fulfill them, they have called Harlem Renaissance and artworks from the prohibition from the era, which extend from the 1920s to the mid-1930s, both online and around the city.
She regrets a few renovation
Obiwuru loves her house, and many others too.
She said BI that a maintenance worker in her apartment complex noted: “This is the best apartment he has ever seen.”
Obiwuru said that she does not need the approval of her landlord for her projects because they do not leave any permanent damage. When she goes outside, she added, she leaves the apartment while it looked when she caught up.
This cloak fireplace was purchased on Amazon, and Obiwuru has adjusted it by adding and painting casting to match the aesthetics of the room. Thanks to Nnedinma Obiwuru
Yet she would do a few things differently, knowing what she knows now. She painted some rooms before she had a complete design plan.
“I had no complete vision when I moved and designed based on the atmosphere I had at the time,” she said. “I learned to move slower.”
She also said that renovating an apartment while living next to neighbors has his challenges.
“I am an early riser tube, so I want to start my projects at 5 o’clock, but that’s just not possible,” said Obiwuru. “You have to work for regular hours, and that is the difficult part of doing loud projects while you live close to others.”
During the renovation she started to document parts of the process on Instagram and share it under the username @yverylastlayer. She now has more than 38,000 followers and some of her projects are sponsored by brands.
Obiwuru collaborated with Behr to paint her bedroom door and add pouring as a finishing touch. The “562” brings tribute to its birthplace code near Los Angeles. Thanks to Nnedinma Obiwuru
Nevertheless, Obiwuru and her fiancé are planning to keep renting for the long term.
“We can absolutely save for a house, but our priorities are more experience -oriented, at least for the time being,” she said. “We prefer to travel and spend our money on things like day care for our dogs than save for a down payment.”
She added: “The majority of the people I am in the area rent for the near future. I think the stigma around it disappears.”