Renting? We’ve got 5 ways to help you decorate without pounding a single nail or changing a wall color.

There are many terrible problems with the global economic crisis, not least that the fragile grasp we’ve been precariously maintaining on a flawed system is rapidly weakening and the whole thing is threatening to collapse and when the entire system goes down there is only three days worth of food in the shops and two days worth of fuel at the pumps and we’re gleefully piling headlong into a zombie apocalypse but with bankers instead of zombies and we’re going to need some tins of food and guns…do you own a gun? I don’t own a gun. There’s a can of chickpeas in the cupboard though.

Worse than all of that, however, is the whole mess means nice middle class people like my good self are suddenly unable to buy the house of their dreams. So I’m sitting here in my perfectly pleasant rental complaining about feeling like a student and talking about Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements because it makes me feel a tiny bit closer to those dreary conversations over a nice Malbec about mortgage rates and isn’t something shocking and something else is a scandal and oh by the way look at our lovely new dado rail.

Owing to a glut of shallowness, the big problem I find with renting is it’s hard to make a house that someone else owns feel like home. I mean, really like home. We can’t decorate (I’ve lived with magnolia walls for so long now that I genuinely believe it is the only color paint available). We can’t knock out the horrific 70s stone fireplace. We can’t even arrange the kitchen so it makes sense (Why is the fridge in a whole other room? Why is there no space by the sink to put washing up? Why is there no work surface next to the stove?)

Still, if there’s one thing ahem-ahem years of renting has taught me, it’s that you can stamp your stamp on a place without drilling holes, knocking down walls or refitting the bathroom. Try these for size:

Peelable wall stickers

Vinyl wall stickers can distract from the fact that your walls are so bland it’s almost like they don’t exist. Actually, walls that only look like they exist might be quite cool in a secret-lair-hiding-behind-them way. Although I guess your neighbors would have something to say about their place being turned into a secret lair, so you’ll have to go with the decals. PVC-free and totally recyclable, they can also be peeled off when you move and transferred to your new pad.

Plants

It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s oh so eco-friendly. A good bunch of plant friends scattered liberally around your house really can turn a pile of bricks into a welcoming home. Little Kokedama string gardens make a beautiful little design feature, or ridiculously outsized plants, like towering umbrella trees, distract from the bland wonderland of blank, off-white walls.
Alternatively, just find some plants you like, stick them on a shelf and talk to them every now and then.

Storage

You can’t put shelves up and you’re sick to death of bloody IKEA Billy bookcases. The only solution: get yourself to a yard sale and go on a rampage. Pick up battered vintage suitcases and use them to store clothes, stationary or miscellaneous stuff, like this or this, and old glasses or vases can be used to hold kitchen utensils or make-up. If you’ve got a fruit and veggie wholesaler nearby, old wooden apple crates are your storage-based best friend.

Flea Market Furniture

Jo-ann Fortune from vintagebrighton.com says: “If you’re on a budget and have only a small amount of space to play with, look out for mid-century pieces. Built for the smaller living spaces that were becoming more common in 1950s and 60s, mass production techniques made quality materials and innovative design affordable and second-hand pieces remain so. Look for sleek sideboards with sliding doors, extendable tables and stackable chairs, all of which combine the form and function for which mid-century design is celebrated.”

Photos

Nothing says home like that really awkward photo of you in your graduation gown or the picture of your family in complimenting wardrobe colors. Spurn those and get that stuff printed on actual photo paper with actual ink. Use a temporary glue spray to affix them to your wall montage style, or arrange them in one big frame and hope the landlord doesn’t notice one teeny tiny nail hole when you’ve gone.

Love It
Ultimately, home isn’t about a dual aspect lounge or a hand-made Italian kitchen (although we wouldn’t say no), it’s about how you feel. Take time to fall in love with your rental as the place you live right now, as one more rung on your ladder. No matter how frustrating, you’ll probably look back with fondness on the weird tap that needs jiggling to turn off properly or the socket that trips a fuse if you plug your cell phone and laptop in at the same time, so don’t wait, look on them with fondness now.

Most importantly, invite people over as soon as possible. Cook foodie-focused dinners, picnic on the living room floor, lean out of the window drinking wine and watch people walk past. Build a stock of happy memories to revisit and realize it’s not that home but the people inside the home that really make it a great place to be.

Top image: Apartment Therapy, Angrylambie1

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Genius. Pure, simple, and genius. Haldane Martin has spread his creative genius all over his Cape Town, South Africa home. The foundation of Haldane’s alluring interiors is soft neutral color, using white and/or light grey paint to coat his walls, floors, and ceilings. Bold, vivid colors infuse pure drama into select vignettes; saturated colors directly adjacent to pristine white floors. Well done, Haldane. Well done.

The contrast of sleek, smooth wood lounging below feathery globes of light is almost as delightful as the tension of soalid shapes of considerable mass balancing on delicate spindles. The minimalism is beautifully accented by individually curated loveliness. Each piece has character and charisma.

Mr. Martin is an acclaimed furniture designer, which means you can spread a bit of his genius inside your own walls, too. If you need a little additional inspiration, even the words at Martin’s namesake company are alluring, “Haldane Martin offers a sense of belonging to our world and the spirit of the times, by creating contemporary furniture that integrates, man, nature, culture and technology, with the human qualities of wisdom, love, and beauty.” Plus, Martin has a manifesto – devour it (as you know, I love a great manifesto).

(This stunning home tour was spotted at Apartment Therapy, contributed by Liezel Strauss. Images via Apartment Therapy.)

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Robin Luciano Beaty stole my dream. Every designer and artist (and random person off the street with even a hint of creativity) dreams of having a studio; somewhere to be inspired, create, and pretend that reality television is not a reality. A space flooded with natural light and natural materials. A place to get art supplies under your fingernails and maybe even a slightly luxurious place to lounge and linger. The studio of Robin Luciano Beaty has been plucked from my dreams and delicately dropped in Byfield, Massachusetts.

The custom barn Ms. Beaty built has a significant semblance to the structure that stands in my reveries, including every little detail and all of my favorite elements – antique typewriter, rustic coffee table, tufted upholstery, graphic pillows, exposed beams, a charming corner stove, and a healthy allocation of consideration for our dear Earth. Just like all the spaces that settle in my imagination, she even remembered to include a sprinkle of matter reminiscent of Morocco. (Granted, there were no chickens in my dream, but since they roam free in my neighborhood, they may as well roam free in my studio.)

Robin Luciano Beaty is a fine artist – her medium of choice is encaustic painting. Intrigued by the notion of encaustic painting? Me too. Immerse yourself in the “sublime and unpredictable” medium utilizing beeswax and pigment on Ms. Beaty’s website. Peruse her portfolio while you’re there – her gorgeous studio is only the beginning of the beauty Robin creates.

This studio is a combination of beautiful choices including salt soaked pine and cellulose insulation. This structure is not simply a place to paint and create with wax, it houses natural light, a place to slumber, ample office space (with ample Apple products), and casters on all furniture to accommodate change of function and the fickle charisma of artists.

If you are as smitten with this studio as I am – take a field trip over to the original article on Apartment Therapy. Tanya Lacourse has written informative words about the structure’s green solutions and has generously shared the abundant sources. Oh, and the original slideshow includes 49 pictures. Seriously, 49 photographs to admire. Take another field trip to Robin Luciano Beaty’s blog to see the details of the entire building process.

(Images by Violet Marsh Photography via Apartment Therapy.)

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Today’s A Sheltered Life interview is one I’ve been looking forward to sharing for a while now. That’s because it’s with Cambria Bold, the editor and brains behind Apartment Therapy’s Re-Nest. The defining source for eco-design is my personal favorite site for inspiration, tips and trends. Day in and day out, Cambria calls the shots on what and who you should know in the home design realm. Read on for her awesome answers and insights.

A major pillar of the Re-Nest philosophy is interweaving intelligence and optimism while communicating ways to make a difference. What intelligent eco-design products or companies is Re-Nest currently most optimistic about?

Well, we actively support ideas and companies that encourage mindful consumption, which we believe not only makes for a more beautiful, healthy and organized home, but can also help strengthen communities and foster good will among neighbors. We’ve loved seeing the resurgence in good ole fashioned sharing. We first learned it in kindergarten, and now it’s back! Sites like Share Some Sugar, B-Cycle, Neighbor Goods, Rentalic, Sharing Backyards, and HyperLocavore enable people to find and share garden space, homegrown food, backyards, tools, bikes, appliances, and other household items with people in their community, or to rent those items rather than buy them new. Another great new company that fits into this description is 1Bog, which gives people access to affordable solar power in their area by having them sign up in groups.

Here’s a random assortment of other eco-friendly products and designs we’re excited about right now:

Woolly Pockets: made of 100 percent recycled materials, these pockets allow you to create your own gorgeous indoor living walls and vertical gardens. We’ve seen them in person, and they’re stunning.

Bowery Lane Bicycles: these bicycles are handmade, from start to finish, in New York City, and considering that fact, they’re remarkably affordable, at about $595.

Amy Hunting: Her Blockshelf, which was awarded 2nd prize at the Green Furniture Awards in Sweden, is made from wood salvaged from London timber importers’ trash bins.

Studio Dunn: Based out of Rhode Island, this small studio works with a local network of artisans to handcraft all their designs within 50 miles using sustainably sourced American hardwoods. And their furniture is absolutely beautiful.

Soren Rose Gym Furniture for Mater: we think these cabinets are super cool, made of recycled gym floorboards!

What was the most surprising thing you learned about sustainable design while compiling features for Re-Nest?

When you’re looking for beautiful and functional eco-friendly products for the home, as with anything, you get a lot of bad with the good. Just because a product is made with recycled materials doesn’t absolve itself of the fact that it might just be plain – ugly! Which is why, when a creative reuse project or design is done right, it’s all that much more inspiring. Another thought along that line is this: not everything has to be made entirely from recycled or reclaimed materials in order to qualify as a sustainable design. Sometimes the most sustainable design decision you can make is to buy something high quality that you love, will have forever, and then will pass down to your children.

In your opinion, what’s the most important room of the house? And the most over-looked?

The most important room is definitely the bedroom. It’s where you begin and end each day, it’s where you spend 1/3 of your life! So it should be a restful, healthy retreat. Unfortunately, it’s also the place where one is likely to find a lot of potentially harmful and irritating synthetic chemicals and petroleum-based materials – i.e., the fire retardants and formaldehyde found in most standard mattresses and pillows, and pesticide residue from non-organic cotton sheets. Buying a new mattress is quite expensive, and might take some time to replace, but small changes can be made right away: a set of organic sheets (affordable options can be found at Target and CB2), all-natural pillows (organic cotton, wool, kapok, even buckwheat), or a small HEPA air purifier.

The most overlooked room would probably be the entryway. Yeah, it’s not really a room, but it can end up functioning like one! In addition to what you’d expect to find there (coats, shoes, bags, keys), there’s usually a whole collection of loose change, shopping bags, old magazines and mail, a gym bag or two, discarded trinkets, keepsake boxes from college, maybe even a bike or a stroller. Sometimes the entrance closet is so full of random stuff that it can’t even accommodate what it’s supposed to – namely, the coat and bag you were wearing that day. Establishing a “landing strip” when you come through the door can make all the difference – somewhere to hang your coat, drop your keys and wallet, sort your mail. A little bit of structure and organization will save you a lot of pain later.

What is your personal favorite flea-market find?
Vintage medical chart posters for a ridiculously low price. I have a thing for vintage ephemera, and these charts date from the 1930s.

What does “home” mean to you?

To me, home means warmth, relief, quiet and comfort. But home should be whatever makes you feel most like yourself. For example, if you love people and entertaining, you should make sure your home is suited to that goal, and you should make/buy/move around/get rid of whatever you need to to support what you love. As Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan (founder of Apartment Therapy) is fond of saying, “Nothing you do for your home is ever wasted.”

What’s the simplest tweak you can make to a room that has the biggest impact (other than a can of paint)

Declutter. Be ruthless. Don’t spend your money on things or trends that don’t fit you. Buy and keep only what you need and love, and be thankful for what you have.

What are your five favorite eco-resources?

Green Depot
The Brooklyn Flea
Three Potato Four
Terrain
Brook Farm General Store
Perch!
Etsy (an obvious choice, yes, but check out this post for a few of our favorite stores and reader recommendations)

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