‘Own’ It Like You Own It: 8 Ways to Personalize Your Rental, Designer Edition
Rental spaces can be a challenge for designers, who often cannot exercise full creative license over features, fixtures, and hues. That’s why it’s all the more impressive when one is able to fully realize their design vision in a rental.
When I visited designer/architect duo Cheryl and Jeffery Katz of C&J Katz Studio mere weeks after they’d moved into their new South End home, I was astounded by how personal and put together the space felt. Impressed, I asked Cheryl and Jeffrey to share some of their tips for making a rental one’s own.
Photography by Justine Hand for Remodelista.
Empty nesters Cheryl and Jeffrey had only begun to think about selling their Beacon Hill home (see Improper Bostonians: Jeffrey and Cheryl Katz at Home on Beacon Hill), when an offer from a neighbor forced the issue. Suddenly the two had to find housing, fast. No longer interested in the deferred maintenance that comes with a vintage home, they still wanted that old-world architectural charm, for which Boston is so famous. It was their son, surfing the Web from all the way across the country in San Francisco, who found a listing for a thoughtfully renovated space with “nice finishes, a great floor plan, terrific light.” Several months later, their new place felt like they’ve lived there for years. Here’s how they did it.
1. Give the entire place a fresh coat of paint, preferably white.
For obvious reasons, most landlords are not willing to refinish the floors in your desired Scandinavian whitewash, so Cheryl recommends concentrating on the walls instead. Cheryl is an advocate for all white, at least at first. White’s neutral background helps one get a sense of the place, and it’s easy to change later. White also opens up smaller spaces, like apartments, making them feel more generous and less cluttered. To unify their own rental space and take maximum advantage of the light, Cheryl and Jeffrey chose their go-to color: Benjamin Moore’s Snowfall White.
