Sometimes I think to myself that my obsession with designing homes started from the many moves I’ve experienced. Up until now, I’ve moved 19 times, and for someone who’s 37, that seems a bit excessive… Yes, every time it was important for me to clean, organize, and make the place my own. Sometimes, by the time I finished designing, it was already time to move again. With all these moves, it sounds like I was part of some witness protection program… but no, I’m just addicted to new and promising beginnings.
The move to our current apartment, however, was not a given. We lived in an apartment that was ours, and we invested much more into it beyond the mortgage, but when I got pregnant, we realized it was time to move on to something with fewer stairs and a bit more space. Well, just a bit more space, after all, we are in the Dan region.
So, we rented out our apartment and rented another one. Most of our furniture did not fit the dimensions of the new apartment, so we decided to rent ours as is, with all the furniture and appliances. Knowing we were moving to the new apartment for a limited period, we decided to go for a limited budget, without professionals, and full of DIY, IKEA HACKS, and improvisations.
I cut the bricks in the kitchen from wallpaper and pasted them, a bit crooked, but not too bad… In the living room, I hung a perforated board that was cut for me in South Tel Aviv. I enlisted my dad to help with the plaster niche for the stunning SMEG fridge (second-hand), and finally, I painted the dining table and the desk. This is how they looked before:
I know there are many people who think it’s not worth investing in a rented apartment, but I also know how much impact a neglected home can have on life. Quite a few clients have told me how, before I designed their home, they were embarrassed to host and even avoided it. Others shared that the mess in front of their eyes decreased their productivity… Conversely, I also know how a well-designed living environment contributes to the overall feeling and even to romance and success with the opposite sex (but that’s really for another post).
So, what do you think? Is it worth investing in designing a rented apartment and how much?
The photos were taken by the wonderfully talented [Shiran Carmel](https://shiranca.com/).
I’m a bit stingy with the photos this time because I promised Sharon from XNET the exclusivity in publishing the apartment, but if you sign up for the blog in the pop-up tab, you’ll be the first to get sneak peeks from the stunning kids’ room as well.
