The apartment had good bones - high ceilings, original woodwork, abundant light.
But when Alice Danino moved into her two-bedroom place, it felt empty and dull. Kitchen cabinets, walls and countertops were all white. There wasn't a hint of embellishment anywhere.
So she put her creativity to work, making the place feel homey.
She bought self-sticking silver decals in the shape of cutlery for the kitchen cabinets and quotations in calligraphy for the hallway walls. There are plants in every room now, and generous splashes of colour in the small appliances, dishes, sofa cushions and accessories that Danino and her current roommate, Vanessa Tobin, have brought home.
"I would love to have painted the walls purple, but then they would have had to be returned to the original white when we left," says Danino. "Instead, we found more temporary ways of bringing in personality."
Rentals can be boring or dreary, with monotone cabinetry and floors and countertops that have seen better days. Usually, rentals are outfitted in neutral colours and surfaces chosen more for durability and mass appeal than beauty. Many landlords forbid anything but cosmetic changes. Besides, who wants to invest a lot of money in a place they don't own?
But there are ways to make inexpensive, temporary improvements. We asked two interior designers, Nicola Marc and Anita Conidaris, for their suggestions when it comes to injecting warmth and character into a rented apartment. They find their inspiration in all kinds of places, from house and home magazines, museum gift shops, flea markets, decor boutiques and hardware stores to Winners and IKEA.
Anita Conidaris is a Montreal artist, decorator and garden designer. Her interiors are classic - a mix of textures and styles. Here are a few of her ideas:
Most landlords insist tenants leave the walls as they found them, or repaint before leaving. Painting one accent wall in a living room or bedroom in a deep, bold colour adds instant drama, Conidaris says, and takes less effort to repaint than a whole room when it is time to move.
MIX AND MATCH
Don't worry about matching furniture. "I'm not into sets; they don't lend personality to a room," she says.
Indeed, Conidaris says juxtaposing furniture in different styles adds personality. For example, pair a mid-century coffee table with a more traditional sofa. Or a reclaimed wood table in greyish tones with white-painted antique chairs for a clean, spare, slightly rustic, Scandinavian feel.
She also likes the visual tension created when different textures are combined: Shiny with dull, silk with linen, raw wood with painted surfaces.
Good lighting doesn't just brighten a room; it also adds mood.
Make sure to provide light from different sources, including table lamps, floor lamps and ceiling lamps. Even homes with well-lit rooms wired with recessed ceiling lights need to be layered with light from different heights.
To avoid the appearance of clutter, group items as collections. For a pleasing composition, Conidaris recommends the triangle method in which taller, larger objects are placed in the centre of an arrangement, with shorter items around.
Even if you aren't allowed to repaint kitchen cabinets, they can be updated with replacement knobs and handles. Home Depot, for example, has a good selection of inexpensive hardware in a number of finishes.
ART FOR ART'S SAKE
Art doesn't have to be expensive or precious. Conidaris places individual sheets of Japanese printed paper in similar frames, black or white, then hangs them together on a wall for a vibrant arrangement. She'll frame and hang them in two or three rows of three. Or you can buy original art - instead of another Monet print - from up-andcoming artists.
Group mirrors in different sizes and shapes above a bedroom dresser or on a hallway wall. Place the mirrors in antique frames (buy them second hand) or new ones. If the frames are different, unify them by sticking to wood or metal, for example, or a single colour. Or hang an oversized mirror in a small space to visually enlarge the space, and to bring more light into a dark area.
GO WITH THE FLOW
In the use of colour, textures and choice of styles, make sure to maintain a certain flow through the space, especially in lofts or small apartments where one living area opens onto another. Keep colours neutral and add accessories in one or two complementary colours. For example, in an adjoining living room and dining room, toss a red cushion on the sofa, then add a red vase or table runner in the dining room.
DON'T BE TOO SERIOUS
A few disparate elements that are slightly off add notes of whimsy. Even in a traditional setting, go for a crazy lampshade or a piece of unusual art or a splash of unexpected colour.
Nicola Marc is a British-born Montreal stylist and interior designer with the firm Marc Gold Interiors. Her styling, with its classic European detailing and whimsical touches, appears in numerous decor magazines, including Country Living, Style at Home, and House and Home. Here are a few of her ideas:
INVEST IN FABRIC
Curtains and cushions in great fabric can spice up an otherwise drab interior. Fabric is a great way to bring colour and pattern into an otherwise neutral room. Curtains offer privacy, as well as protection from the heat and cold. They are also highly portable.
In the kitchen area, Marc suggests hiding the washer or dryer behind a curtain of fabric. She strings the curtain panel along an elasticized cord hung from tiny eyelets in the cabinetry. (The resulting holes are easily filled before moving.)
PAINT THE FURNITURE
A great way to bring together odds and ends in disparate styles is to paint vintage or antique pieces. Marc's own dining room chairs, painted brown, are on their third colour.
Instead of tiles, print out your own photographs and put them in brightly coloured frames to liven up the walls behind the kitchen counters.
GO FOR WALLPAPER
That's pretty permanent, you might think. But Marc affixes hers to the wall with double-sided permanent tape, which she buys at the hardware store or at stationery supply stores. She jazzes up door panels and the backs of bookshelves and kitchen cabinets with all kinds of prints.
Sometimes she'll stick wallpaper behind glass cabinet doors. If the kitchen cabinets are really ugly, she recommends removing the doors altogether and stashing them somewhere. Then line the back of the cupboards with patterned wallpaper and artfully arrange the dishes in the new-found display space.
STICK TO NEUTRALS
Big-ticket items like sofas and rugs last a long time and often cost. You'll want them to fit even if your colour preferences change or you move to another place. You can find sisal and jute rugs at IKEA for good prices, or all wool carpets at HomeSense.
Use a group of clear glass jars filled with pasta, beans and legumes or grains in the kitchen, and ones filled with seashells and river rocks in the bathroom. "A collection can be anything you want it to be as long as there's something in common within each of the elements," Marc explains. "All wood, for example, or a grouping of glass vases and cake stands."
VISIT THE MUSEUM
Marc loves museum gift stores for prints, postcards and unusual items to frame or otherwise display. She often buys exhibition catalogues or calendars and pulls out the pages for framing, perhaps in vintage frames.
The ceiling lamps and wall sconces in rentals can be pretty ugly, with their faux-bronze finish or frosted, patterned glass shades. Often, they haven't been replaced in ages. "An awful hanging lamp can really dominate a space," Marc says. "But you don't have to be stuck with it."
Marc says it's often worth investing in new fixtures. (Just keep the originals to put back before you leave.) Home Depot is a great source for inexpensive wall sconces in glass, chrome or brushed nickel. So are Zone Maison and IKEA.
They hide bad floors, but also serve to define a space. An area rug under a dining table or coffee table really grounds the furniture in a room and creates intimacy.