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Renter TipsThe No-Drill Wall Sconce That Actually Stays Up (6-Month Update)
My landlord made it very clear: no holes. So I found another way.
Naomi Chen on making a rental feel like home — lighting, small-space design, and everything I've figured out the hard way.
Small Space
I used to have one overhead light and wondered why my apartment always felt sad. Then I learned this.
Renter Tips
Yes, you can have a pendant light in a rental. Here's the exact setup I used.
Small Space
People always ask how my apartment looks bigger in photos. Lighting is 90% of it.
Renter Tips
Your builder-grade bathroom light doesn't have to stay. Here's how I upgraded mine without a single screw.
Small Space
Everyone told me to paint my walls white to make it feel bigger. They were wrong.
Room by Room
Open shelves either look like a design magazine or a chaotic nightmare. Here's how to get the first one.
Renter Tips
My ceiling fan has a light kit that belongs in a horror movie. This is how I work around it.
Small Space
My front door opens straight into my couch. This is how I made it not terrible.
Renter Tips
I've lived in six rentals. These are the rules I've carried through all of them.
Room by Room
My bathroom is the size of a large closet. It now looks like a hotel I can't afford to stay in.
Small Space
My apartment gets about 90 minutes of direct sun per day. These plants don't care.
Small Space
Design school taught me things that took me three apartments to apply to my actual living space.
Small Space
I've moved four sofas up four flights of stairs. I know things now.
Renter Tips
Curtains can transform a room. Here's how to hang them without destroying your walls.
Room by Room
Good counter lighting turns a kitchen from a place you cook into a place you actually want to be.
Small Space
I've owned 11 cheap lamps. I currently own 3 good ones. The math is not in favor of cheap lamps.
Renter Tips
My entire gallery wall is hung with Command strips. It has not moved in 14 months.
Small Space
My studio has three 'rooms.' None of them have walls.
Renter Tips
String lights can look sophisticated or like a freshman year disaster. Here's the difference.
Room by Room
Forty dollars. Fifteen minutes. A bathroom that finally doesn't embarrass me.
Small Space
A rug that's too small is worse than no rug. Here's how to get the size right.
Small Space
My balcony is smaller than my bathroom. It now has furniture, plants, and lights, and I eat breakfast out there four days a week.
Renter Tips
I spent $340 transforming my bedroom from a place I slept to a place I actually want to be. Here's every line item.
Small Space
I've unpacked this same lighting setup in three cities. It works every time.
Room by Room
I actually cook. Which means I actually need to see what I'm doing. This is how I solved it without an electrician.
Renter Tips
Before I put a single item of furniture in a new apartment, I assess the lighting. Here's the exact process.
Small Space
I walk into a friend's apartment and within 30 seconds I'm mentally rearranging their lights. Here's what I see.
Small Space
When the days get short, I change my entire lighting approach. Here's what I do and why it works.
Small Space
I don't have a guest room. I have a sofa bed and a plan. The lighting does most of the work.