Creating A First (Rental) Home

My daughter's rental has this cute porch space and a front yard.

I lived in college dorms, an overpriced and crappily cheap furnished apartment, and then back with my parents for a while before DH and I married and bought our first home. He was at an entry level job and I worked full time as a preschool teacher while still going to school part time. Needless to say, we could not go out and furnish the house, as small as it was, new. I've enjoyed seeing DD1 make her apartment in Wisconsin, even though a bit standard into more than just walls and furniture. Her place here in Minnesota though, she is truly making into a home. From taking advantage of quirky features of the house she is renting to putting her mark on a few inherited pieces, she has the right mix of bohemian style with Midwestern comfort.

I'm partnering with her (meaning she is humoring me by letting me take and post pictures of her house) on a series of posts on creating a first home on a budget. As the cost of living rises, young people may be living in rental properties longer. I think it is more essential that first or second starter houses or apartments are made to be a place of relaxation and refuge and not just the worst of their families cast off furniture and storage crates. My daughter works long hours, is active in the gym, with boxing, trivia nights, and her friends. A space of comfort to unwind is called for. She also is also a creative being and need space for editing videos and photos plus serene space for writing. She loves to cook, bake, and meal prep healthy lunches and dinners in batches so having space to spread out, prepare, and then package for her freezer is essential. In Wisconsin she hosted movie or game nights and hopes to do the same here. Not that it needs to be large, but entertaining space needs to be functional and transformational.

 If renting, most likely there will be parts of the place that can't be changed but are eyesores or irritants. Finding inexpensive ways to mitigate them is part of creating a home. Check out our weekly feature for the details and her budget per room. Keep in mind even her minimalist budget was not spent all at once, but done in addition to free or nearly free acquisitions along the way. This has been a three year process for her, so if your young adult children are just starting out, know they can have ideas and vision and gradually work towards it.