apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have never understood people who go ahead and rent something they consider to be hideous.

The books on being a landlord all say to paint the walls off-white and install neutral beige wall-to-wall. I know some people who flip houses, and this is exactly what they do too. Yech. Can this really be "conventional taste"? Or does everybody universally hate it?

You could incorporate some of the external architectural details inside through furniture, artwork or color choices. This might help the overall feel be a bit more cohesive. Is it possible to remove the doors of the kitchen cabinets, hide them somewhere safe, and use something else?

I'm with Lisa Hunter... also how is beige carpet a good investment. If your renter doesn't care for it properly it would be all over with the wrong stain.

I'd say paint the walls offwhite to have a neutral look for prospective tenants (one woman's luscious sexy dark blue is another's too depressing for words, after all) but then let the tenant paint the walls whatever color she wants, on the understanding that she paint it white again at the end of her tenancy or forfeit the security deposit. Does that seem fair to The Community?

Actually, let's get back to the photo posted at the top of this discussion. Give us the story on that -- is it a stage set or a real bathroom? if it's real, how did it happen?

whoops, found the link. Wow. Some years ago a friend of mine bought a house -- an early 20th century rowhouse (semi-detached) -- that had been done up in the late 60s/early 70s with the loudest wallpaper you've ever seen, different in every single room. He saved samples when he ripped it off. Amazing. Pyschedelic metallics in one room, huge purple, mustard & turquoise flowers in another, and so on.

It's long been obvious to me that the popular music in each age (at least since the 60s) has been very much influenced by the drug of choice. What about interior design? Any thoughts?

throw a bunch of funky rugs down and paint the walls, you might be surprised how those cupboards look after you paint the walls an interesting color... or perhaps cover them with some removeable decals/graphics.

Hmm, I like the photo.

"I have never understood people who go ahead and rent something they consider to be hideous."

Since I've been apartment hunting for WEEKS with no success... I would absolutely rent an ugly-but-probably-fixable place if it was affordable, close enough to work, and big enough to hold all our stuff. I would be jumping for joy to rent it.

And then I'd just throw up a bunch of non-permanent fixits, because who doesn't love a challenge?

The picture above may be the sole exception, because I wouldn't want to have a seizure or something every morning when I took a shower. Ouch, it's like knives in the eyeballs.

I'd just like to know about the bathroom pictured. Yikes.

I second sf julia's idea about putting down some throw rugs.

Also if they won't let you paint in interesting colors consider using fabric instead. Depending on their restrictions about holes in the wall, you could install those bookshelves that bracket to the wall and fill it up with interesting knick knacks. In a rental I think the key is to give people something interesting to look at to divert their gaze from the parts that
don't fit what you would choose.

And as and aside my husband and I rented a home with wood paneling in the living room and dining room. I almost backed out of the deal because of it but decided that the low rent made up for the bad taste. And after living in the house for a period of time I came to like it! I know, crazy! I would never install it in my own home, or buy a home with it, but in the winter especially it gave the place a warm cabin feel.
I think that's the trick to enjoying a rental is to just go with the crazy aspects of the place. Everyone knows you didn't install the cabinets, they won't hold it against you.

Throw rugs turn a vile wall-to-wall into a neutral backdrop.

I've also put down fitted sisal flooring over the beige carpet, saving the landlord's rug and my own sanity at one and the same time.

You're probably stuck with the cabinets, although you could use spray-adhesive or mac-tack to adhere fabric or paper cover to them.

Yeah, I'm sorry. Without an actual picture, this is difficult, and I go along with some factor of -if these things are difficult to live with and can't be changed because the landlord forbids, and you don't have the right vision to overcome cosmetic setbacks in a temporary fashion - keep looking.

If there was an actual picture it would be easier. Just like the "Good Questions" post posts, an example they had to hunt down won't be as useful as the picture with your actual problem. Going on hints, I say you've bought some time to look for a better apartment.

Picture would help. The community can give plenty of general advice, but if your here reading AT you probably know much of it already, can you post a few to flickr an link them in the comments?