Before & After: A Sad Basement Apartment Gets a Budget Refresh

Name: Jess Ingui and my dog, Finnegan
Location: Quogue, New York
Type of home: Basement apartment
Size: 725 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years, renting

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I just love art and how art is such a pure form of self-expression… and have found that decorating at times is a form of expressing ourselves.

You know, when I first moved in I was a bit discouraged to be downsizing into basement living, having previously been renting a second-floor apartment with a balcony, etc. But after spending enough time somewhere to begin to call it a home, you start organizing your own things how you like them… and one day you’re like wow, I don’t care if this was in a basement or in the woods or in a dumpster, it’s my space, and I’m proud of it.

The basement I’m in doesn’t have traditional style walls. They’re this vinyl material, so I can’t paint them or hang things on them like you would a normal home, but I’ve found alternatives so I can still have a bit of “wall art.”

My landlord was super kind and so I was fortunate enough to have her permission to remove her current furniture and replace it with my own.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Rustic, bohemian, transitional.

What is your favorite room and why? I love my kitchen because I spend a lot of time in it. It’s the room that is often undergoing the most changes. I try to replace flowers weekly, I do a lot of studying and paperwork at the kitchen table, while eating, of course. I love cooking. And, I really transformed it on a very tight budget and so I guess because of that I feel accomplished. It isn’t necessarily my dream kitchen, but it was one I was able to put together in a super affordable way and it’s comfortable for me and Finn.

Any advice for creating a home you love? I would say just get rid of things that you don’t love. We all tend to hold on to things that we might think we will need or want later, but if it isn’t serving us now, or isn’t practical for us now, I say… sell it, give it away, chuck it. Create a space that is filled with things you love.

This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.