This Photographer’s Rental Has Some of the Best DIY Painted Walls We’ve Ever Seen
Name: Haley Rock, fiancé, and daughter
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Type of home: Upper Duplex
Size: 1500 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: My house just started getting some creative touch during Wisconsin’s shutdown for the COVID pandemic. I started by painting a mural; my good friend Tarah Mueller helped me paint the flower wall in my living room. I am a boudoir photographer and wanted to create a space more unique to my style. Wallpaper was out of the question because I rent, so we went with painted what looked like wallpaper I loved. This carried on into my small bedroom, where I created the patchwork/color block wall and bought the daybed and accessories to create another space for my photo sessions. I used just the paint left over from the floral wall and plus a few colors we didn’t splash on.
My main bedroom space was a little difficult. I painted a wave-like feature wall using many jewel tones and had one photo session with the backdrop and changed my mind. I decided to paint it all mostly black and use gold leaf paint to give it a bit of pop! Painting the main bedroom space black inspired me to continue it into the living room. This resulted into me painting between the flowers with the black paint; before originally it was gray! It was very time consuming but much like my ideas come to life, I tend to act impulsively and just have to do it to see if I will like it.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Creative Artistic Botanical Boho Cozy
What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room is the room with the muted color block and the daybed. I wake up every morning to the wildness of all the colors and the bed is always made and usually one of my sassy cats is asleep on it. I find the wall calming, inspiring, and energetic.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? I just found the cabinet I upcycled on the curb just yesterday and sanded and stained it a rich wood tone and set it up in my bedroom with my records and plants! I find it so fitting to my style!
Any advice for creating a home you love? Don’t be afraid to push the limits of creativity and just because you rent a house doesn’t mean it cannot reflect on who you are!
This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.