This Renter Filled Her New Jersey Rental with Pops of Color — Including IKEA Upcycles

published Mar 10, 2022

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Kitchen with gray cabinets and yellow/orange accents — Credit: Dominique Ivory
We needed to add some color to a gray kitchen. I found an orange toaster on Amazon, and it was perfect. Curtains, towels, and décor were the easiest way to add even more color.

Name: Dominique Ivory and fiancé
Location: Carlstadt, New Jersey
Type of home: Apartment
Size: 700 square feet
Years lived in: 3 months, renting

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Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: It’s a three-family home that we rent one space out of. It was renovated just before we moved in. I work from home, so I needed a space that I could work from and move around in. My fiancé is an engineer who loves to game and also needed space for his computer, though he doesn’t work from home. We are foodies. We love to cook. We have different hobbies, and we needed space to fit all of that stuff. We wanted a place that felt like home. We never really had our own space prior to this. It’s been a dream to freely decorate and just be ourselves here. I think we did a good job making it cozy but still elevated and adult without being too boring.

Credit: Dominique Ivory

We got this bar cabinet from Target. Most of the liquor in it was gifted to us. It's my favorite part of the apartment.

I love color. I feel like a lot of homes I see that are on the higher end are so white/gray and boring. I wanted a lot of color and our personalities reflected. We love games. I think you can see that in some of the decor. I love nature, plants, and the color green. Black culture in my home was also very important. The artwork highlights just some important figures in the black community and female figures as well.

Credit: Dominique Ivory

If you want need more storage but want to make it pretty, this is the secret! The drawers are from IKEA. I got some contact paper from Amazon and covered each drawer. We added some plants on top and a basket for all our junk.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Eclectic black girl cozy.

Credit: Dominique Ivory

I found this chair on the street by my mother's house. I put a lot of love into it and made it look like new again. I added the dark botanical pillow to contrast all the gold in the area.

What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room is the living room. I put all of the best artwork and pieces in there so it would all be right on display. It’s also the room I worked hardest on. I took my time selecting everything in there. From the rug to the throw pillows, it was all a deliberate choice.

Credit: Dominique Ivory

All my favorite artwork is displayed in the living room. Some of the most iconic figures are put on display. Our love of games is also on display on the bookshelf. That was from IKEA. I painted it orange.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The last thing I bought was a William Morris art print I found on Etsy. It’s going in a gold frame that I found at a dollar store.

Any advice for creating a home you love? Make sure it’s true to you! Don’t worry about what works and what doesn’t or going for a certain aesthetic. Also, don’t be afraid to thrift or find furniture/pieces in unconventional places. Some of my favorite things I got for free. If you like something, buy it and find a place for it.

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

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