I Can’t Stop Thinking About This Renter Who Spent Over $40K on an Apartment She Doesn’t Own
It’s ingrained in many of us: If you don’t own your home, you don’t spend a ton of money updating it. Or, at the very least, only invest in things you can “take with you.” But when creator Brigette Muller found her 560-square-foot, rent-stabilized Brooklyn apartment, she went in an entirely different direction. And I’m still thinking about it.
When Apartment Therapy first toured her home, Brigette (who goes by @hummusbirrd on TikTok) had sunk roughly $40,000 into her rental — $20,000 worth of renovation materials and labor and another $20,000 on furniture, decor, light fixtures, paint, and hardware. She’s added everything from custom shelving and a new kitchen countertop to carefully collected vintage pieces. For some, that number might sound shocking — maybe even like a “waste.” For Brigette, though, it was money well-spent turning an apartment she loved into a home she never wanted to leave.
Rent-Stabilization, Architectural Charm, and a Cool Landlord Made This Unit a No-Brainer
As soon as Brigette walked into this 1928 railroad-style apartment, she knew she wanted to live there. “I found it on Craigslist and immediately fell in love with all the charm,” she wrote at the time of her House Tour. “Beautiful arches, original tin ceiling and moulding, built-in cabinets, white wood floors, and a fireplace mantel. I was in love.”
Incredibly, the apartment is also rent-stabilized. Even better? It came with a landlord totally cool with tenants making changes (as long as the tenant pays for everything).
She Spent Money in Ways That Make Her Life Better (and More Stylish)
One of the reasons Brigette was inspired to invest in so many updates? She’s a content creator that works for herself, so she’s in the apartment all the time. “I really wanted to make it beautiful,” she wrote in her House Tour.
A lot of renovations happened in the kitchen, where she changed the sink and the faucet, installed new cabinet doors and knobs, and purchased a brand new marble countertop. She also bought a new fridge. The apartment’s bathroom actually didn’t come with a sink, so it made sense to spend a lot of time updating the apartment’s only sink area.
The bathroom got a full update as well, except she kept the original tiles and the existing bathtub, though she reglazed the tub and added marble remnants to the tub deck. She also redid the walls and added a new stone floor.
She Invested in Storage to Make Her Small Space Organized and Tidy
It’s easiest to live in a small space when it’s uncluttered, and good storage is key to keeping things organized. Brigette consulted with interior designer Carly Summers, who recommended installing several IKEA cabinets to transform one of the apartment’s small rooms into an envy-inducing dressing area.
The custom living room shelves are one of her favorite elements in the entire apartment. “When I first moved in, this was actually just a complete blank wall, and I knew instantly that I wanted to create big shelves where I could display all of my art,” Brigette wrote. “When you have things that go all the way up to the ceiling, so like shelves that go all the way up or hanging curtains all the way up, it just draws your eye up to the ceiling and allows you to take in the whole space so that it feels really grand.”
She Added Curtains for Softness (and to Hide Ugly Stuff)
Brigette jokingly called herself the “self-proclaimed queen of curtains” in her House Tour because she has a total of 20 curtain panels hanging throughout the apartment. The curtains prove to be a worthy investment because of all their functions — from covering the windows for privacy and hiding “ugly” things like the trash can and the vacuum to helping create distinctions between rooms in the small space.
“There’s this arch that separates the kitchen from the dressing room, but I also added curtains to help it feel even more like its own space,” she explained. “I also just love the vibe of these curtains. I feel like they feel so fancy and that’s my whole vibe for the dressing room.”
She Proves That If It’s Worth It for You, That’s All That Matters
Even I, someone who has worked in interiors for two decades and knows the importance of shaping your home into what you need, can fall prey to worrying about spending too much money on a space. In past rentals, I’ve held off on projects because I didn’t own. Even in the house I currently do own, I haven’t tackled certain jobs yet because I know we could move someday.
There are, of course, reasons and situations that keep someone from spending tons of money on their home , whether it be a lack of funds or time or a strict landlord with a lot of restrictions. But the lessons I’m learning from Brigette are clear: If you have the money and the means and it would be worth it to you to invest in a home — even a rental! — it’s worth the investment.
“I’m of the mindset that everyone deserves to love the space that they live in, even if it’s just temporary,” she wrote. “And for me, it’s not like I moved into this thinking this is my temporary home. Like, I’m like, this is my home. I live here, so I want it to look beautiful.”
Brigette’s not the only renter who’s spent money customizing a rental home: Imani Keal’s upgrades in her apartment are also inspiring to me.