Spending thousands on a home you don’t own sounds counterintuitive. But for renters who don’t see homeownership on the near horizon, the alternative is years of living in a space that never quite feels like theirs.
Nnedinma Obiwuru took a different approach. She and her fiancé spent about $7,000 over several years turning their Austin two-bedroom into a Parisian-inspired retreat with vintage furniture, DIY builds and thrifted art, all without making a single permanent change, according to Business Insider.
Not every renter has that budget, and not every project needs one. But the way Obiwuru thought about where to spend, where to save and what to build herself offers genuinely useful apartment decorating ideas for anyone trying to make a rental feel like home.
How Much Did Nnedinma Obiwuru Spend Transforming Her Apartment?
About $7,000 total, spread across several years. That covered vintage furniture, DIY projects like a restaurant-style banquette and collapsible bar, thrifted artwork and one bigger-ticket item: a $1,000 brown leather sofa for the living room.
Most of the individual purchases were far cheaper. Many thrifted pieces cost between 49 cents and $20. The collapsible bar was built for about $80 using plywood and hinges. The banquette, which would have cost over $4,000 to buy, was built from scratch with wood, foam and fabric for around $700.
“The cool thing is that everything I build and design in the apartment is renter-friendly,” she told Business Insider.
Why Are More Renters Investing in Spaces They Don’t Own?
Because for many, buying isn’t on the table anytime soon. A 2025 Federal Reserve report found that 68 percent of renters can’t afford a down payment, 49 percent can’t cover a monthly mortgage and 42 percent can’t qualify for one. Only 39 percent said they prefer renting.
Obiwuru is in that position herself. “Owning a house in Austin feels more like a 10-year dream,” she told Business Insider. “Renting is where I’m at, and many of my friends are in the same situation. That’s why I focus on making my place feel like home.”
When homeownership is a decade away, spending years in a space that doesn’t feel like yours starts to feel like a bigger cost than investing in one that does.
How Do You Decorate an Apartment Without Making Permanent Changes?
The key is choosing pieces and projects that move with you. Obiwuru’s entire apartment was designed around renter-friendly choices: freestanding furniture, removable decor, portable builds and reversible treatments.
Her banquette seating, collapsible bar, thrifted frames and vintage furniture can all go to the next place. Nothing was bolted down or built into the walls.
That’s the principle worth borrowing. If it can’t leave with you, it’s probably not worth the investment for a renter.
How Did She Find Inspiration for Her Apartment’s Look?
By looking outside her apartment entirely. Obiwuru’s primary bedroom was inspired by a suite at Paris’s Relais Christine. Her guest room drew from the bar-and-restaurant world with red velvet banquette seating and a moody atmosphere. She’s also referenced New Orleans hotel Maison Metier for the eclectic, layered look throughout the space.
Starting with a reference point is one of the most underrated apartment decorating ideas. It keeps purchases and projects feeling intentional rather than random, which is how a rental starts looking like a home someone designed rather than a collection of things someone bought.
Is DIY Worth It for Renter-Friendly Apartment Projects?
It can be, when the skill level matches the project. Obiwuru’s banquette is the best example. Buying one would have cost over $4,000. Building it cost $700 and gave her exactly what she wanted.
The collapsible bar was an even simpler build at around $80, with Home Depot cutting the plywood to size.
DIY doesn’t make sense for everything. Some projects take more time and effort than the savings justify. But for the right idea with the right person, it can turn something out of budget into something very much within reach.
Where Should Renters Spend More and Where Should They Save?
Obiwuru’s approach offers a useful framework. She kept decorative purchases cheap, mostly through thrifting, and put more money into the pieces she uses heavily every day, like the $1,000 leather sofa.
That hierarchy works for most renters. Save on the things that set the mood: artwork, frames, small decorative objects, accent pieces. Spend more on the things your body touches constantly: the couch, the bed, the desk chair. Those are also the pieces most likely to move with you and last.
How Can Thrifting Help Renters Decorate on a Budget?
It was central to Obiwuru’s approach. Her bathroom gallery wall came together for under $100 using 51 picture frames from Goodwill stores around Austin, filled with Harlem Renaissance and Prohibition-era artwork.
Beyond the savings, thrifting added something a new furniture store can’t. It gave the apartment a collected, layered quality that made it feel like someone’s home rather than a showroom. That’s hard to replicate when everything comes from the same place.
What If You Outgrow Your Renter-Friendly Decor?
Change it. That’s the whole point of renter-friendly decorating. Obiwuru has continued evolving her apartment as her taste shifts. In a recent Instagram video, she showed herself reworking an accent wall she’d outgrown rather than living with a design that no longer felt right.
Wallpaper, paint treatments, artwork layouts and furniture arrangements can all evolve without a renovation. The best renter-friendly choices are the ones that let you change your mind without starting over.
What Should You Ask Yourself Before Spending Money on a Rental?
A few questions can keep the spending intentional. Can this come with me when I move? Does it make the space more useful, more personal or both? Could I get the look for less through DIY or thrifting? Is this the right place to spend more, or should I save here and invest elsewhere?
The goal isn’t to spend like you own the place. It’s to make sure that whatever you do spend improves your daily life in a way you won’t regret.
Looking for more renter-friendly home upgrades that don’t require a big budget or a DIY project? Start here.
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