Renter Transforms Century-Old Brooklyn Apartment with Murals and DIY
An interior designer and her partner moved into a 1910s Brooklyn rental and made extensive upgrades, including hand-painted murals and colorful DIY projects. They had floor plans and renders ready before signing the lease. The apartment retains original features like bay windows, cove ceilings, and trim.
Sydney Moss, an interior design student at Parsons at the time of the move, leveraged the project as academic practice, creating detailed floor plans and renders before committing to the lease. The couple, who met at a Brooklyn artist collective, were motivated by the privacy of a private kitchen after years of sharing one with a dozen other people in their previous Clinton Hill residence.
The apartment's upgrades blend DIY craftsmanship with secondhand finds, including handmade pillows and lampshades, a headboard crafted from leftover upholstery fabric, and a kitchen valance made from client fabric scraps. The extensive hand-painted murals and colorful paint schemes across every room coexist with preserved original architectural details like bay windows, cove ceilings, and trim, demonstrating a maximalist approach to rental personalization.
This story may inspire renters to reconsider the boundaries of temporary living spaces, potentially normalizing significant, personalized investments in properties they don't own. It could shift perceptions of renter-landlord relationships, suggesting that creative, non-destructive upgrades can enhance a home's value and appeal. For the broader rental market, this approach may encourage more tenants to view their residences as long-term canvases, fostering stronger community ties and neighborhood stability, though it may also raise questions about the balance between personal expression and property preservation.