The vinyl plank floors felt gluey, the perfect adhesive to amass dust and dirt on our son's bare feet. He refuses to wear indoor slippers.
Right after we move in, I could ascertain the previous tenant's meal preparations from the appearance of the black kitchen appliances. Revolting cooking oil spills and tiny food particles wallpapered the kitchen tiles
In winters, we could tell it's -16 degrees Celsius outside from the overnight production of ice films on our glass windows.
I have no business snooping around neighbors but I could hear their muffled conversations from the elevator to their front doors, their domestic squabbles after midnight, the smell of fish frying in a pan for dinner.
That period was the most economical in terms of apparel. We don't buy much. There's no need since we've been wearing them on repeat for a month. It's better to clothe ourselves in body odor than wear newly washed clothes with an unsuspecting speck of dog poop. A tenant tipped my husband once to check inside the washer unit before loading the laundry after noticing it the week before.
Worst of all, I found incorrigible open wounds on my favorite blue sofa after our move. That offensive apartment building transformed lovely into ugly, obliging conformity.
If money wasn't an issue, I would have been willing to relinquish our one-year contract. Can you put up with a management that overpromised?
Repulsed, the husband decided not to decorate that old unit for Christmas last year. If you're curious to see what it look like before. See here. The place is immortalized in the last photo. (The captured still may not look like the ailing description I've recounted above. I'd credit that to Lightroom.)
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I breathe relief after we move to a newly built townhouse for the same monthly rent. It is located 15 minutes away from that ancient relic of an apartment complex. In our new townhouse, my furniture sparkled. It's potential is magnified in the right environment.
Which I thought is a great metaphor in life.
When you place people into the right settings -- filled with love, peace, and warmth -- they'll blossom into their full potential.
Anyway, below is how we decorated our townhouse rental for Christmas 2020.
Interior Details:
- Blue Velvet Sofa from ZGallerie (here's another option)
- Gray accent chairs from Pier1 Imports
- Coffee table from Wayfair
- Curtains from Ikea
- Area rug from HomeSense Canada
- TV Stand with Electric fireplace (similar)
I also got a small tree to decorate our coffee table for less than $15 -- which I transferred to the side table.
I would have wanted to add more decorations like wooden nutcracker drummers, a Christmas wreath, and stockings. But that's another project for another year. Buying a tree with ornaments is no small budget after all.
How are you decorating your house this Christmas? What's your theme? Are you into the traditional reds and golds? Or the blues and silver?