Your Not-Forever Home: Affordable, Elevated, Temporary Decor for Renters

Lamenting declining homeownership rates, journalist Ormerod (Coco Rules) provides a spirited manual exploring how tenants can express their personal style in rented abodes. She highlights decorating techniques that can be easily undone at the end of a lease, describing how to cover kitchen counters in removable vinyl, apply temporary wallpaper, and decorate removable radiator covers. Other DIY projects are aimed at upscaling furniture, as when Ormerod details how to add a foam seat to a stool and glue scalloped trim to shelves. Ormerod privileges practicality over aesthetics, as when she admits that though she prefers glass in picture framing, she usually opts for transparent vinyl instead because it won’t shatter during a move. Unusual for an interior design guide, asides decrying how homeownership has become unattainable for younger generations provide a refreshing acknowledgement of political and practical constraints on decorating decisions. The projects are relatively simple (though readers will want some familiarity with a sewing machine before making their own table napkins and curtains), but it still feels like an oversight that many omit photos illustrating the steps involved. Nonetheless, renters will find this a font of inspiration. (May)