- A content creator who posts budget-luxury hacks on TikTok shares cheap rental redesign ideas.
- Clare Sullivan told Insider that renters don't have to miss out on personalizing their homes.
A budget-luxury expert who shares affordable lifestyle tips on TikTok says that renting a property doesn't mean you can't experiment with interiors.
Clare Sullivan is a 28-year-old content creator with a Master of Fine Arts degree in interior design, based in New York. Sullivan told Insider she started a TikTok account to discuss art in April 2020, and began making videos about interiors a year later.
Sullivan's videos show her audience of 1.1 million followers how to achieve a luxury lifestyle without the costly price tag and also demystify home organization and decor guidance.
Sullivan said it can be disheartening to renters when they can't afford to buy, and therefore don't feel empowered to curate their space. But this doesn't have to be the case, she said. There are easy and affordable ways to amplify a rental home and express your personality without permanently modifying the building.
Mount sconces to your wall instead of buying lamps
Lamps can be a great addition to a bedroom or living room, Sullivan said, but she recommends sconces for a more "symmetrical, elevated look." The budget-luxury expert said bronze sconces, in particular, achieve an expensive look and were purchased by Sullivan for $129.99 on Amazon.
She added that renters don't need to rewire their lighting to try out the design feature. "I recently discovered battery-operated light bulbs that look just like a normal light bulb," Sullivan said, adding that these remote-controlled bulbs are a "game changer" as you only have to drill the sconce into the wall and turn it on.
Use stencils to decorate walls rather than costly wallpaper
One of Sullivan's favorite budget-luxury hacks is to swap out peel-and-stick wallpaper for stencils instead. She said the peel-and-stick option is often touted as a renter-friendly hack but in her experience, it can be just as costly as paste-on wallpaper.
"An alternative to that is using stencils, and you can either spray paint or take a paint roller onto the wall and create a beautiful pattern. And they have every stencil you could imagine," Sullivan told Insider.
"That way, for the price of a stencil, which is around $20, you get the effect of wallpaper, which could end up being $1,000 or more," she said, adding that stencils can be purchased from Amazon and Target, as well as other decor stores.
Try peel-and-stick panels to create a luxury feel
While Sullivan thinks peel-and-stick wallpaper has its limitations, she said peel-and-stick panels are on her budget-luxury approved list and can be purchased on Amazon for around $20. She uses the product to add dimensions to blank walls and make a room look more put together.
"It adds that old New York or London townhouse feel. It gives the effect of living in a house that's from the 1800s rather than a new build where the walls are all completely modern and stripped," Sullivan told Insider.
The interior-design expert added that she uses command strips to secure the molding to her walls, allowing it to be a reversible enhancement should she leave her rental property.
"Command strips are so great because you're not putting holes in the walls and they surprisingly hold a lot more than people realize," she added.
Sullivan wants people to try her techniques to see that you don't always have to break the bank to create a home you're proud of.