As an artwork director with a background in theater, Mary Kenny has a aptitude for inside design that rivals her expertise as an occasion planner within the leisure business.
For her, there isn’t a such factor as “too busy” when adorning her 600-square-foot house. “I like to have a sense of humor,” says the self-described maximalist. “Your home shouldn’t be too serious. I want my space to feel balanced between funky and chill.”
Kenny’s gallery wall is full of sentimental gadgets displayed in frames she bought at Valley Worth Heart: paw prints from her deceased cats, a postcard she mailed to herself on her Thirtieth-birthday solo journey to Paris, the license plate from her first automotive, a signed Billie Eilish picture and a portray of Dodgers Stadium by a pal, artist Lee Ferris. 
Mary Kenny’s front room in her Los Angeles house earlier than she moved in.
(Mary Kenny)
Kenny, a local of North Carolina, is accustomed to dwelling small. Earlier than shifting into her house a bit of over a 12 months in the past, she lived in a 250-square-foot bachelor house with out a kitchen.
“I traveled all the time,” she says, justifying life with out a range and fridge. Then the pandemic hit. “I spent a year there,” she says. “Thankfully, it was only $1,000 a month.”
When it got here time to discover a extra acceptable house in Los Angeles, the place greater than half the inhabitants is renters, she had problem monitoring down one thing she favored that she may afford. “The listings would say there’s laundry, and there wasn’t. Or there was parking, and there wasn’t.”
She says the house she ultimately moved into isn’t good, however it’s rent-stabilized at $1,700 a month. “I always dreamed of owning a home,” she says. “It’s hard to accept that it’s not the American Dream anymore.”
A thrifted couch, drop cloths, a Magic 8 Ball — Mary Kenny’s house in L.A. is a trendy retreat that didn’t break the financial institution.
At a time when thrifting is booming for its financial and environmental advantages, particularly amongst Gen Z customers, Kenny, herself a millennial at age 36, has proven that it’s attainable to create a trendy, humorous and budget-friendly retreat with secondhand finds.
Spending roughly $2,500, she has remodeled an unremarkable one-bedroom house with grey vinyl flooring right into a vibrant illustration of who she is: colourful and enjoyable.
“I’m not afraid of mixing patterns and textures,” she says.
With a resourceful eye, Kenny has furnished her house with Fb Market finds, thrift retailer treasures and free hand-me-downs from mates. Her resourcefulness isn’t just spectacular; it’s inspiring. She proudly estimates that her house is about 80% thrifted. Her solely new splurges? A standing desk for her work-from-home setup and colourful, one-of-a-kind hand block-printed bedding from Anthropologie.
Not a giant cook dinner, Kenny says the kitchen is her least impressed room. She left the all-white kitchen as is and added colourful equipment. (Mary Kenny)
“I don’t like to spend money,” says Kenny. She humorously refers to herself as a “cheapskate” who always seems to be for distinctive items on Fb Market and Craigslist. Like her, her house is a piece in progress, frequently being reinvented.
Amongst her many discount finds is an opulent velvet couch she bought for $80 on Fb Market. “If my cats scratch it up, I can sell it for 50 bucks when I leave,” she says. Her queen-size mattress is a hand-me-down from a pal. To make customized curtains much like these she noticed at Anthropologie, she dyed a 6-by-9-foot canvas drop fabric from Harbor Freight, which value $6.99. She says, “I cut the drop cloth into two panels, dyed them with fabric dye and then sewed them together.” Should you don’t sew, don’t fear, she says, “you can cut them with pinking shears or use no-sew iron-on tape.”
“Bathrooms are the perfect place to be silly,” Kenny says of her lipstick kiss-themed lavatory, impressed by her favourite drag queen, Tammie Brown. 
A signed make-up wipe from Kenny’s favourite drag queen and black-and-white-checkered peel-and-stick vinyl flooring make a press release within the lavatory.
Kenny’s lavatory earlier than she moved in.
(Mary Kenny)
Kenny doesn’t suppose twice about stuffing furnishings from her treasure hunts into the again of her tiny Nissan Versa — she has been identified to safe gadgets with bungee cords — or repurposing on a regular basis ephemera into one thing particular.
“There was an episode of Marie Kondo’s ‘Tidying Up’ where she suggested displaying sentimental items rather than keeping them in boxes under the bed,” Kenny says of the household mementos, airline tickets and pet portraits she has on show in her gallery wall. Different gadgets, resembling a set of greeting playing cards connected to a bulletin board full of buttons, paper hearts and picture sales space footage, display the significance of her few household heirlooms. “I wish I had more,” she says. “I’ve moved around a lot and was never able to keep larger things.”
Above her sofa, she has hung her most prized household possessions: images of her grandmother featured within the Evansville Press in Indiana in 1964 after she discovered to skydive and joined a parachute membership.
Mary Kenny created a mural on printable wallpaper by transferring a botanical print onto her wall utilizing a projector, tracing it with a pencil, portray it with acrylic craft paint from Michaels after which outlining it with a Krink paint marker.
(Mary Kenny)
When requested for tips about arranging a gallery wall, Kenny recommends laying it out on the ground first. “I used to do brown paper templates and be really picky,” she says, “but now my strategy is just maintaining lines. I pick one item to be the center and move outward from there, trying to line up the bottom of the first item with the bottom of the second, then the third item lines up with the top of the second and so on.”
However Kenny’s house isn’t just about thrifting; it additionally showcases her versatile do-it-yourself expertise. She created a vibrant botanical mural within the eating room by transferring the sample onto Tempaper & Co. paintable detachable peel-and-stick wallpaper utilizing a projector, tracing it with a pencil and portray it with reasonably priced acrylic craft paints from Michaels. Outlined with a Krink paint marker, the oversize gerbera daisy mural makes a press release from each room within the house. “The mural is a fun way to add color to walls without having to repaint when you move out,” she says.
In her bed room, Kenny splurged on bedding from Anthropologie and hung kantha quilts from Etsy on the wall utilizing a staple gun.
(Brittany Brooks / For The Instances)
The bed room featured grey vinyl flooring and blinds on the window earlier than she moved in.
(Mary Kenny)
Kenny notes that the “rental-friendly” peel-and-stick mural and toilet decor are detachable and that she restores the partitions and fills any holes upon move-out; nevertheless, it’s at all times finest to test along with your landlord earlier than you embark by yourself renovations.
To supply privateness from a close-by house constructing in her Larchmont neighborhood, Kenny put Prism privateness movie on the home windows of her kitchen and front room and put in NoNo no-drill curtain brackets, particularly designed to connect to mounted blinds. “It’s a rental-friendly way to hide” blinds, Kenny says.
Although she has a eager design sense, Kenny likes to make use of the free on-line software Floorplanner, which creates 3-D flooring plans. The software helps her perceive the size of the gadgets she’s shopping for and the way they’ll all match collectively in her house. “It’s immensely helpful,” she says. “You can experiment with different layouts and furniture arrangements before making any purchases.”
Of all of the locations to make a press release, nevertheless, Kenny says cash goes a great distance within the lavatory. “Bathrooms are the perfect place to be silly,” she says of her lipstick kiss-themed lavatory, impressed by a make-up wipe she bought from her favourite drag queen, Tammie Brown, on Instagram and later framed. “I used peel-and-stick wallpaper, Tempaper & Co. paintable wallpaper and a faux flexible chair rail to transform this space. The floors are black-and-white checkered peel-and-stick vinyl. I wanted it to feel over the top.”
She succeeded.
Above her sofa, she has hung her most prized household heirlooms: newspaper images of her grandmother from 1964, after she discovered to skydive and joined a parachute membership. She additionally framed and hung her grandmother’s allure bracelet on the gallery wall.
Wanting again to when she was rising up, Kenny recollects begging her mom to let her redo her bed room. “I painted the walls and outfitted the two twin beds with leopard-print bedspreads,” she says. “I feel like I’m still in that stage.”
For her subsequent mission, Kenny hopes to maneuver to a two-bedroom quickly. “I’m working on becoming a foster parent,” she says.
The prospect of reimagining one other clean slate and beginning anew is attractive for the artistic drive. “I think I’d sell things that feel easy to come by, not especially unique or actually vintage,” says Kenny. “My favorite thing is selling something for the exact amount I bought it for. It’s like I rented it for free. My second favorite thing is not having to move it myself.”
Whimsical equipment and household heirlooms are a testomony to Kenny’s creativity and resourcefulness.
Makeover funds
Right here, Kenny — a “track every expense” form of particular person — breaks down the funds for her rental house makeover.
BedroomHeadboard$120Facebook MarketplaceCow chair$60Facebook MarketplaceHome Depot rug$220NewFeather lamps$40Facebook MarketplaceDresser + facet tables$120CraigslistQuilt$250New — AnthropologieCurtains$75New — EtsyCurtain rods$40NewWhite curtainsThrifted from earlier apartmentBedSecondhand from friendTiger rugPurchased for earlier house in 2020 — initially $166Living roomDesk$153NewDesk chair$30CraigslistLiving room lamps$30Out of the ClosetLiving room facet tables$50Facebook MarketplaceLiving room rugSecondhand from a friendChandelier$70Facebook MarketplaceCredenza$80Facebook MarketplaceCouch$80Facebook MarketplaceCoffee desk$40Facebook MarketplaceFrames$75Valley Worth CenterFramesFreeFree — eventDining room chairs$60Facebook MarketplaceDining room rug$150Facebook MarketplaceDining room desk$120NewPaintable wallpaper$75NewProjector mount$42NewProjector display$164NewFaux plantsFreeFree — eventWoven folding chairsFreeFree — eventYellow curtains with birdsFreeMade for earlier apartmentWhite curtainsFreeThrifted for earlier apartmentPrism privateness movie$19BathroomFaux chair rail$28NewPaint, paint provides$50NewKiss wallpaper$82MiscellaneousTchotchkes, decor$250Thrifted from Valley Worth Heart, Goodwill, Out of the Closet, free from occasions$2,573Total