My daughter’s new apartment is lovely, but I’m a little bit disappointed, if I’m honest. I’ve always felt that half the point of owning property is being at liberty to customise it, yet she’s opposed to anything that might interfere with the fresh-out-of-the-box quality that currently characterises the place. She won’t even put hang pictures on the walls!
I suppose the magnitude of the investment has gotten to her – she’s clearly terrified of sabotaging its value. But, honestly, it has no character to speak of, and she’s going to be living there for at least a good while. What she needs is a simple way of making it her own that isn’t too invasive.
You know what wouldn’t go astray? A splash paint here and there – just some accents – and bit of designer wallpaper. Melbourne home decor seems to be having a renaissance of wall coverings at the moment; I’ve heard that you can even get self-adhesive, removable stuff these days.
If I’m not mistaken, you can even get it custom printed. Digital wallpaper – I think that’s what they’re calling it. And there I was thinking that ‘digital wallpaper’ was what you have on your computer’s desktop. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the most on top of the latest technologies, but if there’s one thing I do know, it’s that it’s worth taking a bit of a risk to make your surroundings a joy to be in.
As far as I’m concerned, that holds all the more true when you’ve just shelled out 800 grand on said surroundings. I understand the logic of not wanting to damage the investment, but honestly, a bit of superficial decor isn’t going to have much effect on that. Why have your own place if you’re not going to make it your own?
Maybe she likes the minimalist look; that could be part of it. If that’s the case, maybe I can win her over with a wallcovering that looks like exposed concrete or brick – very industrial chic. Knowing her, I shouldn’t get my hopes up, though.