My Rental
Ten years. One rental. Still not done.
always evolving
I’ve never owned a home. I’ve decorated one anyway.
I moved into this townhouse over ten years ago, and I’m still here. No permission to knock down a wall, no budget to redo a kitchen. Just a lease, a landlord, and a long list of things I wasn’t allowed to change. Everyone told me to wait until I owned a place to make it feel like mine.
I didn’t wait. Every room in this house has been changed at least twice. Some of it permanent-looking, none of it actually permanent. Holes get patched. Curtains come down. What’s underneath still belongs to someone else. What’s on top of it is entirely mine, and it’s the reason House of Eme exists.
Hi, I’m Brandia
RENTER. TEN YEARS RUNNING.
I’m not a designer, and I don’t own this house. What I have is a visual merchandising background, an obsession with Home Decorating, and ten years of figuring out what “no” still leaves room for.
House of Eme started because I got tired of decorating advice that assumed you owned the walls. Everything I share here has happened in this townhouse. All the wins, the things I’d never do again, the holes I’ve patched more than once.
If you’re renting and you want your place to feel finished, not temporary, not a waiting room, you’re in the right place.
What I was told I couldn’t do
NO PAINTING ALLOWED
Painted anyway. Patch it at move-out.
NO PERMANENT FIXTURES
Nothing here is permanent. Everything is reversible.
NO CHANGING THE KITCHEN
New hardware, same cabinets underneath.
NO REMOVING POPCORN CEILINGS
Left it alone. Lighting did the heavy lifting instead.
NO HOLES IN THE WALL
Every gallery wall you see here has holes in it.
NO CHANGING THE FLOORING
Rugs became the whole strategy.
NO BUILT-IN SHELVING
Floating shelves that come down clean.
NO CHANGING THE FRONT DOOR
A wreath and a new mat made it feel like yours from the curb.
How I Decorate Here
Reversible
If it can not come down clean at move-out, it does not go up. Everything gets patched, unmounted, or removed before I hand back the keys.
Honest
If something was a mistake, I say so. If a fix cost more than it was worth, I say that too. Nothing on this site is staged to look easier than it was.
Real Budget
I am not decorating with a design budget. Every choice here has to work for someone paying rent, not someone flipping a house.
Room by Room
Most Changed
living room
This is where most of what you see on the blog starts. Rugs, walls, lighting, more than once each.
Least Negotiable
Bedroom
Easy Peel and Stick Wallpaper for a cozy bedroom corner. Found a way around it anyway.
Smallest Budget
Bathroom
Hardware and a backsplash did more work here than anything expensive could have.
First Impression
Entry
The one space I never leave alone for long. It sets the tone for everything past it.