As an art director with a background in theater, Mary Kenny has a talent for interior design that rivals her skills as an event planner in the entertainment industry.
For her, there’s no such thing as “too busy” decorating a 600-square-foot apartment. “I like to have a sense of humor,” says the self-proclaimed maximalist. “Your home shouldn’t be too serious. You want your space to feel a balance between funky and chill.”
The living room of Mary Kenny’s Los Angeles apartment before she moved in.
(Mary Kenny)
Originally from North Carolina, Kenny is used to living small. Until she moved into her apartment a little over a year ago, she lived in a 250-square-foot bachelor apartment with no kitchen.
“I was always traveling,” she says, justifying living without a stove and refrigerator. Then the pandemic hit. “I spent a year there,” she says. “Thankfully, it was only $1,000 a month.”
When it came time to look for a more suitable apartment in Los Angeles, where more than half of the population is renters, she struggled to find one she liked within her budget. “The listing said there was laundry, but there wasn’t. Or there was parking, but there was no parking.”
She says the apartment she ended up moving into wasn’t perfect, but the rent was stable at $1,700 a month. “I always dreamed of owning a home,” she says. “It’s hard to accept that it’s no longer the American Dream.”
Recycled sofas, drop cloths, and a Magic 8 ball — Mary Kenny’s LA apartment is a stylish retreat without breaking the bank.
With thrifting booming for economic and environmental benefits, especially among Gen Z consumers, Kenny, a 36-year-old Millennial himself, uses second-hand items to create stylish and humorous products. It showed us that it’s possible to create a budget-friendly retreat.
She spent about $2,500 transforming a plain one-bedroom apartment with gray vinyl floors into a vibrant, colorful and fun expression of who she is.
“I’m not afraid to mix and match patterns and textures,” she says.
With a resourceful eye, Kenny has outfitted his apartment with Facebook Marketplace finds, thrift store treasures, and free hand-me-downs from friends. Her resourcefulness is not only impressive; It’s moving. She proudly estimates that she is saving about 80% on her apartment. Her only new splurge? Her work-from-home standing desk and colorful and unique hand block print bedding from Anthropologie.
Kenny, who isn’t much of a cook, says the kitchen is the least inspiring room. I kept the pure white kitchen and added some colorful accessories. (Mary Kenny)
“I don’t like spending money,” Kenny says. She humorously calls herself a “cheapskate” who is always on the lookout for unique pieces on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Like her, her home is a work in progress, continually reinvented.
Among her many bargains is a plush velvet sofa she bought on Facebook Marketplace for $80. “If your cat scratches it, you can sell it for $50 when you get home,” she says. Her queen-sized bed is a hand-me-down from a friend. To make custom curtains similar to the ones she found at Anthropologie, she dyed a 6-by-9-foot canvas drop cloth she bought at Harbor Freight. The price was $6.99. “I cut the drop cloth into two panels, dyed them with fabric dye and sewed them together,” she says. Don’t worry if you can’t sew. “You can cut with pinking shears or use seamless iron-on tape,” she says.
Makeup wipes signed by Kenny’s favorite drag queens and black-and-white checked peel-and-stick vinyl flooring make a statement in the bathroom.
The bathroom before Kenny moved in.
(Mary Kenny)
Whether it’s stuffing furniture from treasure hunts into the back of her tiny Nissan Versa (she’s known for securing items with bungee cords), Kenny repurposes everyday ephemera into something special. I think about it without hesitation.
“In Marie Kondo’s episode of Tidying Up, she suggested displaying sentimental items instead of storing them in a box under the bed,” says Kenny, who shares the family memorabilia that hangs on the gallery wall. We talk about goods, airline tickets, and pet portraits. Other items, such as buttons, paper hearts, and a collection of greeting cards taped to a bulletin board filled with photos in a photo booth, demonstrate the importance of her few family heirlooms. “I wish I could have eaten more,” she says. “I moved a lot, so I couldn’t store large items.”
Above the sofa hangs her most cherished family belongings. It’s a photo of my grandmother that was published in the Evansville Press in Indiana in 1964 after she learned to skydive and joined a parachute club.
Mary Kenny created a mural on printable wallpaper by using a projector to transfer a botanical print to the wall, tracing with a pencil, painting with Michaels Acrylic Craft Paint, and outlining with Clink Paint Markers I did.
(Mary Kenny)
When asked for tips on placing a gallery wall, Kenny recommends placing the wall on the floor first. “I used to use brown paper templates and was very particular about them,” she says. “But right now my strategy is just to maintain the line: select one central item and move outward from there, aligning the bottom of the first item with the bottom of the second item; Then line up the third item with the top of the second item.
When hanging the frame on the wall, I recommend using blue tape by @lemonleafhomeinteriors, which I saw on TikTok.
But Kenny’s apartment is more than just frugal. It also showcases her versatile do-it-yourself skills. She added vibrancy to her dining room by using a projector to transfer the pattern onto Temppaper & Co’s paintable removable wallpaper, tracing with a pencil, and painting with affordable acrylic craft paint from Michaels. I created a mural of plants. An oversized gerbera daisy mural outlined with Klink Paint Markers stands out from any room in the apartment. “Murals are a fun way to add color to your walls without having to repaint them when you move out,” she says.
Kenny splurged on Anthropologie bedding in her bedroom and hung a Kantha quilt from Etsy on the wall using a staple gun.
(Brittany Brooks/For the Times)
Before she moved in, the bedroom had gray vinyl flooring and blinds on the windows.
(Mary Kenny)
Kenney says the “rental-friendly” peel-and-stick murals and bathroom decorations are removable, and when you move out, the walls will be repaired and any holes filled. However, it’s always best to check with your landlord before starting any renovations yourself.
To provide privacy from nearby apartments in the Larchmont neighborhood, Kenny applied Prism Privacy Film to the windows in his kitchen and living room, using NoNo Drill-Free Film, which is specially designed to attach to installed blinds. Installed curtain brackets. “This is a great way to hide blinds for rentals,” says Kenny.
Kenny has a keen sense of design and likes to use Floorplanner, a free online tool to create 3D floor plans. This tool will help you understand the scale of the items you are purchasing and how they will fit in your space. “It’s very helpful,” she says. “You can try out different layouts and furniture arrangements before you buy.”
But of all the places to voice your opinion, Kenny says, the one where money goes a long way is the bathroom. “The bathroom is the perfect place to be silly,” she says on Instagram, taking inspiration from makeup wipes she bought and later framed from her favorite drag queen, Tammy Brown. and talks about the kiss-themed bathroom. “To transform this space, we used peel-and-stick wallpaper, paintable wallpaper from Tempaper & Co., and a flexible faux chair rail. The floor is a black-and-white checkered peel-and-stick vinyl. We didn’t want it to feel overdone. I wanted to put it out.”
she was successful.
Above her couch, she hangs her most treasured family heirloom, a 1964 newspaper photo of her grandmother after she learned to skydive and joined a parachute club. She also framed her grandmother’s charm bracelet and displayed it on the gallery wall.
Looking back on his childhood, Kenny remembers begging his mother to let him redo his bedroom. “I painted the walls and put leopard-print bedspreads on the two twin beds,” she says. “I feel like we’re still in that phase.”
For his next project, Kenny hopes to move into a two-bedroom soon. “I’m working towards becoming a foster parent,” she says.
The possibility of reimagining another clean slate and starting anew is appealing to creativity. “I think we’ll sell things that are easily available, not anything particularly unique or really vintage,” Kenny says. “My favorite thing is selling something for exactly what I paid for it. It’s like renting it for free. My second favorite thing is not having to move it myself.”
The quirky accessories and heirlooms are a testament to Kenny’s creativity and resourcefulness.
budget for redecoration
Here, Kenny, a “track every expense” type, breaks down his rental apartment renovation budget.
bedroom
headboard
$120
facebook marketplace
cow chair
$60
facebook marketplace
home depot rug
$220
new
feather lamp
$40
facebook marketplace
dresser + side table
$120
craigslist
quilt
$250
New — Anthropology
curtain
$75
New — Etsy
curtain rod
$40
new
white curtains
What I saved from my previous apartment
bed
Used item from a friend
tiger rug
Purchased in 2020 for previous apartment — originally $166
living room
desk
$153
new
desk chair
$30
craigslist
living room lamp
$30
out of the closet
living room side table
$50
facebook marketplace
living room rug
Used item received from a friend
chandelier
$70
facebook marketplace
credenza
$80
facebook marketplace
sofa
$80
facebook marketplace
coffee table
$40
facebook marketplace
frame
$75
Valley Value Center
frame
FreeFree — Event
dining room chairs
$60
facebook marketplace
dining room rug
$150
facebook marketplace
dining room table
$120
new
paintable wallpaper
$75
new
projector mount
$42
new
projector screen
$164
new
artificial plants
FreeFree — Event
woven folding chair
FreeFree — Event
birds and yellow curtains
FreeMade in previous apartment
white curtains
Recycle your previous apartment for free
prism privacy film
$19
bathroom
fake chair rail
$28
new
Paint, paint supplies
$50
new
kiss wallpaper
$82
Other accessories and decorations
$250
Save money from Valley Value Center, Goodwill, Out of the Closet and get free from events
$2,573
total
