Home may be where the heart is, but it’s also where all your stuff goes. While share house living isn’t always the most glamorous lifestyle, for most people, spending some time in a rental home with housemates is inevitable. I’ve lived in share houses for the past seven years.
I moved into the first place when I was 20. It belonged to the parents of my best friend, and with its prime-position Fitzroy locale and panoramic balcony views of the city, was far nicer than anything I deserved at the time. Lulled into a false sense of security afforded by someone else’s fancy house, I made up for my #blessed beginnings when I moved to New York City, and my first apartment was shared with a rotating door of creepy roommates, a banquet of moldy food in the fridge and an abandoned cat. All very sad.
I’ve moved seven times in total, and have finally landed in my dream house which is, again, far nicer than anything I deserve at this time. Despite now living in a place with great bones to work with, my nomadic 20s has taught me that no matter where you live, it’s your ‘stuff’ that really makes it feel like home.
Before you check my Instagram and realise that I am not an interiors expert, let me tell you that I AM NOT AN INTERIORS EXPERT! I know that, okay!? What I am proficient in is living with other people, arranging blue-tacked paper artefacts and photos on my bedroom wall in *perfect formation*, and identifying the interior styling strengths of others and co-opting them for myself.
So while I’m certainly not in the position to tell you that millennial pink is over (so I hear) or recommend the perfect cushion, I can offer you a collection of tips and tricks I’ve accumulated over my several homes, dozens of roommates and hours of Instagram wormholes.