A 30-Year-Old Freelancer Took A Few Steps To Turn His $2,155-A-Month Bushwick Rental Into His Dream Home

To do DIY projects in the loft provides an outlet for Julian Thomas, a 30-year-old freelance publicist and content producer, for his creativity.

In addition to these DIY projects, Thomas tells CNBC Make It, “It also offers me the chance to be creative, like producing films and sharing on social, and to build my following. Thomas' projects are shown on his YouTube account on a series of video diaries called Told by Thomas.

Rent in Bushwick, Brooklyn is $2,155 a month for this 700-square foot place. One-bedroom rentals in Bushwick are about $2,050 per month, according to statistics from StreetEasy.

According to Thomas, the flat was “a blank canvas” after he came there. Fortunately, his landlord is accepting of the many adjustments he makes.

Thomas believed investing in DIY projects was a good enough reason for him to complete all of these tasks so that he could really make this place his own.

Even though Thomas didn't have any previous building or design experience, he explained that as a child, he watched his parents transform our house into a comfortable abode.

In this way, Thomas achieved the desired “New York City loft apartment vibe” for his house.

Off-the-shelf projects in a rental

While most landlords are suspicious of tenants making house renovations, Thomas isn't. No matter what he does to the property, the only rule the landlord has is to avoid tearing down any walls. The building has no two units that appear the same, according to him.

In order to create a divider between the living area and the kitchen, Thomas built a sliding barn door. “It works a little bit better in a tiny area because of the sliding door,” he explains. If he can perform DIY or remodeling to make it easier and freer, it is definitely something he would like.

Thomas chose subway tile for the backsplash in the kitchen, and placed vinyl contact paper for the worktops that has a marble-like finish. When he was remodeling the kitchen, he constructed custom shelving and found a stainless-steel kitchen island to help store things.

By incorporating color and accent walls to his “Brooklyn bachelor chic” aesthetic, Thomas discovered affordable methods to include color and accent walls. For example, he purchased wallpaper from Etsy and applied it to his living room, and he erected a wooden wall on the back of his bed that he referred to as a “ship plank. To improve the overall appearance of the staircase, he painted the risers in a gradient pattern. He explains, “It was simply a small Pinterest project that was simple to complete, and that's all there was to it.

Creating storage in a loft

A major disadvantage of living into a “black canvas” loft is that you don't have closets. In New York, storage is seen as a VIP item, according to Thomas.

Thomas says he had to be inventive when it came to keeping his clothing: "So, I got some IKEA racks and use them as a sort of a fourth wall for me". Bright sunshine floods through huge industrial windows in his bedroom, which might prevent him from seeing as well as he wants.

Office supplies, tools, and photography equipment are all stored beneath the staircase using Thomas' "cubby system." He explains that every area in his residence has a different location: behind the bed, behind the couch, underneath the sink, and so on.

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