TL;DR
Apartment Therapy’s before-and-after report follows renter Charlotte Hohorst’s dining room makeover in a Los Angeles apartment. She used dragon-print peel-and-stick wallpaper, a paper pendant, green curtains and secondhand furniture; the source does not give a project cost or identify a specific blue paint color.
Apartment Therapy has reported on Charlotte Hohorst’s dining room makeover in a Los Angeles rental, where dragon-print peel-and-stick wallpaper, a paper light fixture and secondhand furniture replaced dated finishes. The project shows how a renter can give a room a distinctive look using changes that are largely removable, although Hohorst says she painted extensively and did not expect to recover her security deposit.
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Hohorst found the two-bedroom apartment in 2020 in a Los Angeles dingbat-style building, a type of elevated apartment building with parking beneath it. She told Apartment Therapy that its layout, walkable neighborhood and large windows appealed to her, even though she considered the apartment old and dated. The dining room was part of a wider effort to make the home more colorful.
The room’s main feature is dragon-print peel-and-stick wallpaper chosen to complement blues elsewhere in the apartment. Hohorst applied it with a friend, a job she said took about half a day. She also replaced vertical blinds with green linen curtains from West Elm and swapped a chrome chandelier for a paper fixture from HAY.
To manage costs, Hohorst said she turned to Facebook Marketplace, estate sales and thrift shops. She bought the table and chairs separately through Facebook Marketplace; despite coming from different listings, they share claw feet. The chairs were re-caned and covered in blue velvet fabric bought on Etsy. The report lists no total project cost, and its headline refers to dramatic blue paint, but the supplied details do not identify a paint brand, shade or specific dining-room paint application.
A Rental Makeover Built Around Wallpaper
The project offers a specific example of how renters can change the feel of a room without replacing every major item. Removable wallpaper, curtains and a light fixture changed the dining room’s appearance, while used furniture helped keep purchases within Hohorst’s budget. Her account also makes clear that rental-friendly does not mean every alteration is risk-free: she said she painted many walls and did not expect to get her security deposit back.
For readers planning a similar update, the report is most useful as a record of choices and practical details, not as a cost estimate or a guarantee that a landlord will approve each change. The wallpaper took two people about half a day to install, according to Hohorst, but the source does not say how easily it came off or whether the landlord permitted the painting. Those distinctions matter when adapting the look to another rental.
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From Blank Rental to Colorful Home
Hohorst described the apartment as a blank canvas when she moved in. She told Apartment Therapy that, over her first few years there, she used Facebook Marketplace and DIY projects to move away from what she called a stark starting point and toward a colorful home. The dining room was one part of that broader decorating effort, with blue and green appearing across the space and elsewhere in the apartment.
Her approach mixed purchases from different sources rather than relying on a single furniture set. The table and chairs came from separate Marketplace listings, the chair upholstery used fabric purchased on Etsy, and the curtains came from West Elm. The paper fixture was a HAY product listed by Finnish Design Shop. The report also lists art and Turkish pots from Olive Ateliers, but does not provide a full itemized budget or confirm the price paid for each piece.
“It had a dreamy layout, walkable neighborhood, and amazing light from big windows.”
— Charlotte Hohorst, quoted by Apartment Therapy
Paint Details and Costs Not Listed
The supplied report does not state the total cost of the dining room project, the price Hohorst paid for each item, or the paint color and brand. Although the headline highlights blue paint, the reported makeover details focus on wallpaper, curtains, lighting and furniture; they do not establish which room surfaces were painted or when. The source also does not say whether the wallpaper was removed, how the landlord responded, or whether Hohorst ultimately received her deposit.
The story describes the changes as mostly renter-friendly, based on Hohorst’s account, rather than confirming that every alteration was approved or reversible. Her comment about the deposit reflects her expectation at the time, not a reported final outcome. No independent inspection or landlord statement is included in the supplied material.
The Full Home Tour Adds Detail
Apartment Therapy directs readers to its full home tour for more of Hohorst’s blue-and-green apartment and additional design choices. The supplied report does not announce a follow-up, a final project budget or a move-out date. Any update on the apartment’s condition, landlord approval or the security deposit would need to come from Hohorst or the publication; none is confirmed here.
Key Questions
What changed in Charlotte Hohorst’s dining room?
She added dragon-print peel-and-stick wallpaper, green linen curtains and a paper light fixture, and furnished the room with a table and chairs bought secondhand.
How long did the wallpaper installation take?
Hohorst told Apartment Therapy that applying the wallpaper with a friend took about half a day.
How did she keep the makeover within budget?
Hohorst said she used Facebook Marketplace, estate sales and thrift shops. The report does not provide a total cost.
Was the makeover fully renter-friendly?
The report describes the changes as mostly renter-friendly, including peel-and-stick wallpaper and swapped fixtures. Hohorst also said she painted extensively and did not expect to recover her security deposit; the source does not confirm landlord approval or the final deposit outcome.
What blue paint did she use?
The supplied source does not name a paint brand or shade. Its makeover details emphasize blue-patterned wallpaper and blue velvet chair upholstery, so a specific dining-room paint color cannot be confirmed.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
