Rental Style and DIY Rental Friendly Renovations with Guest Imani Keal
/Just because you rent and don’t own the place where you live, it doesn’t mean you need to be fearful of making changes to your space, adding what you like, and making a home your own. But oftentimes renters are nervous to do too much for fear that changes to their space can cause issues down the road. In this episode, Alison is joined by Imani Keal, creator of Imani At Home, a DC-based home & lifestyle content channel that has amassed a huge following since its 2020 inception. Imani believes that all people, regardless of whether they rent or own, should invest in their happiness by improving the spaces in which they live, and together on this episode, she and Alison share renter-friendly DIYs, tips for the design-obsessed renter, and advice on how to navigate renovation conversations with landlords.
Subscribe to our show and feel free to reach out to us on The RARE website or directly to Alison with comments and questions: www.theRAREdc.com | alison@theraredc.com IG: @theraredc and Imani www.imaniathome.com | IG: @imaniathome
hello everyone welcome back Imani thank you so much for being my guest today0:14Hi how are you I'm great thank you so today's episode is about making a rental0:20your own and I love doing rental episodes because I don't think rental0:26topics are covered enough kind of in the real estate industry um and so we really do cover buying0:32selling and renting here on this podcast and you know uh both my marketing0:38associate and I came across your profile a while ago on Instagram and we're0:43really both into it because it's talking about how if you're a renter a short-term renter a long-term renter for0:49whatever reason you're renting you really should be making this home or feel free to make this home your own0:56um and you truly have done that we'll get into that a little bit about what you've done and how you've done it1:02um but yeah so we love we love what you're putting out we love your product so again thank you so much for coming on1:10offline offline we talked about how this is kind of your first podcast that you've done another one before but it1:17for for a different reason so um and just so you I watch a lot of podcasts I'm like oh my god there you go1:23it's like yeah you'll see it when it's edited and done and beautiful and perfect but so I1:30think a lot of a lot of my listeners know this but my first um condo was or what is I still own it a1:35520 square foot one bedroom it's a lower level unit I bought it it was pretty1:40much new because I knew I was going to have absolutely no money to fix anything after I bought a home but it was like1:46you know your developer kind of standard blah all the walls were white1:52all of the trim was white yeah I was lucky I got in right before the the real1:57estate gray thing took over oh okay okay you're lucky doesn't matter I painted over it anyway2:03but you know so I did what I wanted but then I've also now had several sets of of tenants who have wanted to do what2:08they've wanted as well and I have been a huge proponent of letting people do what they want um we can get into again some of the2:15specifics about how it can be challenging um but you know we'll get there so I2:21guess uh first maybe we can start off because I'm interested to know like why do you rent how long have you rented2:28like what's the what's the impetus for the renting um so I started renting back in like2:352015 2016 while I was still in college I had to leave my dorm because I got fired2:42from being an R.A um and I had like I had like one summer to find a place to live that was off2:48campus that wasn't like a thousand like a million dollars um I ended up finding a one bedroom over2:55like near Howard University right off Georgia Avenue for a thousand dollars it was3:01absolutely perfect perfect apartment you know like a thousand dollars come on it's crazy3:07um and honestly I rent because it's convenient I rent because it's fun because I don't3:16enjoy having to be Ray worrisome about things that are going on in this3:21apartment like yeah I can change a light fixture but if the wires like burn out3:28and something crazy happens it's not on me um I like to say that it is above me you know these problems are not my3:35issues I had an issue a couple months ago with my uh bathroom where it was3:40like the the hot water stopped working no excuse me it was the cold water that stopped working and all I was getting3:46was hot water and I couldn't take a shower because it was boiling hot water every single day all day and I called3:52the maintenance team within like an hour they were here and they were like hey3:57just letting you know we're missing one part we're gonna order it today it'll be here tomorrow and we'll be we'll be back4:03here to fix it and I was like thank you and they have to like you know take a portion of the wall off to get4:10back there to fix what they had to fix and it was above me like I I sat in my4:16kitchen and I watched them do what they did and they fixed it and they had to call in like a special guy to come in4:21and fix it and I was just like yeah that's very nice oh I mean for sure I4:27enjoy that yeah not having to take care of things on your own is probably the number one benefit to be honest of4:33renting I'd say um and it's I mean of course hopefully you have a landlord who is actually4:40listening to your wants and needs but uh yeah with assuming that that's the case then yes it's it's definitely the I4:48think the the most positive aspect of renting um so now if anybody let's just pretend4:53people uh who are watching or listening right now don't follow your account don't really know who you are let's let5:00everybody know that you have done a tremendous amount of work on your place5:05and we're going to get into some of the kind of things that you've done specifically because we're going to ask what's easier so what was the hardest5:10but I think the first question people have when they do see what you've done5:16is how are you communicating with your landlord how do you get approval and do5:22you have any processes that you suggest for people because I think that's the number one most overwhelming thing when5:28somebody wants to make a rental totally their own yeah so I think it always starts with5:33even before you move in the conversation starts when you reach out via text via5:39email however when you're touring a place for the first time you need to be having a conversation with them being5:44like hey what do you guys feel about allowing people to paint what do you guys feel about allowing people to5:50change the hardware those when I toured my my unit I actually signed the lease5:57on this place prior to seeing the apartment but when I was talking to the sort of leasing person I was like oh6:03yeah I would just prefer if the entire apartment was painted white and they did when I moved in here they painted the6:09entire Place White because that is what I asked for prior to even moving in here and I had asked them like how do you6:16guys feel about painting how do you guys feel about you know changing Hardware light fixtures that kind of stuff and6:22they were like we have people who have lived in this building for 30 plus years so we're not gonna say if you're gonna6:30live here for a decade you can't have a ceiling fan that would be stupid but you6:36know we ask that you keep the pieces in your unit and when you're ready to move out you replace them when I got the6:42lease I looked over the lease to make sure that that part was in there that that language was there and then when it6:49got to a point where some of the things that I wanted to do in the apartment were a bit of a bigger deal I sent over6:56an email to my landlord sort of explaining exactly what I wanted to do I sent them links to people doing similar7:04projects in rentals and then I gave them even like the product links to the exact things that I wanted to use and I gave7:12them information about the plumbers that I was going to hire in order to do the work and I sent that over to an email7:19they went through their process you know going through like their chain of command and they came back to me with7:25saying like hey of all the things that you want to do you can do all of these things there was one thing that they7:31wouldn't let me do um and I was like okay I'm fine you know not having this thing as long7:37as I can get the main thing that I want and we worked it out and we did um and I created this thing called a7:43landlord email template I feel like I should have a better name but I just I couldn't think of anything more crafty than that7:49um but I created the landlord email template and then I put a video out on Tick Tock and Instagram talking about7:56how people can communicate with their landlords and at this point over 3 0008:01people have downloaded that template and like I have a relatively small following and so for 3 000 people to come to8:08something that I have created and say this is extremely helpful for me I I just feel like really grateful that8:16something that I did just because I wanted a prettier kitchen sink um that was really what it was I wanted8:22a nice kitchen faucet that had the the bridge and the spray and I was really8:27tired of that ugly stainless steel faucet um that I did all of this work to to8:33make my apartment something that I wanted it to be like my dream space and now I put this template out there and 38:40000 people have used it and like I'm just that's really awesome because I think giving people resources and and I8:47usually say this at some point in the episode but we're going to be linking your information for people so if they want to reach out to get that template8:53or you know anything else we talk about here then they can get that because it can be overwhelming I think8:59um obviously it's going to depend on your landlord's style and you know to your point talking to somebody when you first go and tour the space or when you9:06first communicate with them you'll probably get a pretty good feel for what kind of landlord they are like for me9:13I'm so I don't know maybe Lucy goosey isn't the best term for me to use with being a landlord but I am it's kind of9:19like listen live your life um don't destroy my place if you do destroy it you you know you're going to9:27end up paying for it because that's part of the lease um hopefully I as the landlord am doing my due diligence and checking the person9:33out to you know so I'm hedging my bet so they're not going to destroy the place um and then that's it I don't actually9:39even make them change things back a lot of the times I leave it open to discussion you know like like I have a9:45black wall behind me in my house in my last place because it was a lower level unit I didn't do anything too dark and9:50Moody because it just would have been too dark down there but you know that I might have somebody if somebody in there9:56now wanted to paint a wall black that go for it right but that's something I probably have them turn back but if they10:02do another cool interesting color or you know they wanted to swap Hardware out by10:08all means I'm going to let them keep that because honestly it increases my value potentially as a landlord so10:14that's something that's definitely sussed out because also maybe you're like I don't want to leave this Hardware right like yeah this is really special10:20Hardware so maybe you have to write it into the lease that you're going to take it afterwards so it is a discussion10:26point at the very least yeah and that was sort of what the conversation was so like basically what I wanted was I in10:34order to have the faucet I needed a new sink because it I needed to have the four holes in the back to do the the10:40spray that I wanted so we made the deal where I was like look this is a six thousand dollar faucet I will not be10:45leaving this here but you can have the sink yeah new sink it's yours I don't care10:51about the sink the sink was like 200 bucks whatever you can have that right my faucet is coming with me when I leave10:56my light fixtures they're coming with me when I leave my uh Hardware they're11:02coming with me but everything that they had in here it's under the bed or in the11:08closet and when I leave I'm just gonna hire a taskrabbit to come over and put all this crap back up and I'm gonna wash11:16my hands of this leave and then when I get to my new place I'm gonna take you know my very nice light fixtures and11:21faucets and I'm going to install it in my new place sure um but you know I know some people who do things that are a bit11:27more permanent um I know a girl up in New York who just11:32installed like marble countertops and like marble countertops isn't something that you can just like move to a new11:38place because you just don't know like the fabrication is a little bit more difficult but that's something that she11:43did in her place and her landlord I think paid for a portion of it so I'm like you know you can if you have a good11:51landlord and you intend to stay there for a while you can work out any kind of deal that you want I think people forget11:58that like leases or contracts and contracts are meant to be negotiated so12:03if you're not doing that if you're not reading it if you're not going in there12:09with a little fine-tooth comb and saying no no no to this no no to that what about this you're not doing your due12:16diligence you're not yeah don't get me into talking about contracts12:21um because I mean it is it is the rule of law I mean in this country with everything so I mean it truly does12:27that's what it comes down to is making sure you're getting the stuff in writing so okay well let's move on a little bit12:33so yeah everything in writing again everything in writing um so the projects that you know you think pack the most12:38punch you know easiest ones for people to start kind of just want to get you to go through some of that for people who12:44maybe are really interested in making some changes but still on the fence or a little fearful what you know what is it12:52what are your suggestions here's I'll say I say if you have absolutely no skills no DIY no left if12:58you just don't have it I recommend doing things that you can hire people to do that are inex that can13:05be inexpensive but make a big difference things like changing out Hardware is13:10relatively easy especially if you have newer Cabinetry because all you have to do is take the one pull out and replace13:16it with a pool that is of the exact same size that is something if you have a screwdriver you can do uh changing out13:24light fixtures is one of the greatest things that you can do you can find very nice 50 flush mounts that look decent I13:32I have two fifty dollar flush mounts in this apartment you can buy them from Ikea Amazon Target Wayfair World Market13:40anywhere and you can replace those out I had an electric electrician come in and13:45change out five lights for like three hundred dollars all new lighting throughout the whole apartment best 30013:51I've ever spent uh those are pretty easy things if you're willing to get a little bit more handy paint13:58is and forever will be your best friend it is again relatively inexpensive I14:04hate saying like affordable because what's affordable to me is not affordable to others but it is relatively inexpensive to paint14:11something and that is something that you can do by yourself or if you're really14:16not into doing the work uh you would be surprised what people will do for pizza14:21and a couple of beers so Colin call in some friends uh and just have like a14:28little paint party you know two boxes of pepperoni and a Medela will really get14:34people on your side um I definitely think painting is great and then if you're really wanting to14:39take it there change out the pictures in your in your bathrooms and in your kitchen like a new kitchen faucet will14:45do wonders I cannot stand apartment bathroom uh faucets for bathrooms I14:52think they are so ugly and they are so hideous so I definitely recommend changing those out if you are not handy14:58get a plumber get a plumber get a plumber because if you mess up plumbing15:03yeah it will cost you so much money yeah even if you have a plumber15:09my dad is a plumber I I don't play the games with plumbing I don't15:15I don't even mess with that I I will call my dad or I'm gonna call uh a nice15:20taster from taskrabbit to come over and handle that yeah or if you're really good talk to your landlord because15:25they'll they would probably install it for you that's what happened in my kitchen um my landlord installed all of this for15:32me and I was like thank you so much you saved me a couple hundred dollars I appreciate it money is money is money15:38um so what do you say are the hardest or most challenging projects um to navigate either in general or what15:45you've done uh peel and Slick wallpaper is hard um and it's particularly difficult15:53if you're doing it by yourself like I can put a much put up wallpaper anywhere Alone15:59um but if you don't have a friend to help you it is hard to sort of line it up especially because I think people tend to want like if it's their first16:06time doing it they want to go big so then they'll be like Oh I'm gonna cover the whole room floor to ceiling but then16:12they don't realize like baby you're going to be up on a ladder and as you're up on that ladder trying to get the top16:18feeling like you're gonna fall the bottom is down here doing whatever and then they want to get the complicated patterns and having it match up and I'm16:25like look take it simple and do like something that I did in my bathroom where I only did like a half wall one16:32that saves you money because you have to buy less paper and two it's just a lot easier to work you know in three feet16:39sections than it is to work in like an eight foot section um so I definitely think that one's a16:44little bit more difficult uh and changing light fixtures is hard16:50a people try to act like it's easy but I think the fear of being electrocuted16:55sort of heightens it for people like that's why I don't do it like I have a genuine fear that I'm gonna electrocute17:02myself even though I do turn it off at the breaker I have the switch off I do all the things I take all the safety17:08precautions but I'm just gonna be like I don't know man it's gonna be a freak accident I'm gonna electrocute myself so yeah I mean I17:15never I never suggest that anybody does anything involving electricity or water to be totally honest but what's making17:21me kind of smile while we're talking about this is I actually bought peel and stick wallpaper for my condo17:27um and it was and I had somebody helping me and it is really really really hard17:32because unlike regular wallpaper where you have some give with the glue and you can kind of move it around once it17:39sticks it sticks um so yeah so anybody who's looking like the whole panel back off to put it back17:45on it's I recommend don't don't do a like don't do like a17:51linear pattern if you're gonna do it do a pattern that's sort of all over the place because even if it's off like a17:58little bit it won't look as weird like I did one in my closet that's all straight18:03lines and if one line was off everything all the wallpaper would look like this18:10um and also it requires a tremendous amount of math yes that's true I mean we won't be labor18:15the whole wallpaper thing because I could probably do a whole episode on wallpaper um but yeah I mean that paper that I18:22bought um years ago it never ended up going up I was very upset because I spent money18:27on it and so I I built what I've called a clothus it's like an office in a closet uh a couple year and a half ago18:35and I ended up putting it in that because I was holding on to this paper for so long and I had to have a18:41contractor do it for me because I was incapable of doing it but anyway okay so uh my guess is is wallpaper like the the18:48the project you're most proud of it would be mine for sure yes that the wallpaper in my dining room18:55it's like the zebra the Scala mandrel wallpaper that was that project I think19:02is what attracted my account to so many people19:07um because a lot of people put that wallpaper up in like19:12um homes because it's a very expensive and very iconic paper and I think a lot a lot of people were19:19using it in rentals and not a lot of people were putting them up all across the walls it's literally like dancing19:25zebras in that room yeah um and it took so long it took so much19:30effort I had my friend helping me we were like new to being friends like19:37new to like spending so much time together and every day I look at him I'd be like oh my God you didn't stop being19:42my friend because of this I appreciate you so much because I would have stopped being my friend yeah because of this19:49wallpaper it was horrible um but it's that oh man every time I look at it I'm19:54like oh look at you and that is an iconic paper because I featured it multiple times19:59um on on my Instagram account and also I've every time I see it at a listing I kind of explain explain it and I know20:06the history of that paper but anyway uh okay so throughout this process obviously so what we didn't say20:13um in the beginning is that you started this during the pandemic your this whole kind of Adventure and do-it-yourself20:19rental changes or whatever we want to call it and then you kind of went into20:26sharing everything with everyone which was really wonderful um and you started Imani at home that's20:32what you call it right um and you know explain kind of how that20:37Adventure has gone and things that you've learned through that as well okay so I you know prior to doing all of20:45this I worked for a company called Waterworks and we did like luxury kitchen and bath projects20:52um but I also worked at two restaurants and I worked at Waterworks and I was just a busy busy busy person when the20:59pandemic hit I lost both of my restaurant jobs and I had to go from being in the office at Waterworks five21:06days a week to being at home and only working four days a week so I went from a person that was like out and about all21:12the time to always being at home um and I have claustrophobia so being in21:19this space like I just started to feel like the walls were closing and on me and I was like I have to go outside I21:25got to go out um and the only thing that was open was Ace Hardware and so I was I was at an Ace Hardware two to three21:31times a day I'm like oh I'm gonna take this and like you can bring your dog into Ace Hardware so I was going on walks with the dogs okay we're going to21:37ace um I started buying paint and stain and pretty much anything I could get my21:43hands on and I just started making changes and I was just like on my21:48regular Instagram being like hey guys this is what I'm doing today because I'm bored and we're all in our house and I21:54had two friends that both sort of work in social media and they were like this22:00is a thing you need to you need to do something with this and I was like do what what I'm gonna do and one of my22:06friends uh her name's Danielle we were like roommates in college she and I were on the phone and we were22:12just like brainstorming names I was like well if you want me to do this come up with a name and we were brainstorming all these different names and then she22:18said Imani at home and I was like I do be at home [Laughter]22:24I'm at home a lot right now oh so then I just created an Instagram22:31and for a while it was like 300 people it was like it was like my mom and my22:37mom's friends and uh people that I work with and then all of a sudden it it went from22:45like 300 people to 2 000 people and then from like 2000 to 20 000 was like three22:52weeks and then from 20 000 to 50 000 was probably another year22:59and then from 50 000 to I think almost 80 000 was like another couple of months23:04and that's sort of where I am right now and it was just like this23:11this constant growth of people finding me and then sharing it with everyone23:17that they know being like Oh my God this is so cool this is fun I want to do this you've inspired me to do this and then23:23people sending me pictures of I saw you did this paint color and then I put this pink color in my house and23:29it I've been doing this for almost three years and I it has just grown in in ways23:36that I couldn't have couldn't really have fathomed I I didn't think it was going23:41to be like this you know I was a person who made my space my own prior to even23:47putting it on the internet um and so like I love doing this I'm I'm a nester I like Comfort I like pillows I23:55like the blankets I like the rugs um and so I was doing this before I even got put it on the internet and then when24:02:00I put it on the internet I realized how many people wanted to see this kind of24:07:00content specifically from somebody like me um as a person who loves design I you24:14:00know I was a kid watching Trading Spaces you know I would be like oh girl what do they got on HDTV today like you know24:21:00I was watching International House Hunters all the time um and I think when you like design and24:29:00specific like design TV and design on the internet it is a space that caters24:34:00to the same kind of people all the time um and I never I like it but it never24:43:00really felt like me it never felt like something that I would do in my house because you have like the super big24:49:00influencers creators people who are like yeah I caught my contractor and we put24:54:00twenty thousand dollars into like this one room for this one project in six weeks and24:59:00I'm like okay not relatable and then on the other hand you have like a lot of25:05:00smaller designers who like when you're in a small space they're doing the Leica and the whole house is white kind of25:12:00thing and here's a very nice cream couch situation and I'm like25:17:00I'm not that girl either so where is the space where is the lane for people who25:24:00want something creative and full and maximalist and25:30:00eclectic and where are the girls who drink martinis and then go to the flea25:36:00market where is the lane for people who were kind of drunk25:45:00where are the girls Who I Am with a glass of wine those are25:52:00my people because I am that girl and I think because I have such a a love of25:59:00renting I I make content for people for where they are and I don't try to like26:07:00oh this is a temporary solution for me for when I get married or when I have a kid and like there's no shame or no26:13:00whatever to people who that's their future but like I don't want to have kids so when people are like oh well26:19:00it's for your you're buying a house for your future Generations my next generation is a dog26:24:00um his name is Salazar that would be weird to buy a house for a dog though I26:30:00have to tell you I read an article recently about somebody who left their estate to their dog but but go on you26:36:00know that'd be something I would do um but it's like I I I I don't feel like26:42:00my life should be put on hold until I get married or until I have a baby because when it's gonna happen I don't26:48:00know I'm not gonna live in an ugly house until I get sure I mean nobody knows nobody knows26:55:00what the future holds but speaking of yeah so do you think you ever see a home purchase in your future or what's next27:01:00for you um no um I don't want a home in the27:06:00traditional sense of a home my future plans for Imani at home is to actually grow this into a much larger like Media27:15:00Company um and I want sort of like my my vision is like a converted Mansion style place27:22:00where it's like the first floor I'll sell like my vintage Wares or any like27:27:00home decor collabs that I work on and it'll maybe have like a little coffee shop and like people can come and work27:33:00on their laptops and like shop a little bit and also there's like issues that I have of DC where like certain candies27:39:00that I like you can't buy here so I'll sell those because that's how I feel um so I'll do stuff like that and then27:46:00on the second floor I want to convert it to like this big open office space for like all the people that will work at27:51:00Imani at home um and then the third floor is where I will live and I Envision it being this27:58:00very like long railroad style uh apartment I guess where it's like on one28:04:00end is the bedroom the middle is the bathroom and it'll be like this big huge copper tub in the middle and then my28:11:00closet and then a living room dining room and then at the back there'll be like a little balcony that I sit on wow28:19:00I mean I am I am impressed with the vision and as somebody who dreams big I28:26:00really appreciate that um but it sounds like maybe maybe not necessarily in DC because I'm not sure28:31:00where you're gonna I mean I don't know maybe your media company is going to blow up but I mean that's that's expensive real estate rental or or buy28:38:00it is I want it in DC and I feel like28:44:00I feel like when you're in this space like people real people are like oh go to New York and I'm like I don't like New York personally uh or they'll like28:51:00go to La I also don't like La it's too sunny um I like DC it's big enough yet small28:57:00enough for me and I see it being very expensive real estate I go on29:04:00a lot of Commercial Real Estate websites and I just scroll and scroll and scroll until I see something that I like and29:09:00then I just put it in the back of my mind it's like you know somebody was like oh well maybe you should buy a29:14:00house and then you can use the equity from the house to buy this and I'm like I'm not putting the money that I have29:21:00into a 500 000 condo that would be silly I'm just gonna put keep working at it29:28:00and then you know get my four million dollar Different Different Strokes for29:34:00different folks right we're not we're not talking down on any of it but well that's good so it sounds like probably29:39:00not home purchasing in your future or or your immediate future but staying in DC and um for sure and uh maybe doing29:48:00another rental for people to follow along with yeah yeah you know in the I I feel like I've29:55:00made this apartment what I want it to be I have giving it my all and I I don't believe30:03:00in just like changing spaces continuously for the sake of content really um I do it because I like it or because30:10:00I need to um and I feel like I've I have made this space exactly what I want it to be and I30:16:00don't want to change it um but I do need more space I I want a door that is like my my I want a door to30:23:00a bedroom that I can shut so hopefully you know in the next few months I can30:29:00start my apartment search again um and I can probably find me like a30:35:00nice little one bedroom situation in one bedroom or two bedroom situation here well I'll definitely be30:42:00interested in following along and seeing how things kind of end no because it'll be really full circle right to see how30:47:00your rental ends to see if everything goes according to plan I'm sure you'll tell us all about it and then of course to see what you do with your with your30:54:00next place so Amani thank you so much for coming on and sharing kind of your story and some30:59:00of your ideas for people and like I said I'll be linking all of your information um in all the show notes so people can31:05:00get in touch just to get to know you or even if they want the um the template you talked about and uh we'll go from31:11:00there so thank you so much thank you so much I appreciate it thanks for having me yeah no problem have a good one you31:18:00too
