What I Rent: At 24 years old, I live in a £2,450pcm London flat in Zone 1

Welcome backmost to What I Rent – Metro’s tenant diary bid that explores what renting is similar successful the UK and further afield.

This week, we’re visiting 24-year-old contented creator Maddie Borge, who moved from Norway to commencement her imagination beingness successful cardinal London six years ago.

Now renting an flat with her fellow successful Zone 1, she’s successful emotion with the state and information she’s been afforded by her area.

And successful sharing manner contented connected her socials, she’s amassed 327,000 TikTok followers, who she inspires her followers with nifty renter-friendly DIY hacks.

Here’s what she had to accidental astir her renting situation…

Tell america astir yourself!

I’m a 24-year-old Norwegian surviving successful London, posting manner videos connected societal media for a living.

I emotion interior design, DIY projects, travelling and exploring each London has to connection – each of which I papers connected my Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts. 

How overmuch bash you wage to unrecorded here?

My rent is £2,450 per month, which I divided with my boyfriend. 

And what bash you get for what you pay?

A charming 55-square meter, one-bed maisonette, moments distant from the champion restaurants, cafes and shops cardinal London has to offer. 

Do you consciousness similar you person a bully deal?

Definitely. We person truthful overmuch abstraction successful specified a large location. 

Where is your location based? What bash you deliberation of the area? 

Central London (Zone 1). I emotion surviving successful the mediate of everything. I tin locomotion astir everywhere, determination are truthful galore large places to eat, and ever things to do. I’m conscionable a abbreviated 15 minutes from Regents Park.

The level is besides distant from the busiest streets, truthful it’s bully and quiescent successful the evenings and I ever consciousness precise safe. 

How did you find this property?

Rightmove! I saw the flat connected the site, asked to circuit it the adjacent time and enactment successful an connection aboriginal that evening. 

How person you made this spot consciousness similar home? 

The level came unfurnished, truthful we’ve been capable to bring successful each our ain furniture. It has immoderate truly charming features similar Georgian windows, ceiling cornices and bluish room tiles.

I’ve tried to take pieces that play into those features, portion besides incorporating Scandinavian colours and minimalism. 

Have you recovered it hard to decorate erstwhile renting? Is your landlord blessed with you doing bits? 

As idiosyncratic who loves interior design, but has been renting for the past six years, I’ve had to larn a fewer tips and tricks connected however to marque afloat reversible, renter-friendly changes.

I person utilized bid strips to bent partition art, changed curtains, enactment up model film, and wrapped our room shelves successful interaction paper, among different things. All these changes assistance marque the level consciousness much homely, and tin beryllium easy removed erstwhile we determination out.

Do you consciousness similar you person capable space? 

Definitely. The level is precise cleverly designed. We person closets and cupboards for outerwear, suitcases, apparel and linens/towels.

The chamber is the biggest country successful the flat, truthful we besides decided to person portion of the country into a location office, which has been adjuvant for WFH.

Are determination immoderate problems with the location you person to woody with? 

We’ve had to person the washing instrumentality and microwave replaced since moving in. We’re fortunate to person a large spot absorption team, and whenever we study a problem, they’re connected it the adjacent day. It’s truly great. 

Do you person plans to determination again immoderate clip soon? What astir buying a place?

I’m incredibly blessed and settled astatine the moment. Having moved 5 times implicit the past six years of surviving successful London, you realise however costly and stressful moving is – particularly with the existent authorities of the rental market.

We signed a multi-year lease connected this apartment, and we’re hoping to enactment until we’ll yet beryllium capable to buy. 

Shall we instrumentality a look around?

This nonfiction was primitively published connected July 13, 2024.

Do you person a communicative to share?

Get successful interaction by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

MORE: London plaque missing for 70 years recovered successful an improbable spot 3,300 miles away

MORE: Map reveals however 1 of London’s astir unsafe junctions could beryllium transformed

MORE: Boy suffers life-changing injuries aft being crushed betwixt car and a partition successful garage