An interiors YouTuber made over her rental apartment into the millennial dream home on a budget

One of her best makeovers is, of course, her own Toronto apartment, where she's lived since December 2018.

The decor was fine, but lacking in personality and style. Gater swiftly changed this though.

One of Gater's biggest tips is to give your home a fresh coat of paint in a light, bright color when you move in.

"Pay the extra money to have it freshly painted white or whatever color you want. It made such a difference when we moved in, it really felt fresh," she said.

Gater also recommends reupholstering your couch: She got a custom cover for a standard Ikea sofa.

"I love it because I really wanted a pink couch, but I didn't want to invest in a $3,000 pink couch that I'd be stuck with for a long time," she said.

"If you're in a living room space, any furniture should sit on the rug, but when you're working in a small space, that can be hard," Gater said.

"So I actually turned my rug vertically, and this way all the furniture fits on it. It actually makes a space bigger.

"You never want a small rug floating in the middle of the room. It should really anchor all of your furniture."

She stores cables and other odds and ends in baskets to keep them hidden away, and like any millennial, has plenty of house plants.

"I'm all for throwing things in baskets because they look really pretty, and you can't see the clutter," Gater said.

She got rid of the curtains to let all the light in, and the large mirror reflects it, making the room look bigger.

When she's not working, Gater can close the door and relax in the living room.

When she moved in, it was dark and on the dingy side, so Gater's main priority was to brighten it up.

As well as giving the room a fresh coat of white paint, she also added a pretty headboard to the bed, stylish gold wall lights, and crisp white bed linen.

A big plant adds freshness, and she roughly painted her Ikea lampshade white to lighten it up.

"It's such a bright, calm space that I just love being in the end of the day," Gater said.

Like in the living room, the stylish mirror reflects light.

And this is one part of the room that injects a welcome pop of color.

"It looks like a rainbow on my bookshelf," Gater said.

"The bathroom was the worst room in the whole house," Gater said.

"There was this light that was rusted, chipped, and falling apart, and terracotta tile that was just so old, it looked like it belonged in a gym changing room."

White walls instantly brightened up the room, and an accent wall at the back injected more personality.

Gater considered painting the terracotta tile white, but ultimately decided to lay down peel and stick flooring with a black and white star design, which she'll simply lift off when she leaves.

"It's a really great way to add some color and pattern that isn't permanent," she said.

"The kitchen was in OK shape, but it was just old and kind of falling apart," Gater said.

So, with her landlord's approval, she decided to do a mini renovation.

She has exposed shelving which displays colorful dried goods stored in mason jars.

Plants, artwork (many people forget about both of those in their bathrooms and kitchens, Gater said), and small touches like decanting washing up liquid and soap into stylish containers complete the look.

"It's all those little details that really make such a big difference," said Gater.

"It took me 15 minutes to do the backsplash and it just makes such a difference," Gater said.

"I was originally going to go for white and then I was like, you know what, I'm just going to do the pink. In a small space, doing a color like that is so fun.

"I kept all of the cabinets, but I repainted them, which also made such a massive difference," she said.

Before, the cupboards had pretty boring knobs, which Gater replaced with cute ones.

Gater decided to keep it as a storage space, but store her things neatly in smart Ikea lockers and add plenty of greenery to create the feel of a plant oasis.

She also added a rolling library ladder — these are usually really expensive, but Gater made her own with a normal ladder and a kit bought on Amazon for around $100 (she got a contractor to install it).

"A lot of people have an issue with pouring money into a rental and I totally get that, but for me, it's making changes (maybe not so much in the kitchen), that I can bring to another space with me," she said.

"All the lights that I've changed, I'm not going to leave them here. I'm going to change them back to their original fixtures.

"When it comes to renovating or redecorating rental apartments, it's not about pouring money into structural changes. It's about investing in pieces that you love.

"And if I was to ever move, all of this stuff would come with me and I would recreate it in my next apartment."

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