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Furniture and decor startups are cashing in on hot rental markets
It's the "Leave No Trace" philosophy, but in your latest rental apartment instead of the great outdoors.
People don’t have “forever homes” anymore, let alone permanent furniture they want to schlep between rentals.
A slew of startups are trying to address these needs by meeting renters’ desire to have nice things, but not become beholden to them via solutions ranging from an aggregate site of design hacks to a modular furniture builder to a rental furniture company, according to the Financial Times.
“The top three assets you have in your life are a home, car and furniture. There are tons of rental platforms for homes, there are tons for cars . . . and then there’s furniture, where currently everybody owns,” said Jay Reno, the founder of Feather, a rental furniture startup operating in New York and San Francisco, to the Times. “What we’ve seen in the US is the American dream has changed. People care a lot less about ownership.”
But they do care about selfies and social media promotion, which inevitably leads to documenting the space you live in. That, in turn, means it’s gotta look good.
“Because of social media and Instagram, people are definitely decorating,” as Maxwell Ryan, founder of Apartment Therapy, told the Times. “The home is part of your selfie.” [FT] — Erin Hudson