What I Rent: I turned my compact £1,150pcm London flat into a colourful dopamine dream

15/06/2024

This week, we’re in South East London! (Picture: David Sandison)

Welcome back to What I Rent – Metro’s tenant diary series that explores what renting is like in the UK and further afield.

For last week’s adjacent property, What I Own, we visited Mok O’Keeffe in rural Wales. Together with his husband, Mok owns a ‘baby castle’ in the idyllic Brecon Beacons – and they’ve never felt more at home.

This week, we’re visiting 29-year-old Leila Davis and her wife Fleur in leafy South East London. Since moving in July 2019, they’ve transformed a tiny flat with next to no storage into a colourful dopamine dream, affectionately referred to as Casa de Modelei.

They decided on the name after their friend said it in passing, and it stuck – her wife’s nickname is Modes, she calls Leila Lei, and voilà.

Here’s what Leila had to say about their renting situation…

Tell us about yourself!

I’m Leila Davis, also known by my alias Cutie Whippingham, and I live with my wife Fleur and our dog, Bammy.

I’m a queer professional pole dancer, instructor, model, movement coach, brand inclusion consultant, and founder of Blackstage – a group for Black people and people of colour (BPOC) of all bodies and abilities, especially those who are queer, trans, non-binary and/or sex workers.

Welcome home! (Picture: David Sandison)

I have been pole dancing for nearly 10 years, having originally trained in contemporary dance and ballet at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance English, National Ballet and spearheading the Pole Society at the University of Sussex, where my drive for equality within the sector began.

I am extremely passionate about race, queerness and their intersection, focusing on proving that there’s something in dance for everyone.

My mission is to create creative and ethical work opportunities and community spaces for pole dancers of colour, breaking the barriers of shame.

How much do you pay to live here?

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£1,150 PCM.

And what do you get for what you pay?

A well-decorated one-bed flat with a separate kitchen and new, huge windows, tall ceilings, new appliances and excellent water pressure.

Do you feel like you have a good deal?

Absolutely. It’s around that for just one room locally. One-beds are typically around £1,700 and those decorated to this standard barely exist for under £2,000 per month.

Mirror mirror on the wall (Picture: David Sandison)

Where is your home based? What do you think of the area?

Catford in SE London! I love it as I grew up here, and our parents live 15-20 mins in either direction. We live in close proximity to loads of parks and green spaces, and the transport connections are excellent!

How did you find this property?

I found it on Rightmove and it only had one picture of the corner of the kitchen before it was complete.

We were the first to view and we took it on the spot because it was so nice. I was captivated by the huge windows with so much natural light and crazy tall ceilings.

How have you made this place feel like home?

Plants, colourful furnishings, mid-century furniture, painted detail on the bedroom wall, up-cycled furniture, cute ceramics and personal pictures.

Have you found it difficult to decorate when renting? Is your landlord happy with you doing bits?

This is the first place we’ve rented outside of uni but during uni, I always decorated my rooms so I was very used to decorating rented spaces.

Say hi to Bammy, Leila’s dog (Picture: David Sandison)

We are both very creative and our styles complement each other so decorating has been fun. The only thing we struggle with is storage. Our landlord loves what we’ve done with the place and compliments our stylistic choices.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Never! We only have one cupboard for storage in the whole flat and everything is bursting at the seams.

I have to keep my pole equipment at the studio, half our wardrobe in suitcases in my mum’s loft, and other bits in my car boot. It’s really difficult sometimes.

Are there any problems with the home you have to deal with?

Our local council only allows black refuse sacks outside the homes, which get torn apart by crows and foxes, so we often deal with litter scattered all along our street, sometimes faeces and rotten milk splattered up our front door and doorstep. It often seeps into our carpeted hallway.