Meet Amy, an accountant living in a houseshare in the New Forest (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Welcome once again to What I Rent, our weekly series that takes you inside people’s rented homes and has a good rummage around.

Last week we were in New York, in a tiny 80 sq ft apartment rented by content creator Alaina.

Today we’ve got a lot more space to play with, in a three-bedroom house in the New Forest.

Here, Amy, 29, shares a home with her partner Ali, best friend Robyn, and two cats, Tofu and Loki.

Amy, an accountant for a property management company, has lived in this area since she was little, and loves being surrounded by forest and having the coastline a few minutes away.

We chatted with Amy about her experience renting.

Hey, Amy! How much do you pay to live here?

The rent is £1,000 per month and then bills are just over £400 per month – so we each pay around £470 a month total.

Having a housemate helps to keep the costs down and we love the dynamic of a lively house where someone is always up for a board game.

She shares the space with her partner Ali, best friend Robyn, and two cats (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

And what do you get for what you pay?

This is a three-bed house, with one bathroom and an open plan living space. We are lucky to have a downstairs toilet which hides away the cat’s litterbox!

We made a deal when we moved in that I could have full creative control of all the communal spaces, provided I keep my hands off of Robyn’s room and Ali’s office/gaming room.

It seemed like a fair deal at the time, although I’m working on convincing Robyn to let me tackle their magnolia bedroom… watch this space!

Do you feel like you have a good deal?

Definitely! Our rent is very reasonable and we pay much less than many of our friends. For an open plan space that I’ve been able to personalise, it feels like a total steal.

We’re a little worried about where the market is heading but we can’t complain so far.

Rent for the whole house is around £1,000 a month, so £470 each (including bills) (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

How did you find this property?

We found this property on Rightmove back in 2018. It was tricky to find somewhere that would accept pets but it worked out in the end.

At the time I was living in a tiny studio, so to move into a three-bed with a garage felt like a total dream – there were a few rushed trips to Ikea to fill out the space in the first few weeks!

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

We live in the New Forest, right on the border with Dorset. It’s a fab area to live in with forest and miles of coastline a few minutes away.

There are a tonne of nature reserves and walking trails nearby so we can be quite outdoorsy and we are on a direct train line to London, so we are still very connected.

Amy loves having a housemate, and not just because it cuts costs (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

How have you made this place feel like home?

With lots of experimentation! This house has seen many iterations and having moved from a studio flat with not very much furniture, this has been a slow process of figuring out my style.

I eventually landed on a neutral colour palette but with a playful and graphic element too. Whether with paint, artwork or furniture I think we’ve found a super fun balance between serene and statement.

I’m inspired by mid-century, retro and Scandinavian design so our home is a melting pot curation of all of those styles and somehow it works.

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

Thankfully our landlord is happy for us to hang pictures, shelving, etc, provided we fill in any holes on departure.

With decorating my approach has been to ask for forgiveness not permission, but our landlord has been very relaxed about it all.

The landlord is okay with Amy adding pictures to the walls (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Do you feel like you have enough space?

For sure. Perhaps the second and third bedrooms could be bigger, but these homes aren’t designed for adult sharers so we really can’t complain.

I came from a studio and Ali from their childhood home so this felt enormous when we moved in. The downstairs is open-plan and gives us so much freedom to change the space when needed, for example putting in a dedicated office space during the pandemic.

We are a social household and even with three adults in one space, it never feels cramped.

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

Generally, our home is in great condition and the landlord is super proactive with upkeep.

The only issues are the lack of light downstairs (my poor plants!) and a kitchen that is nearly ready to retire.

Even then, we love our home so they aren’t huge issues.

Amy has also been given free rein by her housemates to style the common areas (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Do you have plans to move again any time soon?

We are flirting with the idea of moving to Cardiff to be closer to friends and in a more energetic area but are waiting for the rental market to calm down. We’ll see what happens.

Do you want to own a place someday or are you happy to rent?

Although owing a home would be lovely, it’s not a priority for us.

I like to travel which is not a ‘saving for a deposit’ friendly pastime and given that we are thinking about a move cross-country, renting gives us the flexibility we need right now to explore a new area.

Sounds great. Shall we take a look around?

She’s gone for plenty of neutrals and natural materials (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Now that’s a fragrance collection (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s the living room (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

A nice cosy, but light and airy, space (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Some very aesthetically pleasing books here (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

The living room doubles as a working space (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

We’re big fans of that brown chair (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

The living space leads into the dining area (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

A very nicely set table (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Which glass are you choosing? (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

And which tipple? (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Welcome into the kitchen (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Bread? Don’t mind if we do… (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

That’s some good pasta, we can tell (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Is that a bread maker we spy? (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Some very organised spices (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Anyone who decants their oils into fancy bottles is living life right (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

This is Amy’s bedroom (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS)

Look at that arch! (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS/Metro.co.uk)

Got to have a salt lamp (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS)

Finally, the bathroom (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS)

We like a bit of greenery in the bathroom (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS)

Two toothbrushes, three housemates? A mystery… (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS)

What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am.

Check back next week to have another nose around a rented property.

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‘Having a housemate helps to keep the costs down and we love the dynamic of a lively house where someone is always up for a board game.’