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Niko Dafkos and Paul Firmin, founders of the home fragrance brand Earl of East, got their start hand-pouring candles in the kitchen of a shared rental apartment in East London. “That apartment wasn’t ours. But it was home. For now,” they explain in the introduction to their co-authored new book, Home For Now: Living Well Without Staying Long, that celebrates well-loved, deeply personal temporary dwellings. In the pages of this book, you’ll find rental houses and apartments that feel as considered as forever homes, as well as all sorts of ideas for making yours just as meaningful. Below, Firmin shares one of those homes exclusively with Domino readers.
Scott Bennett has always had a knack for storytelling. After five years of working in PR for luxury, fashion, and lifestyle companies, he knows how to create atmosphere and layer detail so that it resonates beyond the surface. That instinct extends into his domestic world, a rented basement apartment in East London where he and his partner—an architect also named Scott—have lived for four years. Though technically a basement, the space is framed by gardens in the front and back, its recessed location providing a generous amount of light that shifts throughout the day.
For many renters, impermanence dictates restraint. Here, it has encouraged precision. The apartment was rented without furniture, allowing the couple to start from scratch; fixtures and fittings were replaced, walls painted and repainted, furniture plotted with tape before it was acquired and added. Before long, inexpensive pieces were replaced with ones that had meaning and longevity. “Nothing comes in without a story,” Scott explains. “Everything has to earn its place.”
Objects, Memory, and Sanctuary
The result of this ethos is a home that feels curated but never contrived. Textiles add comfort to the period architecture, while paintings and prints lend depth. Every object is selected for memory as much as function: a grandmother’s painting, a glass cat figurine, a print from the National Galleries of Scotland that connects them to their small town roots as a queer couple. From coffee table legs salvaged at a Victoria and Albert Museum clearance sale to a locally sourced picture frame, each detail brings intimacy into the everyday.
What makes the space a sanctuary is not scale but intention. The one-bedroom apartment comfortably hosts multicourse dinners for friends, where candles are always lit and diffusers turned on regularly. This attention to detail ensures that scents shift with the seasons, from the amber of winter to the greener notes of spring that are chosen to mimic the garden outside. Scott admits that London leaves him longing for nature, so he threads it back into their home through color and fragrance.
Supportive landlords have made settling down easier, even stepping in to cat-sit when the couple goes out of town. Such generosity allows them to treat the apartment less as a temporary space and more as a rehearsal for future homes. The objects within are not tied to this address; each item represents their identity and will travel with the couple wherever they go next.
Rituals of Daily Life
The home is defined by the senses: the scent of coffee at breakfast, the flavors of cooking in the afternoon, the music that plays constantly in the background, from jazz to electronic. Atmosphere is created not only by objects but by routines. A favorite chair anchors Scott’s activities, whether used for reading, hosting, or simply being still.
When asked about creating a home, Scott’s advice is simple: don’t rush. Let objects arrive in their own time, honor what you already own, and embrace imperfection. “New doesn’t mean better,” he says. “The art lies in accommodation, not replacement.” For the two Scotts, home is ultimately about energy.
It is not just the curated objects or painted walls but the conversations held around the table, the laughter threaded into evenings, the scents and sounds that shift with the day. As Scott puts it, “Home is the people and the positivity you allow through the door.” And in the corner, the favorite chair awaits, quiet proof that home is not defined by ownership but by the objects and moments one holds dear.