Our new landlord is incredibly flexible. I asked him if I could make somewhat-major changes to his house twice in 48 hours, and he said “Sure, go ahead.” No hesitation, just… Go ahead and do it. I’m somewhat amazed, and enormously pleased.
There is a built-in that separates the dining room from the living room. On the living room side, it has decorative shelving with glass doors. On the dining room side, though, it is a blank wood 
expanse that has a big fade mark in the middle where someone had a picture hanging for a long time. I was thoroughly convinced that it needed to have a whiteboard in that space, so I measured it and ordered a custom-cut one. A really nice, porcelain and aluminum magnetic one, not a crummy one. Anyway, I could have installed it temporarily, but it would look better if it was installed ‘right’. I explained all that to the landlord, and he said, “That’s fine.”
So, I installed my whiteboard. It looks great, and is immensely satisfying to me personally. Tim thinks I’m silly, but that is his prerogative.
Then, not long afterwards, Tim and I came to the conclusion (something we had been mulling over since before we moved) that we needed a new dishwasher, but that it made no sense to get another portable when the built-in ones are both cheaper and work better. There is a place in the kitchen that our current portable dishwasher fits very nicely, but no cabinet to put a dishwasher. However, there is an electrical outlet right there, and the bathroom sink is right on the other side of the wall. We thought it would be possible, given those two facts, to build a cabinet there. So, I asked the landlord if we could look in to it. I figured I’d have to do a little convincing, but he said – once again, without hesitating – go ahead!
This is all within 2 months of moving in. Now, granted, we are making clear improvements to the house, and they don’t cost him anything, but two months in to a new lease with new renters after the bad experience he had with the last renters… That’s some trust.
So! Now, my kitchen is torn apart, waiting for the plumber to come on Monday. The cabinet is built. I need to order a countertop that matches, get the electrical, the plumber, and then the side of the cabinet needs to be stained… And then I will have a new dishwasher! I’m excited.
(And as an aside, it’s a little soul-sucking to be excited about a dishwasher… Being an adult is so boring.)
Anyway! Once it’s done, I’ll post a little bit about that process. I didn’t take any ‘before’ pictures, but there was literally nothing there.