Agreed!  I'm liiving currently in downtown Vancouver in your aforementioned shit hut and I can't wait to move out into something with a little more room, and a little more space to make it my own.  (Can't do it so much here because I'm building a portfolio to apply for a job - as in I don't have one yet -and I'm sharing a room - yes, a room, not just the apartment - with a another guy).  But someday soon...

It just doesn't really feel like a 'home' or a relaxing place when it's not your own.  Maybe to some degree, and you'd get used to it over time, but it's way better to make it your own and really own the space.  Plus, then when people say it looks nice, it's almost twice the compliment.