Temporary Wallpaper for Tenants: 8 Tips for a Less Expensive, No-Compromise Decor

If you are a renter, you are among the millions of people who took the standard deviation between leaving home and owning a home. Rent doesn’t get as much criticism as it did a few years ago, because today’s renter doesn’t risk taking on an underwater mortgage, rising home repair costs, or a devastating foreclosure. Of course, we are all crossing our fingers and toes to improve the economic times ahead.

In the meantime, you, the stylish tenant, don’t have to give up your dream of living in a space you’ll love coming home to. The biggest challenge to your goal is obeying the decorating limitations of your lease. I’ve heard there are landlords who don’t mind caulking and repainting between tenants, but I imagine most landlords just don’t know how much time and money their tenants spend restoring a rented apartment after they have painted and decorated. themselves. If your landlord and lease don’t allow for painting or alterations, you don’t have to write an extra week of restoration before you move in; Here are eight tips for a less expensive, no-compromise décor with temporary tenant wallpaper:

1. Eliminate the need for accessories. Notice I didn’t say, “Remove the accessories completely.” Buying the perfect lamp or blanket is a joy no one should deny, but doubling your decorating budget won’t be all that urgent once you’ve designed a temporary focal wall to break the monotony caused by matching furniture (that happens, too). with existing interior carpet and paint job). Choose temporary patterned wallpaper that moves you and design an accent wall to top even the fanciest home accessories.

2. Replace traditional hanging wall art with a wall covered in temporary wallpaper. You don’t necessarily need a hammer and nails to add dimension to your walls. Apply an eye-catching pattern over a solid wall color and you’ll feel better about removing (or propping up) your collection of framed photos for a while.

3. Cover any pre-existing wall defects without sacrificing your own time and money. That structural monstrosity you temporarily inherited? It belongs behind something, where it can’t raise its ugly head every time you walk into the room. If rearranging furniture is not an option, cover it with temporary wallpaper and transform the entire space into one you really like in one short afternoon.

Four. Redirect attention from missing furniture. If you’ve always wanted a headboard to adorn the mattress you would live on, if it was big enough to also hold a shower and stove, you can easily design your own. Take some measurements and use a pencil to outline a straight or scalloped square on a piece of temporary wallpaper. Cut it carefully with scissors and voila, you’ve created a stick at the headboard to bring out the color in all those cute sheet sets you’ve put together.

5. Add details without drilling. Growing some fancy items to enhance your current living space doesn’t necessarily require making modifications to your landlord’s property. Use temporary wallpaper to cover a desk, redesign a walk-in closet, or if you like the paint color already in place, create complementary patterned stripes with a pair of scissors and a steady hand.

6. Avoid spending and storing paint and painting supplies. Unless you have the landlord’s approval to paint the apartment without repainting it to normal before you move in, you should plan to spend on at least two full cans of paint, one of your choice and one that matches the original color. To save on supplies between the two rounds of painting, you’ll also need to hold onto brushes, rollers, border tape, and trays until it’s time to repaint before moving in. The temporary wallpaper is turned on and off, leaving the owner’s paint job completely intact and the extra space in your closet open for wardrobe expansion or storing seasonal decorations.

7. Store your roll of adhesive paper for the silverware drawer in the break room. Contact paper is highly adhesive and rarely comes off without wreaking havoc on surfaces. Your landlord would probably prefer that you use it to permanently line drawers and cabinets in your office staff lounge. If the empty office and bare cabinets make you uncomfortable, no problem – you can use extra bits of temporary wallpaper to get the job done without causing damage.

8. Take it with you when you leave. If you’re working with the reusable type of temporary wallpaper, you can remove it and pack it with your things when it’s time to move in. Just save it to its original holder and reuse it to reinvent a nest, whether it’s finally yours or someone else’s (for now).