Ever feel like when renting a space, whether it be a house or an apartment, that it is never really ‘home’ because you can’t make the changes you want? Feel like your space is a reflection of you and are sick of the white walls and yucky carpet that most rentals have? I have come up with nine simple ways to add some personality to a bare home and walk you through one of those fabulous ideas.
Walls
Most walls are white when renting and you are faced with the dilemma – “Do I paint a color I like and then have to cover it all back up when I move out? Or do I just leave the walls white and lonely?”
Here are three creative and inexpensive ways to decorate walls that either need to stay their original color or you’re just too lazy (like me) to paint walls TWICE.
Honey Comb Wall Shelves found on A Beautiful Mess Blog
Spray painted ceiling tiles as wall decorations
Pin up paper maps floor to ceiling – this can be a personal touch as well if the maps are of places you have been or hope to visit some day.
Flooring
Out here in lovely Arizona, we have mostly tile or carpet. Never beautiful wooden floors that you find in older homes that have character and most landlords aren’t too keen on paying for wooden flooring if they are just going to get scratched up. Therefore, I have found three more fun ways to jazz up some 'plain-jane' floors.
Large Floor Pillows – Chevron Poufs
Painted Rugs – Tutorial found on The House of Smiths Blog
Large braided rugs by Souled Objects
Lighting
Where I live, it is best to keep natural light to a limit because that means even more heat is coming into your space and running up your power bill. I have ‘black out’ curtains on my back patio doors, blinds on every window and even a lovely piece of tinfoil covering an oddly shaped window that the landlord insists on staying put. (sigh). So, I went and found some cute DIY projects that can add character to your rented space THAT YOU CAN TAKE WITH YOU when you move out.
Doilie hardened light fixture - found at Yellow Teacups Blog
Hallway light strands either only on ceiling or down the walls
AND THE TUTORIAL ON...
Washi Adhesive Sheet Kitchen Facelift
(aka Washi Adhesive Sheets placed on Track Lighting and outlet fixtures)
Supplies needed:
Tape measure
Ruler
Scissors
Washi Adhesive Sheets – your pattern of choice
Cleaner & rags
And in my case – a very large and scary ladder
First, clean off any surface you are going to cover with the Washi Adhesive Sheets as any dust or dirt will not allow the adhesive to fully ‘stick’ and will most likely start peeling within the hour. My first surface is the cans of the not-so-pretty track lighting that is so often found in Arizona homes. No one really ever looks up at them, but I do and I wish I could put in something else…
Then take your tape measure and check the diameter as well as the length of a can. Carefully cut the adhesive sheet to fit said measurements. You will see here that I avoided the entire area of the connector but no one EVER sees that part (unless you are me and are climbing on a very large and scary ladder).
I added a quarter inch to the length so that the adhesive sheet would wrap around the back of the can a bit.
I do have to admit, it went a lot smoother in my head when I was planning this out. Either the cans are not perfectly round, or the line I cut was not perfectly straight. Most likely the latter. I struggled a bit with the first one trying to stay balanced on the Eiffel Tower that was in my kitchen, keeping my kids off of the ladder itself, and keeping the adhesive sheet straight while going around the can.
So, after climbing Mr. Scary Ladder for the 5th time and trying to cover said cans, one can came loose and then I realized (after my heart attack that I had broken the lighting and would have to explain to the Mr. AND to the landlord what I was doing in the first place…) that these darn things are removable!! This made the other three cans much easier to cover!
You will find that air bubbles will appear since nothing is ever perfectly measured…just run your finger over the bubble, towards the seam of the adhesive sheet, and it will look much better. If you are worried that the edges will start peeling, place a Glue Dot between the can and the sheet for assurance. Glue Dots can be found everywhere and are the best invention ever. Ever. Seriously. Ever.
After I finished up the cans, I was a little sad that the pattern was so small and the ceiling so tall…but I didn’t want a pattern that screamed for attention anyways. I looked around my kitchen to see what else I could cover to ‘finish’ off the look of the grey chevron applied into this space. Plus I had extra pieces from the four sheets that I had used.
And then I found them.
The outlets and light switches!!
Right?!?! So exciting.
My kitchen has eight.
For this portion of the DIY project, you will need a screwdriver to remove the covers from the wall as well as an exacto-knife to cut the tape at exact points. If you don’t have an exacto-knife (first off, you should – they are the best) just use a small pair of scissors very very carefully.
You will also want to clean the face as well as the backs of these outlet covers once you have pried them off of the wall. There will be hidden junk under there and will keep the sheet from fully sticking. My question is; if this plate has been against the wall for years…how does that junk get back there?! Sneaky Ninja Junk in my house, apparently.
Measure the adhesive sheet pieces over the outlets and be sure a little bit will fold over the actual cover plate. Once the plate is screwed back onto the wall, the edges of the sheet will never be seen, so it doesn’t have to be cut THAT pretty. What I was more concerned about were the holes of the light switch and outlet faces. That is the part where the exacto-knife comes in handy.
Place the adhesive sheet on the clean face of the plate, making sure no air bubbles or pockets are there, then wrap the edges around the back. Once the entire outlet piece is secured, then take the knife to the holes. I cut a capital letter I into the holes so that each side would have a flat piece of adhesive.
Then, very carefully, place the cover back onto the outlet, poke the screw back into the hole and slowly screw back into place.
I say carefully and slowly because if you go too fast or too tight, the washi adhesive sheet will start to rip and tear and look yucky.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
And once have done this to all the outlet covers – Voila! You have just given your rented space a little lift and some character that will be able to be peeled right off when it comes time to move.
Have fun and please share your rented-space-face-lifts with me too!! I am always looking for ways to improve my rented spaces.
Socks,
Just Jenny