I love renting. You stay in a place for a year or two, then you move somewhere else. You get a change of scenery, even if you stay in the same city/town. You can try different layouts, and it is somewhat of an art to work with different spaces. The challenge, however, is decorating a place that isn't yours. Depending on your lease, and the agreement you have, you may or may not be able to paint, but let's face it, why paint if you know you are moving soon? Then you just have to paint it back, and from someone who has literally moved over 10 times, the only thing you want to do when you are moving out is get your stuff into the new place and hand in the old key.
So, in my last apartment I discovered these temporary stickers from Linens 'N Things (before they went out of business). They are reusable, as long as you stick them back onto the wax paper they came on, and you can easily move and readjust them. I took them off the old wall, and brought them to my current apartment.
Like most apartments, I had boring creme-colored walls. I can't paint (or I don't feel like looking through the fine print to see if I can) but I need my personality to shine through the drabness. So I started playing with these circles in my bathroom. There were different sizes, so I just made a artistic border around the vanity mirror. The picture is a little dim, but it really makes the bathroom pop.
I took these same dots and decided to create a point of interest [for the eye] in my bedroom. I placed dots above the closet space, to add some color to the wall, and I followed the same color motiff by the curtains, to draw your attention. The one trick is to do not overdo it.
I also learned how to powerdrill and drilled in that curtain rod - not an easy feat, I tell you. But I wanted to be able to hang curtains. I know I will end up patching that hole before I leave, but it makes the room feel home-y to have curtains up. I was a little disappointed after hanging the curtains, because it still felt like the wall was missing something, and adding the dots has had a nice effect, but adding a colorful border.
Lastly, I bought some decals (RoomMates Peel & Stick Wall Decals) at A.C. Moore on Friday and I couldn't wait to hang it up. I pretty much copied the suggested layout and put that over my bed, and I love the way it looks. There were additional flowers, but I thought it was a little much, so I decided to add it to the living room, over the couch.
Decals are a great way to spruce up a place and they are so easy and fun to add. There are plenty to choose from, so I definitely suggest using them. And if you can be creative and put them on creative spaces, more power to you.
Lastly, I got a roll of peelable color at A.C. Moore, yup, there was a clearance sale when I stopped by. And I bought this yellow roll. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it but it looked like something I could work with. I wasted a couple of feet trying to make something artsy, but I decided to just insert a splash of color on the creme-colored area between the closets. I just went with it and starting laying it on the wall (It took two strips, overlapped). And I ended up with this:
Voila! I think it adds a funky fresh face to the wall, and it makes me happy to look at. I could potentially have gotten a lot of rolls and tried to color a small space, but I really think less is more in this case. I like checking out this bloggers page: http://lovinglivingsmall.com/ for additional ideas on small spaces.
So, have fun with it, and if my tips helped you leave me a comment!!
