Category: Home Decor
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The Beginner’s Guide to Temporary Wall Treatments (That Actually Survive a Move-Out Inspection)
I lost half my security deposit on my first apartment because of a wall. One wall. A rental in a converted triple-decker where I decided, three weeks after move-in, that I simply could not live with builder-beige walls for another year. I grabbed a gallon of “greige” from the hardware store, didn’t prime, didn’t ask,…
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6 Rental Decorating Mistakes That Cost You Your Deposit (And What to Do Instead)
I got exactly $340 back on a $1,500 security deposit once. Three hundred and forty dollars. The itemized list my old landlord sent back was almost funny in how specific it was — “wall repair, entryway,” “carpet stain remediation, bedroom,” “nail hole patching x14.” I’d decorated that apartment like I owned it, which, in hindsight,…
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Rental Decorating for Beginners: Rules to Know Before You Start
I signed my first lease at 22 without reading a single word of the “alterations” clause, and I found out the hard way three days before move-out that my landlord considered the little cup hooks I’d screwed into the kitchen cabinets “structural damage.” That cost me $60 out of my deposit for four holes smaller…
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21 Best Adhesive Hooks That Actually Hold Weight
I used to think all adhesive hooks were basically the same until one dropped a fully loaded backpack onto my floor at 2:17 in the morning. That sound will wake you up fast. The worst part wasn’t the noise—it was the fact that I’d followed the package instructions exactly. Clean wall. Waited an hour. Didn’t…
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Must-Have Renter Friendly Products for Apartment Upgrades
I still remember the first apartment I rented after college. It was clean enough, but it had that unmistakable rental-apartment personality: beige walls, builder-grade lighting, flimsy blinds, and cabinet hardware that looked like it had survived three different tenants before me. The frustrating part wasn’t that it looked outdated. It was knowing exactly how I…
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Best Removable Wallpaper Brands for Renters in 2027
I learned the hard way that not all removable wallpaper is actually removable. A few years ago, one of my friends decided to give her rental apartment’s tiny dining nook a makeover. The wallpaper looked incredible for about six months. Then came move-out day. What was advertised as “peel-and-stick renter friendly” peeled off along with…
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How to Add a Removable Backsplash in a Rental Kitchen (Without Losing Your Deposit)
I moved into my current rental three years ago, and the kitchen backsplash was this sad beige tile that made the whole room look like a dentist’s office circa 2004. I lived with it for eight months before I finally admitted that “I’ll just get used to it” wasn’t happening. What stopped me from doing…
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How to Cover a Popcorn Ceiling Temporarily in a Rental (Without Losing Your Deposit)
I lived under a popcorn ceiling for two years before I did anything about it, mostly because every “solution” I found online involved scraping, skim coating, or some other project that ends with plastic sheeting duct-taped to your walls and a landlord who did not approve that lease addendum. My ceiling wasn’t even that bad…
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How to Update Kitchen Cabinets in a Rental Without Painting
I lived with the same oak cabinets for two years before I did anything about them. You know the ones — orange-y, honey-toned, very 1998, with those scalloped edges that were probably someone’s idea of “character” back when this building was new. My lease said no painting, no permanent alterations, and a laundry list of…
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How to Hang Curtains in a Rental Without Drilling (Without Them Falling Down in Week Two)
I put exactly one hole in the wall of my first apartment. It was for a curtain rod, I didn’t have a stud finder, and I found out about the stud situation the hard way when the whole thing — rod, curtains, little decorative finial ball — came down on my head at 6 a.m.…