Category: Home Decor
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
How to Install Removable Wallpaper Without Damaging Walls (What I Wish I Knew Before My First Roll)
I peeled a strip of “removable” wallpaper off my old apartment wall two days before my final walkthrough and watched a chunk of the landlord’s paint come with it. It was about the size of my hand, right at eye level, right next to the light switch. I stood there with a wet paper towel…
-
25 First Apartment Decorating Ideas for Renters on a Budget (That Won’t Cost You Your Deposit)
I moved into my first apartment with a mattress on the floor, one lamp from my childhood bedroom, and a folding table I’d stolen from my parents’ garage. It took me almost four months to make that 410-square-foot studio feel like somewhere I actually wanted to be, mostly because I kept buying the wrong things…
-
31 Renter-Friendly Bathroom Upgrade Ideas (No Drilling Required)
I lived in my first apartment for two years before I figured out that “renter” didn’t have to mean “beige tile and a shower curtain rod that’s seen things.” My lease said no painting, no permanent fixtures, and — I swear this is a direct quote from the walkthrough sheet — “restore to original condition…
-
26 Faux Finishes and Peel-and-Stick Ideas for a Rental Living Room (That Actually Get Your Deposit Back)
I signed my first “real” apartment lease at 24, walked in, and immediately started crying a little — not because it was bad, but because it was beige. Builder-beige walls, a laminate floor the color of wet cardboard, and a fireplace surround that looked like it had personally lived through three administrations. My landlord’s one…
-
29 No-Damage Decorating Ideas for Rental Kitchens (That Still Get Your Deposit Back)
I lived in my first apartment for two years before I touched a single thing in the kitchen, because my lease had a full page dedicated to “restoration of premises to original condition” and I was terrified of losing my deposit over a nail hole. Then my upstairs neighbor Priya showed me her kitchen —…