One of the most frustrating aspects of renting an apartment is the lack of control you have over your own space. While some landlords allow you to paint your walls or make small structural changes to your space, many reject that idea entirely.
Painting your wall is, of course, one great way to add color, depth, and light to a room, but it’s not the only way. There are plenty of ways to add interest to a boring wall, many of which are cheaper, easier, and more flexible than a complicated paint job. Here are five great ways to make a drab wall chic.
1. Tapestry
A tapestry is the easiest way to spruce up any wall. Tapestries have been around for centuries and have always been a way to create a warm and cozy energy inside of a room. For this reason, they work best in bedrooms but don’t be afraid to get creative and place them somewhere else. Compared to primer and paint, they’re quite cheap and best of all, you can take them with you wherever you move.
2. Washi Tape
Washi Tape is a great option for anyone with patience and some creativity. Washi is a Japanese tape (Washi literally means Japanese paper) that is easy to remove from walls, making it perfect to use for temporary decorations. Common designs range from geometric patterns and logos to artsy faux wallpaper. Make sure you use a measuring tape and a level if you want an even pattern. Luckily, even if you make a mistake, washi tape is easy to pull off and fix.
3. Photo Wall
While sometimes derided as a college dorm look, a photo wall can be brilliant when done right. Picture frames are one great way of separating your photo wall from the freshman year photo collages so often strewn on students’ walls. If buying a dozen or more picture frames is too costly however, there’s always great DIY solutions. For starters, you can use washi tape as a quick and easy frame your photos. If that isn’t intricate enough for you though, get creative! You can use buttons around the tape to create a 3-D effect that surrounds all of your pictures.
4. Wall stickers
If you love the idea of washi tape but don’t feel you have the creativity to create wall art from scratch, wall stickers are a solid and cheap solution. On AliExpress, you can buy wall decals for as low as $3.03. You can use these stickers to bring color, texture, or an artistic flair to any room in your apartment. A fun idea could be to combine washi tape and wall stickers. Make a simple pattern with the tape and then overlay it with the more complicated sticker.
5. Record wall
If you’re a vinyl-head, don’t read this last suggestion. Yes, it may seem sacrilegious to some to adhere records to your wall as decoration, but if you don’t own a record player but have some records lying around, you might want to consider this idea. A record wall can bring in a wonderful array of colors, depending on the records you choose to display. Make sure that you pick a number of lighter colored records to offset the black backgrounds or else your wall may begin to look too dark. Feel free to display some of your favorite records, or if that’s cost-prohibitive buy cheap records that have attractive cover art.
Hopefully, between these five suggestions, you’ve found some inspiration for improving any boring walls in your home. Even if your landlord is a stickler about paint, you can always find ways to add color and depth to your home.