How can I decorate a rented apartment without painting or doing anything permanent?

Question

I live in a rented townhouse and I am not allowed to paint the walls. I have tried hanging fabrics and posters, but I am running out of ideas.

Answer 1

the rasterbator...check it out and give me 10 points when you're done.

http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/

Answer 2

At Home Depot they sell a film you can apply on glass. It is not adhesive, but will accent the window. The film comes in different patterns and looks like stained glass. What's great about it is that it peels off whenever you no longer want it. In addition to decorating the windows, different curtains may help change the appearance of a room.
You indicated that you have tried hanging fabrics and posters, sometimes if you put the posters in frames, it will pull different colors out of the poster that weren't popping out before. This can also change the rooms appearance. Try looking for a color or colors that you want to pull out from the posters and fabrics. Get accent pillows and candles to match and your room will have a whole new feel.

Answer 3

There are many ways to deocrate without buying things. FIrst, determine what the kid likes and use that as a template for the room....if it is a sport, then theme it with items related to the sport. There is no harm in placing items like golf clubs, tennis rackets, etc on the walls as part of a decorating touch. Next, see what accent piece you might have in other rooms of the house that would go with the theme. You may be surprised to find a side table or lamp that is in one romm will actually work better in the target room. Third, see if you have old useable paint for painting accents. if you do, then touch up using one of the many faux methods we see and hear so mich about. Finally, let your child have some input. It is their room, you know. Let hem ask grandma for the item you wouldn't buy. Relatives always come through! Scott in NY

Answer 4

A throw rug would be great. Larger plants. A throw like of a eagle or such on the wall. Throw pillow on the couch maybe to match the trow on the wall.. Lighting ( Pole lamps ). Nice window treatment. Candles always makes a room welcoming. A nice wooden shelf with books and what knots on it. Think of what you love and go from there. The room will tell a little about yourself. I know you can do it and when you are done you will Love it and so will your Family and Friends...

Answer 5

Curtains and blinds can add a lot to a room. Try using some interesting shapes of draperies. You could get a nice area rug to match your draperies and furniture. If you are tired of posters, try paintings. You can get some neat paint-by-number kits (not the kind for kids) at craft stores that come out looking really nice if you want to do some yourself. If not, check garage sales, flea markets, and stores like Goodwill for some cheap decorations.

Answer 6

I lived in an apartment where we werent allowed to paint, and every room was bright white. That got tiring very quick, so one day I decided that since I am the one paying rent & living here right at the moment, it's gonna look the way I want it to so I painted!
Unless your landlord comes & goes as they please from your house, then they are not going to be the wiser as long as you paint it again when you're ready to move. You could paint the whole place black if you wanted and they would never know!

Answer 7

Most apartment owners will be ok with the occassional nail or screw in the wall to hold up paintings, shelves, and things like that, as long as you don't put permanent wall anchors, and repair the holes when you leave.

If you want to avoid holes, don't use wall shelves, but bookshelves (tall, short, whatever) and decorate those instead. You can use hooks and things with the sticky square on the back that can be removed. There are products geared specifically to college students living in dorms that include things like that.

Answer 8

Try using sheets. You can slipcover your couch, make curtains, do all kinds of things.
Try a photo gallery. Get a bunch of photos--same subject, different subjects, whatever. Put them all in the same frame--or the same color frame, and space them out evenly on one wall. Voila. A gallery.

You might also try talking to your landlord. Sometimes (and only if you're really nice) they will let you paint if you promise to return the walls to their original color before you move out. If they give you the okay, I would advise against painting a really dark color that will be a pain to cover up later.

Answer 9

Go to an Art store and purchase huge canvases. Then check the oops section(incorrectly mixed colors) and pick out a couple. Prep your canvas and paint it. If you're artsy mix it up and create original art. I did this and it looked great, it's also a good way to hide the cords of plug-in hanging lamps. Hope this helps

Answer 10

Furniture, candles, window treatments, paintings, and my favorite is photographs. I once saw an apartment with a whole wall of photos. It looked wonderful! If you're not a good photographer you can try finding a local art school where students sell photographs or put up personal photos even if they don't look like art.

Answer 11

Paintings and pictures hung on the wall work really well. They have these strips now that you can used to hang pictures and all you have to do is pull a tab and it releases the tab. Furniture and rugs would be two more ways.