Apartment Fixes: Wallpaper

In a rental apartment or house, it's hard to get past bare wall syndrome. In most cases you aren't allowed to paint your space-or if you are you have to go through the trouble of repainting the walls white again.

I like temporary wall coverings for the same reasons I like pillows in decoration-I like change. Anything that's easy to take down wins my vote.

So, although I've moved past apartment living, I still keep an ear to the ground for ways to temporarily decorate my walls.

You can put up temporary wall paper using starch, water and fabric, but there's always the possibility that it will be difficult to take down and that the water will stain the walls.

Painted contact paper is something else I can't recommend because experiences vary so widely. In the right conditions, it can work like a dream, holding for years and easy to take down. In the wrong conditions it will either be difficult to take off or will be constantly falling off the walls. But you can can always use contact paper on a smaller scale-- by cutting out bird shapes or using a large stensil to cut out your pattern. That seems to work better than affixing entire sheets. Either get the color you want or paint it beforehand. (Urban Outfiters has ready made wall stickers you can check out.)

What seems to work for everyone is nailing thinner wall paper, good quality wrapping paper or art paper to the walls. Don't use paste or tape-instead use small nails. Obviously if you have toddlers, cats or parties, there's a chance that your paper masterpiece will get ripped down or spilled on. No matter what your situation, always keep a little extra on hand in case you need to replace some paper because of a mishap.

I love a dramatic pattern in a small space, hence my love for wall paper in apartments. And if you're experimenting with a temporary look it's better to try it in a hallway or a single wall.

You can also use very expensive book binder's paper to simply paper the bottom half of a room or a wall. Then you can finish the top by using pre-painted chair rail molding that you simply nail or screw into the wall.

Also, try the dead space above your kitchen cabinets. It's an area that doesn't experience much wear and tear, so you can even paper it with something as delicate as newspaper, although news print does have a tendency to leave behind some ink.

Cloth wall coverings are also an option for apartment walls. The difference is that you'll want to either hang the fabric or use a staple gun to affix it to the wall. Unfortunately, unlike a papered wall, it tends to bunch and doesn't respond well to art being hung atop it-so no framed pieces can be hung. Also, thicker fabrics, such as denim, are harder to work with, though with enough patience, it's possible to hang or affix any type of fabric. As a general rule of thumb you'll want to go with a sturdy but lightweight fabric. Stay away from the nubbly and plush and lean towards the flat, vibrant and more paper -like fabrics if you're going to apply to the walls.

To make things easier on yourself, you can even hang the fabric like a curtain. This can give you a wider range of fabrics to work with.

Yet another fun fix for a bare wall is to cut out a basic repeating pattern, circles or leaves, then use a thread or a string to connect them, in an effect that's rather like a beaded curtain for your wall. You can do this with fabric or paper. Just make sure that the see-through "curtain" goes all the way down to the floor and hangs from a thin piece of wood affixed near the ceiling. Those who own cats should avoid this idea, as it proves too much of a temptation for them.

If you've really got your heart set on a particular color on a paint chip but you still don't feel like re-painting or losing the security deposit, consider painting thin wood veneers. You can attach them to your wall using the same methods as you would if you were attaching paper, but instead you would use heavier nails or even screws. When you're done screwing or nailing them into the walls, use a little of your paint to help camouflage the metal.

All of these methods do leave holes in apartment walls, but if you're a fan of dramatic or dark colors, such as black, red or navy, you'll find it much easier to spackle over the holes you've made than to paint over the entire wall when it comes time to move out of your apartment.