I own rental property and I do not let my tenants paint the walls. Why? Because they rarely ever paint it back the original color. This means that if a tenant paints walls a dark color, I will have to prime and re-paint the unit before I can lease it out again. This is because sometimes strangely colored walls make other people think twice about the unit.
Add Color to Your Apartment Way #1: Add-Here’s or Other Wall Stickers
There are some great wall decorations called Add-Here’s. I found packs of Add-Here’s at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $19.99. These wall stickers are reusable and removable, and won’t damage paint. However, you might want to see WHEN your apartment was painted, as you have to allow paint to cure for 30 days before applying wall art.
Ways to Add Color to Your Rental Home #2: Posters
There are several inexpensive posters that make great wall decorations. When I was in college, I framed a poster of the Eiffel Tower and hung it in my apartment. Then, I had French accents such as a Kleenex holder shaped like the Arc de Triomphe and an Eiffel Tower lamp.
Make Your Apartment Colorful Way #3: Add Colorful Shelving
A great way to add color and warmth to your rooms is through adding colorful shelving. Just make sure that when you vacate, you fill your nail holes with spackling compound. The apartment community or your landlord shouldn’t charge too much to spot paint the spackled area. However, if you don’t fill in the nail holes you will be charged for labor.
If you want to add colorful shelving without hanging shelfs, you can add colorful CD towers or book cases in lieu of shelving that you hang.
Add Color To Your Rental Way #4: Area Rugs as Artwork
There are some great colorful area rugs on the market today. You can hang an area rug on an entire wall to create an accent wall. This will add a unique splash of color that’s easy to take down when you are ready to vacate. Your landlord will be happy that you are making the apartment your home, but will be even happier that you don’t have to paint your apartment to do so.
Ways to Add Color to your Rental Walls #5: Decorative Draperies
There are several gorgeous draperies that will add color to your rental home. Walmart, Target, and JC Penney’s all have great curtains. Many of these curtains are inexpensive. Since you won’t have much color on your walls, you can get away with fun, bold pattered curtains. Having bold and decorative draperies is a great way to add color to your rental home.
Just because you can’t paint your rental walls doesn’t mean that your apartment home has to be boring. By using some of these suggestions, you can decorate rental walls without breaking your lease.
