Great suggestions!
BTW - There's a Groupon today for that Dali Decals site:
http://www.groupon.com/deals/dali-decals-greenville-5

Re the stainless steel backsplash at PB, Theirs is $79, Ikea has one which seems the same for $13, and while Ikea's does not include screws for hanging those are easily found (for a lot less than $63). I recently put one from Ikea in my kitchen, and have it holding my magnetic spice canisters. Works great, looks great, absolutely recommend it.

Great ideas, many of which I'd never heard of.

Thanks,
Lesli @ BeautifullyCoastal.com

Great ideas! Just because you rent it, doesn't mean you can't make it your own.

Great ideas here! Thanks for sharing. I never knew there was removable wall paper, I'll have to check it out.

Not too keen on the fake granite. It may look OK when new but has zero functionality compared to the real thing or even a laminate in good shape. You'd have to have a lot of trivets handy for hot stuff and be very careful not to ding it up. I wonder how it would handle a dish hot from the MW being placed on it, let alone a hot pot.

Thanks for sharing.

I think keeping around lots of trivets would be preferable to the absolutely hideous countertops I've had in some of my apartments.

In one apartment the countertops were so bad that I just bought a few of the big, really cheap cutting boards ikea had and attached them to the top with heavy duty double sided tape. Worked great for the year until I moved, and easy to pull out too.

My kitchen counter is in awful shape- some moron who lived here before me used it as a cutting board, apparently, but there's not really ENOUGH of it for it to be worth ordering $40 worth of fake granite. Does anyone know if there are other ways to cover it up?

I've actually seriously thought about just replacing the whole thing, and the sink, and the faucet, at my own cost, with the landlord's permission. I'd like a smaller sink and more counter space- and a mixing faucet. But then I'd want to do something about the annoying tan tile backsplash and before you know it... I should have bought a condo.

I think that Granite idea is a great one! on my laminate counter tops I can't cut directly on them or put hot pots on them without them melting. I did call them and they say it withstands up to 160 degrees, but I have no idea how hot that is, except that if there was a 160 degree pot, I probably wouldn't be holding it in my hand anyways :). My laminate counter tops are an ugly beige and I think this is the same stuff Rachel Ray was talking about.

We use window film in our bathroom as there is a window in the shower and the neighbors get a full show otherwise. Stays put even with all the steam and looks great! Removable as well - but our kind can only be applied once (once it is removed, to the trash it goes). If you are staying for awhile, it is a great option!

If anyone has bought any of the emma jeffs window films and has any remnants, I'd be interested in buying. I need probably around a 2' x 1' section for my tiny bathroom window and can't really justify an entire roll for just that. Thanks!

Window film is fantastic!
Late last year I put up window film on my patio window and door to let more sun in while increasing the privacy. I watched, waited, and won the bid for film on eBay. It was quite a savings. When pets visit, I just peel back a small section so they can see outdoors.

Ikea has window film for around $8.00

$86 for window film!?! Wow.

@S.J.P. Ikea doesn't seem to sell it anymore, at least not on their website

I would love to know how that fake granite holds up to moisture/use, I couldn't find a single real-life review or recommendation from someone who had used the product in their own home. Our bathroom has a funky green marble laminate that I despise, I was actually planning on painting it with Rustoleum's countertop paint but this seems like it would be much easier to undo if it looks awful (although I'm really not sure how it could look worse than what is already there)

@Beigeonbeige- I looked up the fake granite decals as well since I'll be moving into an apartment soon with hideous countertops in the kitchen. I found http://www.stainlesssteelfilm.com/ which suggests that you seal the paper around the sink and in the corners, like where the backsplash meets the counter.

Not to mention they suggested wiping up any water asap to avoid damages, which is a bummer if you're wanting to put it in the bathroom.

Does anyone have a suggestion for really ugly tile countertops?

My new apartment has light yellow tiles for the top of the counter and then a sort of burnt sienna color for the backsplash and the edges of the counter. Aside from the terrible color combo (which is also in the bathroom, grr...) they are a bit worn and chipped in places. I cannot stand them...but since it looks like the granite decal can only be applied to flat surfaces, I can't use it. :(

@M.Lee: You could "embrace" the color combo and add a third color (black perhaps) then do matching curtains or seat cushions in fabric with the three colors (yellow, burnt sienna, black for example)---so that it ends up being a style element that works.

Boring, white walls? Use liquid starch and water to put up fabric. Any color, any pattern, and MUCH cheaper than peel off papers.
To take it down, you just spray the fabric with hot water and then peel it off. Wash the wall with water and you're done! It's also reusable for your next apartment.

These are great ides. I also like using fabric wall decals because they work pretty much on any surface, they are repositionable, and they won't damage your walls when you need to take them off. I found that vinyl doesn't stick well with eggshell paint that is normally used in bathrooms and kitchens.

i tried the Appliance Art granite yesterday and it was a disaster. first of all, it's actually really hard to apply, and secondly, aside from the granite pattern, it looks just like vinyl contact paper. it has the plastic gleam to it and any light on it bounces back terribly. waste of $100 for me.