apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

this is brilliant

I don't know. That seems like a lot of work for a wall that is still just a wall covered with duct tape. I think I would have stretched a very large canvas (or had it made -- it costs little), and just painted it in dark layers of oil paint. Or in a gradation of dark colors. It would be the same effect, but richer. And the bit of white wall showing around it would have helped to incorporate the light-colored carpet.

Um... I would of made some upholstered panels in pretty fabric to cover the wall instead. It may be more expensive, but I'm sure would look better than a wall covered in duct tape. Very inventive and creative though.

I love how creative it is, but I'm not sure if I would replicate this myself. However, it certainly adds a lot of drama to the space!

I once had a 1962 VW Bug that was literally held together by duct tape. But it didn't show. Unlike this.

From a distance, the wall looks okay. Up close it's a train wreck. All those prominent seams and areas of raised, unstuck tape... There are so many better ways to address this.

This is a case where the "cure" is worse than the disease (an innocent unpresuming white wall).

Is duct tape the new "it" craft material, or something?

Tacky

interesting idea. you might even try alternating 1 strip of poster board and the next of 1/2" foam core covered with duct tape - it would give the vertical strips an architectural quality. You might have to velcro the foam core sections to the wall at the top since those would be too thick for the tacks to go in.

Agree that a duct tape wall might look cheap but upon initial inspection I had no idea it was ducttape especially since you chose black instead of silver.

Too much work for this slightly ADD person. Big Kudos to you, though!!!

VERY cool. Great way to "work around" a lease. :)

It's an interesting texture... maybe it would be more compelling as a large art piece that doesn't cover the entire wall?

I wouldn't even try it, the results looks just messy to me.

Though if you read carefully, Kinsey was really going for the duct tape wallpaper look... and that's what he got.

Very creative, Kinsey. Wallet- and renter-friendly ideas are what I come here for!

FYI - If you have any other white walls that you can't stand, check out the products at the website below. Definitely not as cheap as duct tape, but still temporary:

http://tempaperdesigns.com/

eh, it's interesting...but it just seems like over time it'll just look worse. and yeah, I can't imagine that it looks much better up close.

if your landlord didn't mind small holes in the wall, why didn't you tack some fabric up or at least hang a few huge canvases or something? maybe 4 big canvases all carefully covered in black duct tape would have looked a bit more like an art installation, rather than warping poster board?

I must say, though, that wall DOES look a thousand times better "painted" black.

Aw don't be mean to the guy, he worked his butt off. I did starch and fabric and didn't even ASK my landlord, so he's nice to even ask. even if its not exactly my cup of tea I like the spirit and creativity here...

"A" for ingenuity, effort, thrift, and a bold look! Way to think outside the vanilla box, Kinsey!

Lovely! It has a very minimalistic/Oriental feel to it.

Wow, that would have been an insane amount of work- but at least you can take it with you, right?

Points for originality - at least it's not chalkboard paint or another piece of jumble sale junk painted white. I think this idea is clever and dramatic, as well as cheap and easy. The deep colour will look even better as a backdrop for art than as a 'focal wall,' IMO. I'd also like to see a big light fixture reflected in the dark textured sheen of the wall.

Duct tape comes in some other pretty cool colours, too: http://www.duct-tape.com/

I agree the dining room looks better with some 'color' in there. But why not just paint the poster board black if you wanted to add an accent wall? Or tack up a large piece of fabric? Either way would involve less time obsessing and dealing with messy duct tape

And what's up with this tired trend of using duct tape to make everything? Duct tape purse! Duct tape pants! Duct tape chandelier!

What's the next 'it' material? Cellophane?

neat idea. i like the paneling effect.

I admire the detail here and the spirit of the project. I think that just painting posterboard black or just hanging fabric would not have a similar effect because it would lack the texture and detail. That said, I can't imagine that the in-person effect of the duct tape is as impressive as the first photo, though I hope I'm wrong about that. I think if I were to do this, I might do the duct tape on posterboard but then color it with a layer of high gloss black paint. Why? You preserve the texture of the tape, which I like, but end up with a high-gloss lacquered look. Time-consuming and obsessive but it might look more finished.

@luckypeach: You're right. Painting or fabric wouldn't have the same textural effect (though maybe certain brocades or ironing or sewing together black fabric of varying textures might achieve a similar effect). I was just crabby about decor that's more about how interesting something looks in a picture rather than how it'd work in real life.

umm...

But it LOOKS like duct tape-covered posterboard...

I don't understand landlords who will allow thumbnail holes throughout a place but not allow at least a painted feature wall. The paint is going to need to be touched up anyway after the holes are patched anyway.

Also this looks bad in a small, dimly lit picture.

ironically i think this would look better with white duct tape.

A for effort. This is something unique and interesting. I love how affordable it is. It's given me an idea for changing up a project of mine. I would never have have the patience for a whole wall!

I knew those duct tape books could be dangerous in the wrong hands! Seriously, this brings back memories of working with guys who used duct tape for nearly everything. I think I'd stick with the white wall and hang some art.

i think this is great!!! very creative idea --- love the texture and everything. forget all the naysayers --- to me it looks like very cool zen tile that sells for hundreds of dollars. and i think it looks especially good next to your huge windows.

@slowdown. I hear you. I think that there is a place for 'experimental' decor that is more like art than actual polished design and it *is* somewhat disingenuous to posit that all it takes is spit, bubblegum and, well, tape, to maturely permanently solve some of the fundamental design problems--which is something that AT does on a fairly regular basis.

i like the idea...........but used on a much smaller scale........
like the inside back of a cabinet,
in any color to match the room color scheme.

another idea is using fruit drying trays.
i did at a previous residence.
i could then put small nails, etc to hang my pics
the drying trays are about 8 ft tall.
mine fit perfectly.......no nails to hold them in either
and, possibly less expensive.......but who knows nowadays

and one other idea........fabric......any color........any pattern.......stretched & stapled on to a wooden 1x2 frame measured to fit the wall

still like black!........still like ingenuity!.......thumbs up!

I'd rather have a white wall than a wall inexplicably covered with poster board.