Kaitlynn, you could turn the narrow hallway in a little art gallery. Shift the focus from the strong color to photos, paintings, etc. you hang on your walls. Transform a painful passage into one that takes you to places you love - assuming that you can hang things on your walls...

Check out AT's instructions on using starch to mount fabric to walls. It's an easy process, leaves no damage behind, and is quickly removable with just water.
It's possible that you might find a pretty sheer fabric whose color, when laid over the existing color, transforms it into something wonderful, or find something great that hides the existing color.

FTW? I hope you have cheap rent. I've never seen a landlord insist on keeping an apartment an ugly color. Doesn't he or she want to rent this thing out for as much as he or she can get?

At least the molding is pretty! The color is really terrible though. If it were pinker or oranger there might be a cute way to play it up, but I'm not coming up with anything here. The hallway looks too narrow to do gallery walls on both sides. If you could find a cheap fabric in a print you like, maybe fabric-covered panels that cover enough of the wall space to tone down the color? (Fabric stretched on a frame would be best. Fabric over foam board would be cheap.)

Fabric. Gather some floor-to-ceiling height fabric panels top & bottom and attach with staples-cover with neat thin ribbon. Then hang some of your favorite artworks, maybe use the thin ribbon to do this?

For cheap fabric try drop cloths, or check out clearance fabrics from fabric.com.

Most people complain about the drab, white walls. I think you should embrace the color and appreciate that in two years, it will be Apartment Therapy's "color of the year!"

I believe they make stick on, removable wallpaper. I think that's the route I'd go.

I second the drop cloths suggestion. Since they're a natural color, they'll go well with whatever coral is left exposed (assuming you don't have the time/budget/desire to cover every sq inch of it). Also, coral/tangerine tango/salmon are all hot colors right now, so once you tone it down by covering a lot of it up, maybe you could use it as a little inspiration to pull other shades of orange and coral into the space.

@Duane Hill - I have a feeling that since this is a basement, the "apartment" is in someone's home and the owners are renting out the basement level to help with the mortgage. I suspect that they don't rent it out all the time because when there aren't any tenants, they might use the basement.

If you don't want to commit to covering the walls with fabric, you could replace the bulb in the overhead light with a soft (possibly tinted?) incandescent bulb. Different lighting might make the paint look a little less sickly.

If I were you, I'd try to embrace the color and focus on making the rooms you have more control over awesome. I actually just moved from an expensive DC basement apartment myself, two weeks ago!, which had crazy (but beautiful) painted walls--super bold colors from the authentic Mount Vernon collection--crimson, pear green/yellow, a bold cobalt blue--and I just tried to embrace the colors as much as I could using what I already had (I did add a few new things). The dark crimson really drove me crazy (because basements are already dark!) but the other colors ended up looking pretty nice and people always assumed I had painted the walls myself!

That hallway just looks too narrow to add fabric and lots of art, even though I love those ideas. Basements can feel so crowded and claustrophobic if you get too cluttered.

Just my two cents. :)

Turn it into that plastic tunnel from ET. You'll feel just like Elliot when you walk around your apt in nothing but your undies. Fog machine/blinky lights optional.

In all seriousness, though, it's hideous. I would paint over it and eat the consequences or go 180 and cover it w/ the most tacky stuff I can find.

Going super cheap I would get flat sheets (white) and paint a pattern on them that I like using craft paint and fabric medium. Run the fabric from ceiling to floor like you would curtains. You can also google how to make curtain rods from conduit (also super cheap!).

Alternately, I have seen people put up wallpaper covered board (foam board or poster board) using removable mounting tape or decorative tacks to hold it in place.

Good luck!

cornstarch and fabric! AT has instructions.

You can learn to live with any color. I also agree with the suggestion of bright accent colors. Black and white and go with anything. If you have any windows in the living room, you could hang some big white curtains around them to break up the walls. Black and white picture frames--large with big art. Just decorate like you intended to have it that color and you might grow to like it. I have a bathroom with tiles of the same sort of colors. I paired it with a nice bright blue, some lime green, bright pinks, oranges, and lots of black and white. It almost looks intentional.

If you're not a fan of the contrast of black and white, soft sandy earth tones would probably do well, too.

Blue tinted sunglasses.

My favorite way to cover walls is collaging with magazine clippings. It takes time, but just some great stuff out of your favorite magazines could serve as your temporary wallpaper over that color. I use scotch tape, but I would also recommend finding a light glue that isn't too strong and will peel right off when you want it to. Good luck!

Show the landlords this post and maybe they'll get the hint that the color it WAY over the top! Not really. They'd be mad. But seriously, that is some color! Too bad since the moldings are nice.

I doubt they're letting you nail holes either if they give you a hard time about painting. That's a lot of fabric to come up with on a budget when you say it's the living room, too, not just the hall and it might turn out looking too "craft project". I think I would try the lighting trick mentioned above. With a task lamp next to where you sit for when you need real light to do work.

Wow. I'm surprised others have not commented on the oddball molding more! To me that is harder to deal with than the color. The color could be fine with the right furniture -- keep it relatively plain and monochromatic. All white or all grey would work. Introduce a few other colors with pillows or accessories that you already have (and thus like). Don't have too many knickknacks or too much clutter, which is good advice anywhere but especially in a small space with such a bright backdrop.

The molding, though! Why so ornate, why so much of it, why medallions stuck on randomly? I would probably try to cover that stuff with strategically placed art.

I would be a good tenant for about 3 months and ask again about the paint color.

Also, *carefully* take down the diamond molding. Once it's gone, I bet the landlord probably won't even remember that it was there.

If this were my apartment, I'd try going with a more classic route. I'm thinking: gold, brass, a little black and white, lots of natural textures (bamboo, jute, sisal) with an emphasis on rich textures like velvet. Shiny black shades on brass or glass lamps, heavy velvet draperies in ivory, wooden bookshelves with molding, antique rugs, and definitely an antique couch updated with paint or fabric. It doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money... just know where you can fake it and where you can splurge. I can't sing the praises of thrift stores, flea markets and Craigslist enough. Basically the strategy here is to make the details in the room so interesting and lush that the wall color plays a supporting role rather than main attraction. And I second the notion to try different light bulbs. That could make a huge difference.

That does look pretty bad!
I'd say embrace the orange and go wild with color. Once you finish grad school and move into a "real" place, you can get serious. This is only temporary after all. I came across the pegs rug in pink, grey, and orange at CB2 the other day: http://www.cb2.com/pegs-rug/f7699 Your wall looks a little more salmon-y but just to give you some ideas for color combinations. If you can pull off pink and teal with your walls, you will get my vote for the Small Cool Contest next year. Here is a pillow from CB2 for inspiration: http://www.cb2.com/snake-print-pillow.-18-sq/s346261
Since you are a grad student, do you have a lot of books? A wall of bookshelves would help break this up quite a bit.

Wow this is unbelievably bad. It would be a deal breaker for me but alas you've signed the lease so you will have to figure something out. I would get some foam core and cover the entire bottom half of the wall using small beads of hot glue in the corners to adhere to the wall. The hot glue becomes rubberized once it dries and can easily be removed from the walls without damage. You can then paint or paper the foam core in a neutral to tone down all that orange!

Ok, I won't be inviting the AT commenters to dinner. My dining room and kitchen are painted a slightly bolder shade of that coral, and it looks amazing.

I'd suggest limiting colors in that area to just a few: lots of white and/or pale woods, and a deep brown or green, and maybe some oiled bronze accents. Put down a nearly solid brown runner and get a nice bronze or faux bronze metalwork wall hanging. Changing the light fixture would help too.

I'm more appalled by the woodwork. That is ghastly.

@angelinethebaker - I did notice the molding. The combination of the molding and the wall color looks like the landlord was going for a fake Tuscan theme. I can picture it - lots of wrought iron: a wine rack, a couple of chairs, and a coffee table with a glass top. Plus a cream colored leather overstuffed sofa, a kitchen table with a mosaic inlay, maybe a fake olive tree somewhere, maybe even a mural of a Tuscan villa. Something made out of terracotta - a little angel maybe. Plus a statue of a woman carrying a basket of grapes. And something made out of an old wine barrel (maybe a game table?). Coasters with grape varietals printed on them, etc.
Of course that would be an option for Kaitlynn too....

I must be one of the only ones who sort of like it. It's not something I would ever pick, I don't think, but I could work with it.

Choosing accent colors wisely will be key here - different accent colors will bring out different tones in the color. I wouldn't clutter it up with fabric or anything - it'll just make your basement apartment seem smaller, I think.

As far as the weird diamonds, I would mount small, simple shelves in each one and display a single statue, or vase, etc so that the diamonds are "framing" them.

You need a black and white striped hallway runner. Look for fruit tones in some inexpensive, whimsical Etsy prints to hang on the walls with black frames in assorted sizes. Soft teal tones, golden yellows, and chartreuse/lime accents throughout can play off the hall.

I agree. I think a lot of black and white here could help. Also get all the tacky goodwill art that you can and cover that hallway up. It will be less overwhelming if you minimize the square footage of ugly showing. I am so sorry about that hideous chair rail molding nonsense.
Maybe fabric the bottom half of the walls and then art up the top half?

Good luck!

The suggestion of putting up a lot of art in the hallway is good. Use a variety of white frames and they will blend in with the molding and the coral color will recede in importance. You don't have to own or buy expensive art - blow up some of your own photos, frame wallpaper samples, or even find things in magazines.

There's no photo of your living room, so it's hard to make specific suggestions. But a large mirror will cover a swath of wall as would tall bookcases. I once was subletting an apartment and covered its bedroom walls with nice colored sheets and it really made a difference for a temporary space. You could hang sheets or actual curtains as if there were windows behind them, or even "frame" a large mirror (or several of those cheap vertical mirrors for backs of doors) as if it were a window.

I'm thinking of cream-sickles (50-50 bars?) now.

I think this is a case of if you can't beat it embrace it. If you go with white and black you might get a nice vintage feel going in there. I'm thinking white upholstered furniture (or slipcovered), cushions with crisp black piping, glossy black tables (or metal and glass), a vintage bar cart...and you lounging around looking languid while you sip a martini.

You may be able to turn those funny molding frames into mirrors with stick-on mirror tiles. At least they'd make sense then.

I honestly would not fret too much about it and not go too overboard trying to make it work. It's a temporary residence (assuming you're not planning to stay there after you graduate) and I think it would be better to just save your money for your next, hopefully, more permanent place.

Here are some pretty rooms in coral- maybe you can gain some ideas from here:

http://pinterest.com/pin/260294053433609393/
http://pinterest.com/pin/32510428530907019/
http://pinterest.com/pin/283304632778783891/
http://www.86073.com/2011_04__European-classical-style-integration-of-spatial-reorganization-Accessories.html

You could also do curtains on the wall and/or a big mirror like this:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/admire-it-acquire-it-calming-white-office-nook-decor-style-collage-simple-chic-173061

MONTANAGAL ON 08.09.12 AT 11:09AM has it right. Remember, this is an apartment and you are a grad student. When you spend money it should be on quality pieces of furniture and art and things that you think you'll want forever rather just buying items to use just once to cover things up in a temporary place.

Here is a post from Birch + Bird Vintage Home Interiors on decorating with coral, peach, salmon, orangey colors. http://birchandbird.com/coral-peach-tangerine-etc
It may give you an idea on other accent colors that would work well with it. I would probably stick to white furniture if possible. Large art or a gallery would cover more of the wall.

Looks like there's some fug lighting going there...maybe playing with the color of the light might help soften the color of the walls? Also, that rug with the wall color is a NO.

Would designs like stripes with Washi Tape work? I've not used it before so I'm not sure if it would be too sticky too remove later. A work intensive project, no doubt, but it could be a fun look for your hall!

First off, congratulations. I just finished apartment hunting in DC myself, so I understand how *brutal* it can be. As another grad student on a tight budget, I sympathize with your situation. People say it's temporary, and you should get over it, but you want your home to feel like a home, no matter how long you live there. And that color really is just awful (this paint must be the reason the apt was affordable!).

So here's some thoughts. I second everyone's suggestions for art and mirrors covering the walls. Art always makes a place homier, and art you like and could take with you when you move out are the kinds of "investments" that you "should" be spending your money on. You can blow up your own pictures at Kinko's for a few bucks. Stick that in a $7 poster frame from Target, and done. Thrift / secondhand / flea markets are also great for prints and frames.

Below the chair rail, I'd either go for more art (Apt Therapy has a roundup of art on the floor), or the fabric / drop cloth trick (cheaper to do only below the rail). Big drop cloths *are* an investment. Later, use them as furniture covers / pads for moving, cut them into squares as green cleaning rags, or cover up your next ugly wall.

Hope these tips are helpful! Everyone is right that you should focus on things you will take with you later. But with all the stress of grad school, you *need* a comfortable, satisfying place to come home to.

http://www.designyourwall.com/

That color may be why you found the apartment.

There are some really cool images on Kelly Wearsteler's (sorry for poor spelling) site, that show coral mixed with a lot of heavier browns and a dark maroon. I think that would be great, especially with some brassy details from a vintage store. Splashes of turquoise could look nice, but not much, otherwise it will start looking like 1985 Santa Fe, or like the Golden Girls just moved out. :)

Paint it white, and then repaint it coral again before you leave.

I'm with BOSTON_KAT. I'd make nice with the landlords for a little while -- maybe include some homemade cookies with my rent check -- and then nicely ask them to reconsider a more neutral color for that hall. They might be more flexible once they see you as a considerate and responsible tenant. If it's still a no, then try out some of the DIYs suggested here.

Not quite clear if this color is or isn't in the br & kitch.; I'm guessing it isn't. Also going to guess they don't want a lot of nails pounded. Does it (urp) look like a fairly recent paint job? Maybe that's one reason.

This may be a cop out but if the bedroom and kitchen aren't this color, have fun with those areas. Get situated and comfortable moved in and school started. If the owners won't pay for you to repaint more neutral, save your $ for a while, don't apologize for it to your friends; have fun with it in Oct.-Halloween Hall party or something. Yes, it's yuck & easier said than done to live with it, but in the long run BIG picture it will become a 'remember when' crazy memory. Keep wine on hand for fun & study time. Somewhere online in the last eight years I remember seeing a nice MCM house where the 'trendy owners' did the large LR DR in 'baby carrot' paint color. Yours sound more visually palatable.

Here's my two cents:
1. It doesn't matter who likes it and who doesn't if you don't.
2. Maybe a comprimise with the landlords - will they let you paint it if you agree to paint it back when you move?

I dislike any shade of orange, but just the same, I would ignore the hallway. It is probably too much trouble/expense for too little return and at least it will seem warm in winter.
In the living room I agree with the idea of at least one wall of lightweight fabric that would hang on wire or thin rods. The fabric panels stretched on large frames sounds good They worked for me in the distant past (when Marimekko was popular the first time!).
If panels are too expensive what about large picture frames (they are Very cheap in junk/thrift stores here). They don't have to be good quality. You could paint the frames the same colour and fill them with fabric cut from one or two large remnants. Sometimes you can get a lot of fabric remnants cheaply if you don't need one large rectangular piece. You could even fill the frames with painted cardboard and then put something else in the centre.

Holy moley. They really don't want you to paint that?

I don't understand why landlords demand "no painting" when they have such non-neutral spaces. I get it if they have off-white and don't want to have to repaint over purple or maroon at the end of a lease... but installing the controversial color yourself and then demanding that renters leave it seems cruel, at best.

I had a landlord once who lived upstairs, and had ripped out all the cracked, falling plaster in his place, leaving mine behind ugly, GIANT-PATTERNED wallpaper. He let me paint right over the wallpaper so I didn't have to look at it. Phew.

I guess landlords in the US are a bit more tight than landlords here in Canada... pretty much no one cares if you paint. You want to do the work and buy the materials? Sure - paint! Some have rules - light colours only - no black, no deep reds... Some might say that you need to put it back to the original colour when you leave... but there are actual rules here (in Quebec) that prevents landlords from not allowing someone to paint. It is a question of Civil Rights... if the renter is prohibited from painting, does this diminish his or her full enjoyment of the rental property? If so, the renter can paint!

I'm a bit of a rule breaker - I'd paint anyway... white or something light and non-offensive. When they see, they'll love it and they'll forget this ridiculous salmon colour.

I feel you. once inherited a pepto pink dorm room. college would not let me paint it. i wasn't so into pink then, and even then...the shade... my successor did paint it and i was seething.

Wow. This is a challenge. But I think it would be fun! Sometimes, within extreme parameters, one can really stretch their creative imagination. My first thought would be (as others pointed out) to lose those diamond things! If they won't come off, at least try to incorporate them within a picture frame (black, no more white trim work in this hall, please!) along with other collage elements. Your hall is narrow so try to keep things as flat & close to the wall as possible. I see the lower half of this hall looking cool with a black lattice work rather than solid covering. The lop half I'd soften the heavy coral color with sheers loosely draped from thin rods. Tied back in places, hanging straight down in others. I'd decal (purchased or just make my own with double sticky tape) palm type plants, maybe some silhouettes of birds in the air. If I could get them cheap I'd also intersperse silk leaves & flowers (like gardenias or tropical flowers), affixing them with a little hot glue, to make it more 3- dimensional. In my mind, though I am a bit insane, I see the whole thing looking like a portal or veranda looking out into a sunset colored garden. That window cut out in the foreground is just begging for a cute window treatment of sheers pulled back to expose an actual tall potted palm tree on the other side. I'd definitely change that light fixture to something Moroccan looking- hanging pierced metal, round or octagonal. Any friend who has electrician experience can change the fixture easily. You will be faced with the bare spot around the place where the current fixture is, however. So try to match the paint color as close as you can to the ceiling paint. Save the original fixture so you can switch it back when you move out. If you can't change the fixture at least try different color/temperature bulbs in there until you get the effect you want. I would be excited to have the opportunity to work with this space! I agree with HHRI about it having that "Tuscan" look! Don't forget the cherub fountain! I can't wait to see what you decide to do with this space!!!

By the way, I do like the hall runner, but it's not long enough or wide enough. I'd definitely keep that look though, with a more proportionate size runner.

Wow. Just WOW. I am so sorry for you lol. I agree with the others that suggest some sort of fabric treatment.

I'd embrace it and go with a palette of colours like this beaded bracelet: http://thebeadedlily.blogspot.com.au/2008/08/art-deco-challenge-winner.html? I'd get some Aubrey Beardsley prints in the biggest size I could get to hang in the corridor to break up the pink - http://www.vandaprints.com/category/4552/artists/aubrey-beardsley - and I'd replace that runner with something black and white like a zebra print - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zebra-Hall-Runner-Accent-Rug-Floor-Mat-23-x64-NEW-Safari-Black-Off-White-/350578455464?pt=US_Door_Mats_and_Floor_Mats&hash=item51a01ab3a8#ht_500wt_689. I also think you need a load of indoor plants in the living room to complete the look.

curtains on the walls. or starch-paste fabric to the walls. or just paint it white and let them keep your damage deposit if they so insist. that colour is horrendous.

Geeeze... the molding looks like frosting on the creamsicle cake walls. okay, the landlord thinks it is fine, so I'd try and live with it, find a way to like it -- it will probably grow on you. I'd go very simple and organized with stuff / things -- .

okay I looked at it again... I lived with far worse in my rental days... it's not so bad. Since it is a basement space, I'd worry more about light and invest in lighting.

Our new home has a similar color in the dining room - which after painting the great room, we were not in the mood to tackle just yet. A pair of cheap teal curtains from a clearance rack made a world of difference. A few other teal accessories and it looks decidedly trendy and flows well with our coastal design aesthetic in the great room.

I agree with everyone who suggests trying to ignore it for now while you focus on school then when school is finished move as quick as you can into something you really like. The molding is worse than bad and makes no sense what so ever. Your landlord must have seen a sale he couldn't pass up or something. If you just have to spend money don't waste your cash on doing anything you can't take with you and use after you move out. The time and money it would take to do any of the suggestion regarding covering the walls in fabric,etc could easily backfire on you if and when your landlord were to see it which could even cause him to try and evict you. He's already proven he isn't a reasonable man by insisting you not paint. I wouldn't risk doing anything to aggravate him if I were you. Remember it's temporary and focus on school and before you know it you'll be finished with school and have extra money to spend on your next place.

Yeah, once school starts you are going to forget all about this problem.

In the late 1990's, I lived in an apartment with 70's fake wood paneling, which was hideous, but the apartment was cheap and in a good neighborhood. Even the door had the paneling, so if people were over and drinking or something, they had a hard time finding their way out. It's just part of paying your dues. Save your money and energy and keep the pink walls as something you can laugh at later in life.