How do you remove this? Will it mess up my paint, or how likely is it that it will? Thanks!

oh thanks! i've been wanting an accent wall behind my bed. simple and great idea...thanks.

Yes, also curious about if it will ruin the wall when removed. It's PERMANENT double-sided tape, so won't it rip a layer of paint from the wall? Especially matte or flat paints?

You also mention you can "keep your wallpaper" when you move. How so? Do you peel it off then cover the sticky side with lengths of wax paper then roll back up to transport?

Thanks!

I am trying the same thing in my rental place. I am testing sticky tacks instead of double sided tape/ pins. It is easy to remove and it wont leave any marks if you decide to remove it. it is priced at ~ $3 a pack.

No, no, no, no, no, no!! Double sided tape will rip paint AND drywall off!! I used that exact brand of tape to cover the walls of my bedroom with pictures and when it came time to remove it, at best it removed paint. At worst, huuuge chunks of drywall (the kind of drywall you find in newer homes). The walls had to be extensively patched, sanded and painted after that.

NEVER, EVER DO THIS. D:

As a side note, don't use poster putty either. It leaves oil spots...and pieces of itself...on drywall.

Again, one of those "temporary" fixes that is really a bad idea in practice. If you pin or staple up wallpaper, it will look like you pinned or stapled it up and you'll have to repair the holes. Double sided tape will ruin the walls, and it will look like you taped up the wallpaper.

good point @miranar , my wall is not drywall. It is painted with a glossy paint that can be easily cleaned.

Bad idea, in my opinion.

I would give some thought to using fabric instead of paper. For one thing, most fabrics are 44-45" wide. First you would need to straighten the grain and deal with the selvages, (fold 1/2" to the back and iron it in place with iron-on hem tape.) As for the top and bottom: I think you could fasten the hemmed edges (done the same way as selvage edges) by jamming window pane glazing points between the fabric and the top & bottom crown molding. Another way might be to nail a narrow piece of molding right through the fabic into the wall - every 12-18" would do it. Yes, you would have to paint that molding or maybe glue a coordinating length of grosgrain ribbon on top; Yes it would leave nail holes.

One thing to consider whether you try paper or fabric and that is the extent to which it could create a fire hazard. I believe fabric can be treated with something to make it more fire-retardant. Don't know about paper. Maybe this sort of treatment isn't a good idea for a child's room, for instance.

Another approach is to "paste" fabric on the wall with starch. -- see this article from January 2009 with its ideas and comments. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-removable-fabric-w-74483.

OR, you could use permanent, double sided tape to attach the wallpaper to a large piece of cardboard or foam board (you may have to use several pieces) and hang THAT on the wall, or lean it against the wall for an accent. Or build a rough frame from cheap lumber and stretch the wallpaper over that. Again, lean it against the wall of your choice.

I did the starch-paper thing, and it stained the fugly wallpaper that the landlord had already installed, then would not come up at all. 7 of the 8 ugly apartments that I've had in the last 9 years had one of two hideous wallpapers-- vaguely off-white with light brown speckles. O
One was texture and the other not. After failed attempts to do something to cover up this affront to good design in all of the other places, I've been living with it in the current place and am about to tear my hair out from the hideousness. Any suggestions?

Be VERY VERY CAREFUL with old paster walls! I have ripped huge chunks of plaster off walls in my 100 year old building trying to 'do the right thing' and use 3M Command Velcro Picture Hanging Strips instead of nails or tacks to hang pictures.
It is inevitable that you will make some kind of marks on your apartment walls that will have to be touched up, but this is pretty serious.

In a previous rental I did successfully wallpaper paste a poster mural in the entry hall, BUT at the expense of the poster (had to shred it to remove it) and about 5 hours of my life repeatedly scrubbing the wall to get the wallpaper paste off. I was only successful in not damaging the paint because the wall was freshly painted with an eggshell (or possibly even semigloss) paint that had bonded well with the surface below. I got lucky.

Alterations

These are excellent posts. Thank you so much! Keep up the outstanding work!

saraI08 mention this, but I still think it's the best bet. Cover a piece of foam core board (you can get them in sheets that are 8' by 4' for about $20 each). You can cut them to size or around outlets, etc. Then you can attach them to the way with some lightweight hooks. Or you can use a few small pieces of double stick tape to hold it while you surround it with strips of molding.

Another choice is to use veneers. You can purchase beautiful veneers by the foot and again, attach them to foam core boards for a paneled look.

Either way, the foam core boards will do FAR less damage than tons of double stick tape and you can take them with you when you move to another place. Then you can either add more boards with the same motif or remove a few if you don't need them.

Another place to add wallpaper is the back of bookcases/displace cabinets. It's a punch of color but it's YOUR furniture, not anything your landlord can yell about. Good luck.

If you can get the ok to paint you might be able to accomplish similar effects with stencils, and I imagine that many landlords would rather have that happening than anything that's actually potentially more damaging and more difficult to reverse. It's just logical... landlords want the least possible damage and the happiest possible tenant to reduce turnover, so it's worth discussing.

I've seen set-decorators do this on location shoots, but their secret step is to start with blue painter's masking tape on the walls first, then put the double-stick tape over the masking tape and then apply the wallpaper.

Smart idea to double up on the top.

It's an idea I've been meaning to implement at home for years. This is a good reminder!

I should add that when the location shoot wrapped, the wallpaper came off extremely fast.

I recently found Tempaper, peel-and-stick wallpaper, has anyone tried it?

http://www.tempaperdesigns.com/home.nxg

Right on their home page they state "It is recommended that you apply Tempaper to surfaces that have been painted with an eggshell or satin finish. Applications on matte or flat paints are not recommended." In my (limited) experience, all the apartments I've lived in have had eggshell walls, they're just easier to keep clean and some landlords claim they look "brighter" because of the slight sheen.

Re: Let There Be Light!... I worked as a set decorator and I can tell you that the reason this works is that film shoots are in and out quickly. If you left this up for months or even years, painter's tape will also do damage. Also, I would never put any kind of adhesive on a matte finish paint job. You'll always see it. Even CLEANING the wall will sometimes do this! Renter beware or your damage deposit might not come back to you...!

I've done this and know other people who have without negative effects, but you can always test your wall with the tape prior to hanging your paper. And remember, this is intended as a temporary way to brighten your space! If you own your place, I suggest hiring a professional to install your hand-printed wallpaper, and to use liner paper for older walls. I also have wallpaper framed all over my home--sometimes several different patterns in one room. That's VERY temporary, and easy to change up. If you're afraid your old walls can't handle the tape, frame the paper.

And finally--another tip--go to Home Depot and pick up a hollow core door. Wallpaper that sucker for a totally moveable way to incorporate wallpaper into a space. You can use it as a divider, place it behind a dresser and hang a mirror on it, etc.

Happy hanging!