Courtney's landlord has a no painting rule, but she came up with a very clever and cheap way to get around it. She says:
...at our apartment the owner is absolute in the no painting rule (we can't even paint and paint over), which would be fine if the walls were painted a nice white but instead they are a very gross textured beige and not newly painted at that. We are however allowed to hang art and use as many nails as we want so long as we patch them when we leave. Solution for us was to make sure the lighting in the house was very white to balance the yellow dingyness of the wall and because I really wanted an accent wall of color we bought 1/8 plyboard sheets ($10), had them cut to the size of the wall and stapled them up.
It only took about 10 staple gun nails in each to hold the panels up and the nails are really small and will be easy to patch. The boards are thin enough that you can use a box cutter to cut out the outlet holes and for the size of our wall with the boards and paint the whole thing came in under $50.
Thanks Courtney!
We're thanking Courtney for submitting her Reversible Décor solution with an AT book, and we'll send you one, too, if you're among the first 25. Send your pic(s) and a short explanation to us here at sf (at) apartmenttherapy (dot) com.
Looks great! What a neat idea.. you are very fortunate that your landlord allows to you to make holes in your walls.
In the past, I had to paint or fabric large canvases/foamboard and attach to the wall like murals/art pieces. I used different colors, textures, and designs. The effect was grand, and the space looked much like an art gallery. But, most importantly, this creativitiy served the purpose of adding some much needed color and character to my otherwise drab rental space.
wow. very awesome!!
i just found this link today and was thinking of doing it since i can't even put holes in my walls.
http://www.rentaldecorating.com/quick_fix_fabric_on_walls.htm
the reverse decor section is awesome...i think it'd get more viewing if it the main NY site mentioned it...i was just über bored and decided to click through all the cities since there's no DC one. i look forward to more reverse décor!
omiomio! Too cool! I think "Reversible Decor" should be an ongoing theme.
is a 1/8 plyboard the same as 1/4" plywood? if not can someone tell me what it is and where to get it?
i think 1/8 is the thickness, so you're 1/4 would be twice as thick as the 1/8.
My past experience with painting wood says that the wood will probably buckle. The corners of each sheet on the side you have painted will curve inward due to the fact that the paint adheres to the wood and then shrinks as it dries, pulling in toward the center. You can stop this from happening, simply by painting an x on the backside, wich will pull those corners back the other way, straightening the board out.
Or, another idea. You could paint the boards a different color on the backside (this would stop the buckling) and turn them around for a different accent wall color during one season.
Courtney, I love you chair.. Where did you get it? It's beautiful!
How do you think this would work in a small bathroom? Would the wood would buckle or catch dampness in between the wall and the wood?
A much better solution to your unpaintable walls, with no holes to repair!
www.paperapartment.com
they ran a story on the LA site about it, I love the stuff. you can even draw on it!
Chantel, the chair was one of those amazing finds on Craigslist, its actully a set of 4 that I painted and recovered the seats.
I haven't had any problems with buckling, and we actully considered using both the fabric and wallpaper ideas. My husband was very against the idea of fabric for fear it would dye the wall and wallpaper didn't appeal to me because it lacked the ability to match the paint to other fabrics in the room.
Jessi I love the idea of painting both sides, and maybe jusy leaning them against the wall for exchangable color.