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A TikToker Made a Renter-Friendly Checkerboard DIY for Under $8 (!)

Blair Donovan
Blair DonovanSenior Style Editor
Blair is Apartment Therapy’s Senior Style Editor, where she covers the latest brand launches, need-to-buys, and anything related to her two unofficial beats — cane and rattan. Whenever she’s not perusing for the latest home finds (a rarity), you’ll probably find her reading, watching a horror film, or on the hunt for the best tacos in New York (recs are encouraged).
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published May 15, 2022
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Credit: Marissa Zingg

Love the checkerboard look, but don’t want to commit to an area rug or all-over floor tiles? Well, one DIYer has the best rental-friendly solve, and it involves working vertically.

Marissa Zingg, aptly known by the social media handle @onecrafdiygirl, created a genius (and gorgeous!) checkered wallpaper effect in her own home. In a video posted to TikTok, she explains that she has a slanted wall and “struggled for a while for what to put on it.” Lo and behold, it eventually became the perfect checkerboard canvas of choice.

Rather than using paint, Zingg pulled off the look with textured peel-and-stick wallpaper, which she cut into square strips with scissors. According to the comments, she used a stud finder with a laser level to evenly affix them, as well. “The best part, it is easy and removable,” Zingg adds of the neutral-toned finished product, which is now the stylish backdrop to her well-decorated dining nook (featuring a round table and moon lamp that she also DIYed, NBD!).

Ready to recreate the look? Lucky for you, Zingg shared the exact material she used: a linen peel and stick wallpaper from Amazon with faux grasscloth print. Currently on sale for $7.63 per 15.7 inch x 120 inch roll (of which she only used one for the entire 10 foot by 10 foot space), there’s no need to splurge on a fully checkered wallpaper pattern, which you’d eventually have to remove in its entirety if you wanted to change things up down the line. You can even experiment with color blocking contrast. Here, Zingg used the cream tone; I love the muted hue paired with her white wall, but these apartment-approved coverings also come in gray, teal, khaki, pink, light blue, navy blue, and emerald green (my personal favorite).

This DIY truly couldn’t be simpler to check off your home project list, especially if you’re not sure how to maximize blank wall space. (Gallery walls don’t always have to be the default.)

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