Five Paint Alternatives For Renters

February 10, 2009

Painting is the easiest and most affordable way to transform a room, but unfortunately it's not an option for all of us. A lot of landlords forbid painting rentals, leaving many to put up with impersonal, depressing, plain vanilla walls. If this is the case for you, I urge you to think outside of the paint can and consider an alternative that will give your pad some pep without upsetting the management. Check out this slideshow to see my five alternatives to painting!
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by POPSUGAR Home 8

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by POPSUGAR Home 8

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8 Comments

Girlbird 11 weeks 3 days

This is a no-brainer. OF COURSE you can paint your rental any color you want, legally. All you have to do is repaint it before you move out. Although, unless you are a professional painter, you should hire someone to do the repaint before you move. There is no way a landlord legally can keep a dime from you if you leave your apartment freshly painted in the original colors you rented it with. If case you get caught, just have a statement signed at the ready, stating you promise to repaint. Pay your rent on time, and paint all you want. The other issue is, legally, a landlord has to repaint a unit every five to seven years, depending on your local law. So if your unit has not been painted in 7 years, then you do not have to repaint; maybe just re-prime the walls readying it for paint, for good karma. This is if you end up having to go to court. The better option is to just paint your unit, then repaint before you move. Nothing at all that can be done to you, and in fact, since so many landlords illegally keep your deposit anyway, you should repaint. Because it's the best way of getting your deposit back. And take pictures. This advice is from me, a landlady in a major city who knows the laws, hates to see her tenants paint, yet knows the limits of what she can do. Good luck!

piemod 45 weeks 18 h

I came across these awesome 3d wall panels from i3dwall at moderncontempo. These totally transform the room and very affordable. http://www.moderncontempo.com/more/floor-wall-tiles/wall-panels.html?limit=all

3 years 13 weeks

While I like the idea of panelling fabric ~ you can find it in the King & Queen suites in Versailles, it sure is an expensive option, even with $9/m Ikea fabric. I like the stick-on, peel off stencils much better. As well, I think stenciling your wall is the ultimately easy and inexpensive way renters and owners can transform their place. I've actually written about this on my blog.

summerxrain 4 years 13 weeks

How about ideas for those of us that are stuck with gaudy old-people wallpaper?! lol I realize there aren't many options for us in that situation other than just dealing with it until we can afford to buy a place of our own!