Picky property managers won’t let you paint the walls of your apartment? MarketWatch’s Ruth Mantell suggests you stick it to them:
Renters with an inflexible landlord, or those who want to avoid the mess of painting, can try wall decals, suggests Annette Hannon, founder of a Burke, Va.-based design firm.
She likes the removable decals available through Web sites such as whatisblik.com and modernwallgraphics.com. The decals come in geometric and free form patterns, with designs such as flowers, and patterns inspired by Rococo style and artist Keith Haring. A multicolored three-pack of Haring’s “Pack of Dogs” costs $23 on whatisblik.
“It’s those kinds of things that are quirky and fun, and very much something that shows your personality,” Hannon says.
“When it’s time to move, they come off really easily. And you’re not spending so much money that you become so invested in it.”
Of course, with designs like multicolored Rainbow Poops (yes, you read that right), some renters might be tempted to leave a colorful grid of decals on the wall when they move anyway—just to send a special message to that special landlord.
- Six low-cost touch-ups that will make your apartment livable [MarketWatch]
- Wall Graphics for the Commitment Phobic [Blik]
- Wall Slicks [Modern Wall Graphics]
Photo: “Ambition Killed the Cat” decal at Blik
This is beginning to sound like a theme now, huh? Perhaps tired of bringing suburban-style homes and strip centers to the center parts of Houston, enterprising builders are now setting about to even the score, placing downtownish-looking buildings in park-like festival-village settings out in the burbs. As long as they don’t actually drag Central City teardowns to the Woodlands, it should be safe.
