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New Wall Decorating Ideas for Apartment Dwellers Ideas

Wall decorating ideas can seem a bit slim for those who can’t put paint on the walls or hang heavy art pieces. Renters are constantly confronted with a number restrictions when it comes to wall decorating ideas, to save landlords from additional upkeep and liability. Most apartments allow for small nail and screw holes, so long as they’re patched up before move out. But no paint, no gaping holes, and certainly no wallpaper.
What can you do to transform a space when you move in that doesn’t require major transformation once you move out?

Image: Cloud Studios

Removable wallpaper

When most people think of wallpaper, the first word that may come to mind is “permanence”. Not a great move if you’re renting. Removable wallpaper, however, swoops in to save the day for renters, and maybe homeowners with commitment issues. Gone is the terror of peeling off tiny bits of thin, dried paper. This modern decor tool goes easy-on, easy-off in countless modern prints and patterns. Your landlord will be none the wiser.

Image: Nanette Wong

Hang a tapestry

Tapestries aren’t just for bohemian interiors anymore. While there are plenty to be found with intricate medallion designs, there are also countless choices to fit any decor style. Geometric patterns or abstract prints compliment contemporary style, while printed outdoor images, quotes, and minimalist designs bode well with more modern settings.

Image: hooray blog

String a curtain

If a tapestry just doesn’t fit your style, a curtain might do the trick. A simple, solid drapery softens the room without adding too much fuss. The mounts won’t do much damage and, in a pinch, tensions rods would do the trick. We personally love this look behind a bed.

Create a (shelved) gallery wall

Want the trendy gallery wall look, without the mess of drilling a dozen holes in the wall? Consider using floating shelves instead. Sure, you’re still putting a few holes in the wall to install the shelves, but you’re also able to change up your selection at any time without new holes. Look for floating shelves with a small outer lip to stop slippage. Otherwise, use some wall putty to hold the frames in place.

Image: nynne rosenvinge

Frame a statement piece

A large piece of art doesn’t have to weigh you, or your walls, down. Hanging a poster or large photo has to do entirely with what it’s framed in. Find a lightweight poster frame, or alternative method — like these wooden bars, which leave the poster intact and give any artwork a clean, crisp look.

Image: bloglovin’

Add a mirror

You’ll need a mirror anyway, right? Go big with a framed floor mirror, which can be found relatively inexpensively. Not only will it take up a considerable amount of your wall space with zero holes, but it will also help reflect and create light throughout your apartment. Again, wall putty is your friend here.

DIY copper shelves wall decorating ideas

Image: homeedit

Go green

A little green can go a long way. Dress up your walls with some of your favorite houseplants, whether by hanging a pot from a ceiling hook or placing a plant stand in front of your bare walls. The open shelving from your gallery wall also gets a lively upgrade with a plant, as shown above.

Image: change and co.

Stick on a decal

Wall decal stickers are widely available online and offer something for everyone. Whether it’s adding a shape like stripes, stars or polka dots, channeling nature with trees and leaves, or writing out your favorite quote, there are an endless number of styles and designs. Think about size and placement. Decals come in sticker or wall-cling materials, both which are a breeze to remove when the time comes.

Image: Z GALLERIE

Flash some Neon

An eye-catching statement piece doesn’t have to be enormous — it just has to be eye-catching. Neon signs are just that. Grab a vintage one of your favorite brand, or find a new one with a fun saying or image that will have everyone talking.

Image: The New Design Project

Be crafty with washi

Heard of washi tape yet? It’s the Japanese version of masking tape. Made from rice paper, it doesn’t leave the residue of the stuff we have stateside. Even more appealing, it comes in a massive variety of colors and patterns. Hanging your pictures, prints and other paper goods with a piece of washi tape for an easy gallery wall, or create your own geometric mural with it.

metal wall organizer wall decorating ideas

Image: Urban Outfitters

Get organized

Use your spare wall space to get organized. From cork boards to calendars, get your style on while staying on schedule.

Image: Lake Jane

Map it out

Maps aren’t going out of style anytime soon, and we say the bigger the better. A vintage style adds class to your space, while more classic styles can accommodate any decor style. Hang it like you would large art, and you’ll be seeing the world from the comfort of your couch. Bonus points if you flag the places you’ve traveled.

Image: Tessa Neustadt

Carmel Highlands Residence Ocean View Home by Eric Miller Architects

Located in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, this ocean view home sits atop a cliff overlooking inspiring expanses of water. From above, the Carmel Highlands Residence looks like a private heaven with unique panoramas. Up close, the elegant ocean view home unveils its secrets to the design-hungry eye. From the manicured garden with undulating pathways sloping down the hill to the inviting relaxation areas surrounded by flowers, everything speaks about abundance of joy. You move through the garden as if guided by the breeze.

Eric Miller Architects imagined this ocean view home as a sanctuary of solitude placed above California’s a rocky coastal landscape.

Carmel Highlands Residence by Eric Miller Architects (1)

Extravagance and perspective have found a home here. Beyond unraveling windows stretching from floor to ceiling, the mountains and sea look different each time clouds play with light. A modern configuration of spaces lies at the base of this heart-warming design. As if built to take in stunning views and sky colors reflected in the water, the Carmel Highlands Residence deserves a place among the homes you dream about.

Inside, sculptural design celebrates contemporary architecture. A double-height living room boasts a glass wall that focuses on awe-inspiring panoramic views. A glass bridge guarded by a long skylight shine natural light deep inside.

Carmel Highlands Residence by Eric Miller Architects (2)

A sea view home like no other, the Carmel Highlands Residence boasts many of our favorites, like an oval freestanding bathtub in the bathroom overlooking the ocean, a sleek fireplace gathering everyone around hypnotizing fire flames, or the eye-catching kitchen countertop undulating around the kitchen island.

Speaking of the kitchen, the spacious cooking area contrasts the soothing color palette throughout the house. It introduces a bold red and black contrast. The sculptural home bar design under the spiraling staircase makes for a great conversation starter. Everywhere you look, details make you want to know more about each of them.

Carmel Highlands Residence by Eric Miller Architects (3)

As night falls, the house comes alive with bright colored lights mirroring the colors of the sunset. Creating different moods, the sea view home makes you want to explore it over and over and over again. In an unusual space arrangement, you can move as if set in motion by a treasure hunt. Each corner holds new possibilities and each design line is discovered flowing into the next. Both inside and out, the home offers a myriad of relaxing and entertaining opportunities following the contour of the land.

An eclectic mix of furniture and furnishings create a versatile space. Art and design reflect colors of the sky as the sun moves across to shape shadows inside. Outdoor spaces shine with peace during the day only to come alive at night and make the contemporary sea view home a dreamy place to come home to.

Carmel Highlands Residence by Eric Miller Architects (4)

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Carnet Casa’s rustic home design in Crema, Italy has elegant touches from floor to ceiling, including a series of beautifully textured walls with a nod to old world charm. The rough walls in the living and kitchen spaces have the same warm, slightly romantic look as the exposed wood in the ceiling.
These artfully unfinished elements of the main space are balanced out by high-quality flooring and furniture pieces with a much more polished look. Parquet floors and a leather tufted couch add a posh feel to the space. Similarly, dark green tiles meeting the base of the home’s stairwell and running into one of its bathrooms create a refined and color-rich space.

Each of the three bathrooms pictured has been done in stunning wallpaper that resembles faded antique linens up close. Refined fixtures continue to balance the rustic style of the wallpaper, including a mix of stones used to make individually styled modern sinks. [Photography by Michele Notarangelo and Andrea Rinaldi and information courtesy of Carnet Casa]

Image: Clifton Interiors

Decorating a small bedroom creates some specific challenges — especially when you’re sleeping, studying, entertaining and relaxing there. Add a roommate, and those challenges can increase exponentially.

In the not-too-distant past, dorm room ideas for decorating were limited to not much more than posters, bean-bag chairs and a shelf for books (and ramen, of course). But today’s tech-savvy, eco-savvy and design-savvy college students naturally want their dorm room to reflect their design sensibilities.

Image: JSM Digital

1. Create Space By Lofting Your Bed

Most dorm rooms have the capacity for loft beds. Take advantage of high ceilings by raising your bed loft-style; doing so gives you a sizable amount of space below your bed.

The possibilities for that newfound space are almost endless. Do you want to make it a comfy lounging area? A workspace with a desk and storage? If you and your roommate both loft your beds, your room will be twice as spacious.

Don’t forget to add a little storage up high so you aren’t always climbing down to answer your phone or get a glass of water.

Image: After Five Designs

2. If You Can’t Loft, Then Lift

The majority of dorm rooms are on the smaller side. If you are unable to loft your bed to gain some extra space, try using bed risers to lift it. Those few extra inches of storage space can make a huge difference when you are living in one room.
Consider repurposing old dresser drawers by adding wheels to the bottom and sliding them under the bed for organized, hidden storage. Find some inexpensive fabric or an extra-long bedskirt to keep your items out of sight and your bed looking today.

Image: Mint Six

3. Personalize Your Dorm Room

When your room was cleaned over the summer, the furniture probably went back into a standard layout. Don’t be afraid to rearrange it; try putting two desks together, moving the dressers into a new configuration or putting your bed by the window.

Consider covering an accent wall in some removable wallpaper, or using it to cover your dresser drawers. Alternatively, mirrors are a great way to give your room a sense of space and light, so you could cover one wall with framed mirrors. If you can’t put holes in the walls, opt for decorative peel-and-stick mirrors.

If you have someplace off-campus to safely store that utilitarian dorm furniture (and your college doesn’t mind), replace a few unnecessary or undesirable items with things that you love. Just make sure to bring the school’s property back at the end of the year.

Image: Gates Interior Design

4. Use Multi-Functional Furniture

Small spaces have some big challenges. First and foremost: How do you make room for everything? One of the best ways to solve that challenge is to ask more of your furniture.

A small table for your entertaining space is great — but a pouf that can be used as a table, a seat or an ottoman is three times better. Ottomans with hidden storage are another great option.

Your furniture must be able to serve more than one function in your space. Even making the top of your dresser into a vanity can save space and make your dorm room more user-friendly.

Image: Rethink Design Studio

5. Coordinate with Your Roommate

Note that we said coordinate, not match. While some roommates may have the desire to make their dorm room look like a Freshome post, don’t feel like you have to go that far (although more power to you if you want to do that).

To prevent things from clashing, make a plan with your roommate before you move in. Choose a color palette that works well together in a small space but allows each of you to show your own personality. Solid-colored bedding gives lots of options for coordinating.

If it’s important to both of you that your styles mesh, forego buying your comforter, pillows, curtains and similar furnishings until you get to school so you can pick them out together.

Image: JVW Home

6. Temporary Wall Art Works Wonders

Dorm rooms have their limitations; you usually can’t paint or nail things to the walls. But that doesn’t mean you are forced to spend a year looking at those boring white walls. There are plenty of options for adding wall art to your dorm room that can be removed quickly and easily at the end of the school year.
Temporary wall decals come in a wide variety of shapes, colors and images. If you don’t find anything that inspires you, make custom art using washi tape; clip Instagram pics on a clothesline held up by removable hooks or wooden clothespins; or suspend a large piece of decorative fabric on a tension rod to create a feature wall.

Image: 30s Magazine

7. Keep the Clutter Contained

Nothing shrinks a space more than clutter. Keeping your items put away will not only make your mom proud, but also make your room feel bigger. Give your belongings a home by using baskets, trays, bins or boxes; storage can be cute and functional while not detracting from the design of your room.

To keep your accessories contained and organized, take advantage of unused spaces by hanging shoe organizers in the closet and hooks over the closet doors. Don’t forget to embrace the space under the bed and desk.

Image: Geraldine Laferte

8. Soften the Harsh Lighting

It’s possible that the lighting in your dorm room will consist of one overhead fluorescent fixture. Many dorm rooms offer only that and a small window; some might have the added luxury of a utilitarian desk lamp.

If that overhead fixture is the only light source you have, you’ll need to supplement it. You aren’t going to be able to keep it on while your roommate is sleeping, no matter how much you need to study.

Get a functional and fabulous desk lamp for your after-hours use or just to add style to the room. And consider changing out that overhead light bulb to a lower wattage to bathe your room in more welcoming light.

Image: Chandos Interiors

9. Make Your Bed an Oasis

Your dorm room is your place to recharge from the demands of college life, and your bed is a key part of that. Knowing how to make it a retreat amid all the activity is vital.

At most colleges, extra-long twin mattresses are the standard bed size. Get comfy sheets, but don’t spend too much, since you probably won’t need that size after your schooling. However, you may want to splurge on your comforter; a larger, good-quality one will last for years and can be used after you move out of the dorm.

If your bed is also a seating area, consider adding a stylish throw to help protect your bedding. Speaking of protection, a fully-enclosing mattress pad also is a good idea. Add throw pillows to liven up the space, and your bed will become the sanctuary you need.

Image: The Room Illuminated

10. Remember Why You’re There

College can be a lot of fun, but don’t lose sight of the real reason you’re there. Your dorm room needs to be an organized, comfortable space where you can study and work — but it doesn’t have to be boring.

Make those all-nighters bearable by adding some funky desk accessories, stylish storage units or a fun chair. Keep your workspace clean and organized so you can study.

This former Seattle church is now one of the hottest real estate listings in town. The Sanctuary, designed by Sechrist Design Associates Inc, boasts 12 luxury residences in this historic building.

Formerly first Church of Christ, Scientist, the congregation sold the historic building to a luxury real estate developer for $1.1 million in 2006. Many old churches in the Seattle area have been torn down to make way for new construction, but the developers always intended to keep this historic structure intact as a part of Seattle history.

Contemporary architectural details, like polished concrete floors and stainless steel appliances, are thoughtfully and respectfully integrated into the century-old building. The unique history of the building grants each home strikingly high vaulted ceilings and exposed brick walls.

It is also visible in smaller details: many units contain original stained glass windows or pieces from the original church. An oculus casts sunlight into a communal space built in the former sanctuary.

While the condominiums were listed in 2012, the building is once again making headlines as one of the units is back on the market. It is easily one of Seattle’s most unique home listings.