From The Miron Blog

The Question: Is it okay to paint the walls of a rental apartment?

 The Answer: Usually yes, just make sure you paint it back before you move out or that lovely security deposit you put down may disappear. In fact, even management companies that routinely paint the walls before re-renting apartments often insist that you return the walls to their original color yourself. Annoying? Yes. The end of your cheerful wall dreams? No.

Painting a few walls is actually pretty fun both as a craft project and an exercise in seeing what toxic fumes do to your mind. Plus, it’s an excuse to wear those hideous, comfortable overalls we all know you have hidden somewhere. Before you strap those babies on, though, we’ve got a few painting ideas to get you started.

If you’ve got a fondness for quirk…

Chalkboard Wall

If you’re wondering what this is, you’re not alone, but you are bad at common sense. Companies like Benjamin Moore and Rustoleum make black paint that you can treat like a chalkboard, writing and then erasing as your very grown-up friends scrawl countless versions of male genitalia on your walls.

How to do it:

-Buy paint at Home Depot or some such

-Grab a roller brush, paint tray, plastic drop cloth and painter’s tape, too

-Choose the wall(s) you want to chalkboard-ify and tape off the edges so you don’t -get extra paint goop on places you don’t want it

-Throw down that drop cloth to protect your precious hardwood floors

-Do a coat of paint, not worrying about whether or not the coverage is perfect

-Let it dry for at least three hours

-Do another coat, marveling at how smooth it suddenly looks

-Wait three days before drawing, then pretend you’re in grade school again

If you want just a hint of color…

An Accent Wall

If the idea of painting your walls now and painting them back to their original state in a year or two kind of makes you want to vomit, it may be time to choose an accent wall.

How to do it:

-Choose your accent wall. We’d suggest the wall behind your bed or couch for maximum impact

-Decide what you’re doing with it in terms of color. A solid that contrasts nicely with your furniture is good. You can also be hard core and combine chalkboard-ing with accent wall-ing. Think about it.

-Tape off wall edges and put down your drop cloth

-Paint away, doing two coats with a few hours of drying time in between.

If you’re lazy… 

Place and Peel Sticker Art

They range from classy – like this cherry blossom tree– to super embarrassing – like these Harry Potter decals – and they’re as easy to remove as they are to apply in the first place.

How to do it:

-Decide where you want the decal to go

-Peel

-Place