TYFD: how to spice up your space without paint

Last Monday, we all met Sue.  Sue wanted to add some color to her space, but her landlord wouldn’t let her paint.  Not knowing what to do, she came to me for a little Through YOUR Front Door advice.  Since this unfortunately is a problem that too many of us encounter, I knew I couldn’t pass up this issue.  So, what do you do when you’re faced with this situation?  Continue reading to find out.

1) Wallpaper

Wait, did I just say wallpaper?  You’re probably all scratching your head and asking yourself if I seriously think a landlord who won’t let tenants paint will let tenants put up wallpaper.  Why yes, yes I do.  You see, as I’ve talked about before, gone are the days when wallpaper was this nasty, nasty thing.  Today, they make the most amazing thing ever: REMOVABLE wallpaper.  Yes folks, you read that right.  Stick it on, peel it off.  It’s that simple. 

One of my favorites once upon a time was called NextWall, but when I went to link this up to it, their website was MIA (gasp!).  If this company has gone out of business, I think I will cry.  Not only was their wallpaper removable, but also eco-friendly, which in my book, is a huuuuge plus.  I must investigate this issue…

So, since I can’t rant and rave about NextWall, I found something just about as good to tell you all about: Tempaper.  Tempaper is a removable wallpaper that is essentially a blank canvas.  AKA, YOU CAN PAINT IT.  (Okay, I cheated, I know this was supposed to be how to decorate without painting, but once I saw this product I could not NOT talk about it).  I mean, let’s be real.  How cool is that?  You can literally draw all over your walls, and then peel it off when you’re sick of looking at it.  Ah-mazing. 

2) Area rugs

Adding a large, colorful rug in your space can do wonders to brighten up your room.  I love when people use a bright rug, and then have small accents of that color throughout the room, because it really pulls everything together. 

Image credit: {1} {2} {3}

3) Fabric

Curtains are amazing.  In rooms with white walls, I am a HUGE advocate of floor to ceiling curtains in a stunning color.  A little trick is to even extend the curtains so they are wider than the windows, because then the white walls behind are hardly noticeable. 

In addition to curtains, you could create a canopy in your bedroom to add some spunk to your space and add some color, or your can even line the walls with fabric (think super-luxurious curtains walls….sigh).  

Image credit: {1} {2} {3}

Last, the other obvious colorful fabric comes in the form of your blankets.  When your blankets match or complement your curtains, it helps to create a cohesive color scheme in your room, with the white walls simply acting as a neutral backdrop. 

4) Photo Walls

Gallery walls (aka photo walls) are a great way to break up the monotony of a plain white wall.  You can keep the frames all a consistent black for a clean, contemporary look and lots of contrast, or you can add some flair (a la Office Space), and create a wall with colorful frames.  Don’t go too crazy though…two or three colors will suffice.  To read more about this, check out my posts about gallery walls, photo ledges, photo arrays, hanging photos, and picture walls. 

Image credit: {1} {2}

    

5) Embrace the White

This is one of my favorite options, but it is also very much so in my design aesthetic.  Instead of trying to mask your white walls in the ways I have mentioned above, you could always embrace the white.  By pairing the walls with other subtle, pastel fabrics and accents, you create a very soft, feminine feeling space that is just as gorgeous as any painted room. 

Image credit: {1} {2} {3}

If soft and feminine isn’t your cup of tea, you can go in the opposite direction while still embracing the white: go bold.  Instead of pairing the white with pastels, add some serious contrast in your space by creating a black and white space.  The results are striking.   

Image credit: {1} {2} {3}

For Sue’s bedroom, I would love to see her work with what she already has.  By adding a rug that complements the red in her comforter and perhaps some floor length curtains, the space could be drop dead gorgeous.  To help break up the white walls, I would add some sort of photomontage, and I think it would be striking to use bold black frames.  For a little extra credit, I’d even recommend putting black and white pictures in the frames, but add a little photoshop love and have some red accents in the black and white pictures.    

{1} West Elm: Organic Seersucker Duvet Cover

{2} Gallery Wall

{3} Z Gallerie: Hudson Nightstand

{4} Target: White Rope Twist Base with Bird Shade

{5} Urban Outfitters: Sketch Flowers Curtain

{6} West Elm: Ditsy Printed Floor Mat

We'll be taking a break from TYFD next Monday since I'll be up basking on one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes on Memorial Day, but the week after that we'll be back for more!  This means you have even more time to get your submissions in....so get on it :)  Have a lovely Tuesday!

To submit your space for TYFD, please like Kirsten Danielle Design on Facebook and post a picture of your space/dilemma to the wall.  If you're a blogger, please write a short post with your pictures, grab the button below and link up, or lastly, you can email me pictures of your space with a short description.  For more information click here.  Please submit your spaces by May 31st. 

<center><a href="http://kirstenerickson.blogspot.com/p/through-your-front-door.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Through the Front Door" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j256/kiRstYbaBe23/TYFD5.jpg"/></a></center>