Category Archive

no damage decor

These are things you can add to your home without a permanent installation. Can’t paint your apartment walls? No prob. Can’t even put tacks in the wall? We’ve got you — in this category.

Use your vertical blinds to display letters and photos

Thanks to etimodnar for uploading this great idea to our Offbeat Home Flickr pool. Homie Etimodnar is using small clips to display cards and letters on their vertical blinds.

De-beigeifying our rental kitchen with no-damage DIY and lots of color

Just because your lease commands that your place remain “rental beige” doesn’t mean that you can’t make your home colorful, useful, and glittery. Yeah, I said glittery! Check out one Homie’s de-beigeifying work-arounds.

Your Gorgeous Wall O’ Goals

Making The Lists and Accomplishing All The Things are practically my favorite hobbies. 

Of course, I have a never-ending, constantly-evolving list of yearly goals, but since it’s a piece of notebook paper taped to the wall, it’s less than inspiring.  And while I know the rest of the Internet loves nothing so much as aspirational Pinterest accounts and vision boards, that stuff just isn’t quite my style. 

Enter: Wall O’ Goals. 

Ephemeral walls: No-damage decor to make your walls less boring

Living in a dorm room, renting with rules against nails and paint, or just a plain old small, boxy, white walled living spaces? What is a person to do in such boring living spaces (and with very little money to decorate)? Well. I welcome you now to Pinterest — land of wishful thinking and endless creative ideas. Here’s a plethora of inspiration to get you thinking, including Post-It Note decorating, the wonder of fabric, and things you might not have thought to do with your photographs.

Transform your staircase with vinyl tape

So yeah. This looks like some insanely awesome paint job, or some sort of custom acrylic installation. But these boldly colorful striped steps are actually just covered in vinyl tape by Scottish Artist Jim Lambie. Seriously. AMAZING. I’m not sure how well these steps would hold up to regular use but I’m always stoked when I see bold-but-temporary design options.

Purge’s punk rock room: making the most of a share-house space

Purge and her fiance Fernz live in a share-house space — but that hasn’t kept them from creating an amazing punk rock bedroom hideaway, utilizing some of the tricks she’s learned for decorating without losing your lease.

How to make temporary art

One thing really makes a place look lived-in, and that’s hanging art on the wall. It takes a commitment to put a nail into plaster to hang a picture, and seeing art you’ve committed to hanging immediately makes you feel in control of your space.

While you’re waiting for art you love to come along, you can liven up a room with your own art — or your family’s! Round up the necessities, and I’ll meet you in the driveway for a seriously easy step-by-step guide to making art for your home you’ll be proud of.

6 ways to use strings of twinkle lights all year long

Hands up: how many Homies have a cadre of Christmas lights boxed up somewhere? Sounds like you have some project ideas to brainstorm this weekend — especially if you’re living in a dorm. These projects SCREAM “battling bland.”