Rental Friendly Feature Wall
we are living in a rental...for only 6 months (!) and I want to make it super pretty and fun and bold but I don't want to spend tons of $$$. I'm also super super limited by the rules of renting. I wanted to add a fun little feature wall in our living room to break up all the beigeyness.
I first chose the wall that needed a makeover and bought the contact paper that I would be using for this project. Having used temporary wallpaper before I happen to know that it is basically contact paper ( just a lot more expensive). So I went on the hunt for black contact paper a found some at Hobby Lobby in their office section.
It is fiddlesticks brand and is far less expensive than the sticky backed vinyl you can find in the paper section of craft stores. It comes in a greater quantity as well. I used about 1.5 rolls of the contact paper by the end of the project.
Next I measured the wall I had chosen for the stripes and determined how long I needed the stripes to be, Then I cut 3 pieces of the contact paper the length of the wall, plus a few inches for margin of error. I used the grid on the backing to help me achieve straight lines. The contact paper comes about 18" wide and I wanted my stripes about half as wide so using the grid again I cut the stripes in half lengthwise- leaving me with 6, 9" stripes. I then used a ruler and pencil to make small tick marks every 9 inches along the edge of the wall from top to bottom.
I peeled the first part of the backing off the contact paper and stuck it to the top of the wall, since I want the first black stripe at the very top of the wall.
Peeling the backing off the contact paper as I smoothed it to the wall helped the contact paper not to stick to itself or get tangled up. You can totally use a level to make sure that you are getting the lines stuck onto the wall straight. If you mess up just peel it off and re-stick. This stuff is super forgiving.
After I stuck the stripe to the wall I gave it a good rub down to adhere it to the wall.
I wanted the stripes to end in the corner of the wall so I made a pencil line in the corner and cut the vinyl with my scissors.
I then peeled away then little bit of excess.
I love the way my wall turned out. It's super cute and adds a lot to our living room! It's held up wonderfully with no drooping, peeling etc! Head over to my blog and find out more!!
Comments
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Actually i did the stripes as well in my condo, but I painted all four walls in dark grey stripes and the backing was in light grey. So much work when painting because everything had to be measured perfectly, but turned out fantastic. But now i need a change so i'm in the process of repainting and i think i'm going to do wainscoting on the bottom with wallpaper on the top. I need a change. I wish i would have seen your idea BEFORE i started painting. I would have gone with your idea first.
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You are the contact paper goddess! I love the wide stripes it’s so stunning and surly have patience when it comes to smoothing the paper out, or should say getting the job done right. You got a very clever way up helping renters with a lot of tips. Love all ideas👊🏼👏🏼
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Was the contact paper easily removed without any damage?