"Take It With You" Wall Decor for Apartment Dwellers

Those of us living in apartments or rental homes find severe limitations on what we can do to the walls. Do you love the look of gorgeous Raised Plaster Stenciling, murals or stenciled borders but know your landlord would pitch a fit? Here's how you can have them then take them with you when you move!

Canvas is a perfect material on which to create vignettes of Raised Plaster Stenciling or your own hand painted designs. You've been dying to have them on your walls but haven’t been able to because of the restrictions in your rental agreement.

Art and craft stores sell artists canvas on the roll which allows you to purchase continuous lengths in the sizes you desire, but they also sell enormous pre-stretched canvases in super sizes which are perfect for large wall areas and easy to hang.

Simply lay it on the floor then do your design and allow it to dry. This is a great way to add faux finish designs to your wall without doing them directly on the wall.

Let's say that all you want is a new, more brilliant wall color or one of the beautiful faux finish treatments. Paint for finish the canvas then simply take it with you when you move.

You've always had your heart set on a mural? Purchase wide muslin from your local fabric store. Pre-wash (to remove any sizing) then iron flat. Now paint or stencil your mural. This is a great way to get that sky mural on the ceiling you've always wanted or a beautiful garden scenery to bring spectacular life to your walls.

Canvas and muslin murals can be easily applied to the wall using liquid fabric starch. Protect your carpet or flooring before beginning as it gets pretty messy but works like a charm.

Liquid Fabric Starch comes in quart bottles in your local grocery store and is super inexpensive.

Apply the starch directly to the wall with a sponge. Put a heavy coat on to the wall, lay your canvas or muslin on to the starch, allowing it time to absorb in to the material, then smooth in to place with your hands which will press any excess out of the sides. Make sure all edges are securely attached to the wall then wipe away the excess and allow to dry completely.

To remove, simply peel back one corner and pull. The entire canvas or muslin mural will come right off the wall with ease. Roll it up, pack it up and take it with you to your next home!

I featured this trick in a class I did 15 years ago with rave reviews and have used it many times for a "quick" wall change when I didn’t want to permanently change the color of the walls.

Removable wallpaper borders are fabulous for apartment dwellers! These borders are self sticking, repositionable, washable and removable. No paste or special materials are needed for applying the borders. Simply decorate them with your favorite stencil or faux finish technique, peel back the paper liner and smooth them on with your hands. To remove, simply lift a corner and peel. You will find sources on line or at your local wallpaper store.

These exciting tips will have you decorating your apartment walls in no time. Be creative and inventive with your designs. Since they are removable, you can let your imagination run wild and have fun without limits.

Victoria Larsen is a professional wall stencil designer and interior specialist. Her products and ideas have been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, Women’s Day, Craft Trends, Creating Keepsakes, Rubber Stamping Retailer and Memory Maker magazines and The Wall Street Journal. Visit Victoria on line at http://www.victorialarsen.com. Blog: http://victorialarsen.typepad.com