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Home » DIY & Crafts » Decorating Solutions When You Can’t Make Permanent Changes

01/05/2018 · 14 Comments

Decorating Solutions When You Can’t Make Permanent Changes

DIY & Crafts

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Decorating can be a challenge to anyone, but when you’re in a rental or dorm and can’t make permanent changes to the space, things get even harder.

But that doesn’t mean you should just be content with bland surroundings that don’t show off your personality!

Or maybe you are stuck and scared to make the wrong decision in your decor. You can move full steam ahead knowing all these projects can be easily undone!

One example I used in our kitchen was removing two cabinet doors and using contact paper as a backing to make the section look intentional.

Here’s what it looked like before:

It was nice, but pretty boring and definitely didn’t feel cohesive with the other rooms in the house that we’ve decorated. While there are more major changes I’d like to make in the kitchen, they aren’t going to be in the budget for awhile.

I’ve learned that by making smaller, non-permanent changes, I can still change the whole feel of a room!

Here’s what the kitchen looks like now.

How to update a rental kitchen without making permanent changes

Can you believe what a difference removing the doors and adding the contact paper made? I changed what we stored in these cabinets as well, which helped add pops of color without being overwhelming.

I shared more ideas for decorating when you can’t make permanent changes over on the apartments.com blog today. I hope you’ll pop over and check them out!

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melissa

Melissa George

In 2013, Melissa founded Polished Habitat to share her passion for intersecting style and function to make everyday life more beautiful and less stressful. She does this by sharing easy home organization tips, home decor tutorials, and creative ideas to help readers think outside the box, no matter their budget. Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more. In 2018 & 2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, Polished Habitat was shortlisted for the Amara Blog Awards Best Interior Styling Blog - International. Read more...

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Comments

  1. beverlee says

    01/05/2018 at 10:52 am

    Easy and I might do this. Make me keep my cabinets straight, too.
    I have to say thank you, a big one. I have quit reading a lot of the blogs I loved, simply because every post was telling me what a good deal I was getting, and selling me something. Thank you. (I understand the ads, just not every post selling something.)

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      01/05/2018 at 11:12 am

      Thanks so much, Beverlee! I definitely try really hard to keep that balance and turn down sponsored work unless I really love it. It can be hard when it’s your full-time job and you’re turning down income, so I also get that everyone is trying to make a living their own way. I’ve been able to take a longer-term view and be more selective, but I never know if readers actually notice. I’m thrilled to hear that you did! One of the other successes of 2017 I didn’t mention in the newsletter was that 6 of my top 10 most popular posts from last year were done with brand partners. That told me I was on the right track with who I was working with and how I was incorporating the products into posts that had more to them than just “buy this”. Your comment today helps me confirm that. It also makes the decision to be pickier with partnerships easier and extra work I put into making sponsored posts helpful worth it! Thanks again!

      Reply
  2. Lisa says

    01/05/2018 at 11:32 am

    What great ideas Melissa! I have been considering temporary wallpaper for a project I am working on. Do you have a favorite source?

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      01/05/2018 at 11:33 am

      I haven’t used Tempaper myself, but saw it in person at a trade show and really liked it!

      Reply
  3. RW says

    01/05/2018 at 1:44 pm

    I like the personality you’ve added. But I liked the glass doors, too, have always liked the idea of glass doors.

    I just am not happy with my OWN glass doors — or rather what’s behind them. I am not good at displaying dishes — which seems to me a choice of sacrificing shelving space for the sake of looks?

    I am considering a more permanent change when we remodel — raising the cabinets and adding an open shelf under. I think I could live with an open shelf if it’s easily reachable and only holds what we use every day, cleaned frequently. When we remodel, I am tossing over the idea of just removing my dilemma by moving those doors to an area where my daily dishes won’t be displayed — thinking a coffee bar type area.

    Until then, I might frost those glass doors, or replace the glass with a textured glass, all easy to do with my cabinets. (Frosting would be very inexpensive — just used the Rustoleum spray frosting product and it is great! And easy enough to remove. Buying a textured glass would be pricier, I’m sure. But maybe affordable.)

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      01/05/2018 at 2:39 pm

      I like the idea of the lower open shelf and of the coffee bar! For the current glass, you might also look at textured vinyl that can be applied to the glass. Much cheaper than replacing the glass! But you are right about that frosted spray paint -we used it in the bathroom on the cabinet doors at our old house and it was great!

      Reply
      • RW says

        01/05/2018 at 2:53 pm

        Oh yes, I forgot about the vinyl type stuff. Might indeed be a choice especially if you wanted one of their patterns available. (Having just used a masking art tape to put a pattern in some transoms with spray frosting, it might be a lot easier to just use the vinyl stuff. We had to redo one window twice. First because we let it dry in the very cold on the porch, forgot to bring it inside after spraying — you do NOT want to spray that stuff in your house. So we got a new can, and second removal was because it seeped under the art masking tape. Before we respray that, we’re going to get some tape from an autobody shop, my dh says. Done with that.)

        Melissa, I get all confused about styles. On the Apartments.com article, you said you removed these glass doors because — they were too farmhouse for your vibe, or something like that?

        So if one were to use one of those techniques obscuring my glass doors, what styles glass (or frosting) do you think will go with different styles of decor? I think I could pick out a very modern styled frosting. I can pick out Craftsman but get it confused with Arts and Crafts — but the glass pattern is distinctive. I suppose Victorian would be ornate or flowery? But the rest…

      • RW says

        01/05/2018 at 2:56 pm

        Oh yes, and I meant to add, I was under the impression that the floral wallpaper type pattern you have added to the cabinets is a farmhouse type look. So you can see how confused I am about styles.

      • Melissa George says

        01/05/2018 at 3:10 pm

        It’s hard to tell in that photo, but it’s more of a scribbled geometric circle pattern up close. But styles definitely overlap, and there are some objects I’d consider farmhouse that I totally love, and others that send me running for the hills (but yet would be great for someone else). It’s all so subjective!

      • Melissa George says

        01/05/2018 at 3:04 pm

        Honestly, I get confused between Craftsman and Art & Crafts too! I think it’s more about what makes your heart happy and is either cohesive with the rest of the things in your home that you love, or makes you so full of joy that you want to make more of your house look like the new decision you are making.

        For example, I loved the glass doors when we originally bought the house, but over time, they started to feel out of place as our personal style evolved. We started using more flat moldings (like the bedroom wall and the office), and the color palette in the kitchen was adding pops of teal/aqua (the back door, art above the stove, & soap dispensers). Between those things, I knew removing the doors would help add a little of a cleaner streamlined look to the cabinets (even though the rest of the doors still have traditional raised panels), and it would give me a chance to add a bit of the teal/aqua color.

        All that to say, I’ve tried to define my style or fit it into on of the boxes someone else has defined and it never works, so try not to worry about the labels, and just find a look you love and bravely run towards it. Does that help at all? We need a whole post talking about style, don’t we!?!

  4. RW says

    01/06/2018 at 2:22 pm

    Melissa, yes I’ve sidetracked this into a style discussion. 🙂 Well, another good aspect about the more temporary changes you’re talking about here is that they aren’t the end all and be all and if a mistake is made, it’s more or less easily reversible.

    I’ll await a post on styles. That would be helpful. I actually did read an article about the modern farmhouse style that explained the elements and I feel much more comfortable now identifying it when I see it, and actually think I could replicate it. (Just doesn’t quite fit my own house’s needs.) I do think there would be an advantage to me (and others like me I’ve met) if we COULD understand style more. I think I’d have a lot easier time if I could have some sense of the architectural and other elements used in each style and in a style I could aim for — not hard and fast rules but more the sense you probably have without even knowing you use it all the time. Then, I could focus instead of the fun and enjoyable part of the decor.

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      01/06/2018 at 2:54 pm

      Those are great points and we definitely want to get to the point where you can focus on the fun parts! I’ll be taking notes as I think of things this month so I can put together a post later this quarter!

      Reply
  5. Robin says

    01/06/2018 at 9:56 pm

    As a fairly new follower, I am happy you are taking back your blog (although your contributors are very talented) your blog confused me a little. Loved this easy solution for a quick change. I always appreciate when someone shares products that they like, and really like that you don’t push. Looking forward to the up coming year.

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      01/07/2018 at 8:18 am

      Thank you Robin! I’m excited too!

      Reply

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Welcome!

In 2013, Melissa started Polished Habitat to share her skill of mixing decor & organization to add style & function to everyday life at home.

Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more.

In 2018 &  2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, she was also short-listed by the Amara Blog Awards for Interior Styling, International Division.

Need to reach Melissa?
Email: Melissa @ PolishedHabitat.com

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