No Paint Required: Temporary Patterns Transform Real Life Rental Kitchens

Your rental kitchen has to remain boring and pattern-free. I repeat: you DON’T have to embrace plain even if you don’t own the place you’re living in. These three renters didn’t let anything silly like a security deposit keep them from adding pattern and style to the kitchens of the apartment they rent. And the best part? There’s no paint required to steal these ideas.

It’s not paint painstakingly applied above; the adorable gold circles thatdotthe kitchen wall of this seating nook didn’t take a lot of time or effort to create. Nor will they require paint to cover up whenCatherinedecides to change the look. The gold dots above are stickers fromPaper Source.

Catherine chose the spots where each gold dot would go, and I love the random pattern she went with. But the great thing about these metallicpolka dotsis you could use them in any configuration you wish.

Make this idea your own:Don’t feel limited to just wall surfaces — why not plot with dots on your cabinets or ugly appliances?

’80s-style grid patternshave been popping up in interiors for a few years now. It’s a great pattern when you want something simple and subtle. And its orderly nature can actually make a room feel more ordered and neat.

But, because of its popularity, grid pattern on wallpaper might be cost-prohibitive for you, like it was for Sarah, who wanted to add a little something more to the tiny kitchen in her smallshared studio in Brooklyn.

“我发现了移动网格壁纸是漂亮的东西或人iful but out of my price range. I took a chance with super thin washi tape and am surprised by how much I like the imperfect lines,” Sarah writes.

Make this idea your own:Try athin black washi tapelike this one to create the same look, or use a different color (washi tape comes in a rainbow of hues). And like the dots idea above, take this pattern off the wall; apply it to cabinets, furniture…anything you can imagine.

Faced with extraordinarily boring, plain white cabinetry can be painful, particularly when your kitchen is on full display in an open-plan living space. Kathryn faced this type of massive challenge when she moved into thismilitary housing in Okinawa, Japan. But she didn’t let the fact that she couldn’t do anything permanent stand in her decor way. Armed with extremely stylish temporary wallpaper fromWalls Need Love, she turned plain kitchen cabinets into a stunning floral focal point.

As the above GIF shows, pattern makes an impact!

Make this idea your own:Find theremovable wallpaperpattern that makes your heart sing. Or apply temp paper to another surface in your kitchen.