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APARTMENT GUIDE 4
27
ry Wang
DECORATION (CONTINUED FROM 26)
orate saves
COLORFUL WALLS:
NO PAINT REQUIRED
ANSAN
gives orate
urility keep home and aging
Although most landlords won't allow painting, there are still fun and inexpensive ways to give walls personality. Try faux wallpapering, which is completely covering a wall with posters, pictures or magazine covers. Choosing wall art with uniting features, such as similar colors or themes, gives the wall a cohesive and wallpapered look.
Photo Illustration by Jerry Wang
If you're going to cover an entire wall, shop around for deals on wall art so you can cover a lot of space without spending too much. Posters, especially from movies, can get expensive.
"Dollar General on Sixth Street has tons of great wall art," Aly Inglish, Overland Park junior, said. "The prices of the posters there are much lower than they would be at most stores, so you can buy a lot for decorating."
If covering an entire wall seems like too much, the same project can be created on a smaller scale. When faux wallpapering a portion of the wall, complete the piece by framing it. This will give it a finished look.
Whether covering the entire wall of an apartment, or just putting up the classic "Animal House" poster, use an adhesive that won't damage the wall. Before putting anything up, test the adhesive on a less visible part of the wall. If it's easily removed after a few days, consider it safe. But asking your landlord what kind of tape to use is probably the safest way to ensure getting your security deposit back.
WHEN ON A BUDGET
Most college students operate on a budget. And even the lucky few who aren't probably wouldn't mind benefiting from some decorating deals.
The best time to buy furniture and accessories for apartment decorating is a week or two after school starts. That's when stores such as Kohl's and Target put their dorm accessories on sale.
These pieces are designed with college students' style and space limitations in mind and are usually in fun colors or prints.
Traditional stores aren't the only place to find deals either.
"Always search newspapers and the Internet for deals," Kelsey Heard, Olathe freshman, said.
such as www.clvermoms.com, which lists deals and sales on everything from furniture to garden supplies.
Heard suggests Web sites
ECO-CHIC AND CHEAP
Anything can be reused to decorate a space. Hundreds of cheap, and even free, apartment decorations are waiting at the antique mall, Goodwill, garage sales and in the trash. What
The best time to buy furniture and accessories for apartment decorating is a week or two after school starts.
may seem like junk can be restored into decorations and furniture using just a little creativity. Reusing these treasures will keep them out of landfills, too.
After cleaning an old couch, cover it with a slip cover or use patterned sheets. Pillows can also remedy boring seating.
Mismatched coffee tables, TV stands and dressers can be painted, stained or shellacked. Shellacking allows you to finish pieces in an original and inexpensive way.
Use sheet music, book pages, pieces of wallpaper, magazine pictures or any kind of paper to decorate old furniture. Then use a shellac finish to permanently attach the paper.
The most expensive room to furnish is usually the living room. Luckily, old couches and tables are easy to find and just as easy to fix up. Don't worry about pieces matching — just make sure they're comfortable, cheap and fit in your space. Think of the pieces as blank canvases.
Edited by Andrew Wiebe
I've been able to apply what my family taught me about sustainability, and what college has taught me about money, to decorate my space in a cheap but innovative way. Artistic vision and knowing where to find deals is all that's needed to make our living spaces unique. Start looking early in order to have enough time to make inventive alterations to reusable pieces you find.
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APRIL 23, 2009
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS