Nursery Decorating in a Rental

by Simone








Q:
We are expecting a baby in 7 weeks!! (I know I have left decorating a bit late)

I don't know how to decorate the nursery as we are currently living in a Rental house and are unable to paint the walls, or put any holes/nails/hooks in them!!

Please help!! I need some decorating ideas that do not include painting or hanging anything up!

All your advice will be much appreciated.

Thank you.


A:
Hi Simone

I have some great rental nursery decorating ideas for you:

The first option would be to have a look at some removable peel and stick wall decals. If you buy good quality ones they don't leave any paint damage and they are available in hundreds of themes. If you choose wisely, just one or two of these is enough to completely transform the nursery. Here are some examples:






{Nautical Pirate Nursery Idea}


The next idea is to cover your walls in fabric using starch! I know it sounds weird but you just choose your fabric and apply it to the walls by painting it with liquid starch. When you want to remove it you just dampen it with water and peel it off then wash the wall to remove the starch - there is no damage to the paint! Here are the complete instructions...

My third nursery decorating suggestion for a rental is to use the 3M range of stickable hooks to hang things on your wall. Just choose the right hook for the weight of whatever you want to hang and follow the removal instructions carefully when you take them down - again - no paint damage!

Or stick poster board cutouts to the wall using no-stain blu-tack. You can create an entire polka dot design like this, or design a poster board picket fence to go around the bottom of the walls. You can attach little flower or insect cut outs to it. Create puffy clouds using poster board and cotton wool and stick these higher up. You could use the same idea for birds, baby rattles, booties, cars and trains or anything you can think of. Just be creative, use lots of different board colors and textures and incorporate other fun stuff like pipe cleaners for insect legs and sheer fabrics for gossamer wings. I created my first toddler room entirely from little cut outs stuck all over the walls with blu-tack! It was such fun.


Here's a great example:


{Alice in Wonderland Nursery Idea}


Beyond this, if you really don't want to touch the walls at all, here are a few ideas:

  • Create a focal point in the nursery by using really colorful drapes. You can also stick soft toys to the window using rubber suckers, hang things from the finials, or apply removable transfers to the glass.
  • Splash out on a really striking crib bedding set and complement it with matching colorful cushions scattered around the nursery, a matching lampshade and matching changing pad cover. Co-ordinating and matching your fabrics throughout the nursery will help to unify your design.
  • Set up an eye catching floor lamp in one corner of the room. The taller it is the better - it will give your nursery design some height if you decide not to decorate the nursery walls.
  • Choose a really unusual nursery mobile - if you can't hang it from the ceiling you could try attaching it to the bottom of the light fitting with twine.
  • Fill the room with framed art on side tables, window sills, dressers etc.
  • Invest in a nursery armoire with a striking design - this will also add height to your design if you leave the walls bare.
  • Draw attention away from the walls by centering your nursery design around the rug.


If you look carefully, you'll find that many nurseries have very little nursery wall decor. The trick is to find one outstanding item of nursery decor such as a rug or a colorful piece of furniture that will draw the eye.

Or the other approach is to use a really understated color scheme against your white walls. Use fabrics with interesting patterns but fairly neutral colors and a few interesting items of decor to create interest.

Here's an example:


{Beach Baby Nursery}


Beach nursery decorating fits well with white walls and it is really easy to create an effective look.

Look through our baby rooms gallery for some more ideas for focal points.

I hope this has given you a few starting points.

Does anyone else have any great rental decorating ideas? Post your comments below...

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A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.
~Martin Fraquhar Tupper