Decorating Your Walls Without Destroying Them

Whether you are moving into a new apartment and don’t want to put holes in your walls that might cost you a security deposit, or you are renting a workspace and are not allowed to hang art with hammer and nails or if you are facing some other challenge to displaying your art, here are some helpful tips that you can use to showcase your space while keeping walls intact.

The easiest option is to simply make use of the top of cabinets or shelf units. Simply put your framed or matted art on a display stand that you can purchase pretty much anywhere. They are typically made of either plastic, wood, or metal and come in a ton of color combinations that can be matched to the work you are displaying. If you don’t have the time to get out and buy stands or don’t want to spend the money, no problem. We all have some books lying around that we don’t use. Just stack a few books behind the art to keep it standing. This works well with small items from 4x6 up to about 11x14 that might look lost on a large wall.

What if the item you are trying to display is a bit larger and you are set on using a wall? Well, there are a few options here.

If your artwork is a bit bulky and framed, you can head to any number of shops, especially around the holidays, and pick up a wreath hanger. If it’s out of season, you can easily scoop one up on Amazon. Find a door in your room suitable for the size of the item you want to display and place the hanger over it. Use either the wire hanging cord on the back of your art or the brackets intended to be put over nails and slide the hanger under them. It’s quick, simple and affordable and you have your piece up for show. You can easily switch out pieces this way and even change the side of your door that you display them on once in a while. Please note that you may or may not be able to close the door completely while in use.

Conversely, if you have a lighter, unframed item like a poster or drawing, you can both hang the artwork and “frame” it in a sense without much effort or expense. First, you have to remember that dollar stores are your friend. In my case, I generally go to the local Dollar Tree. There, you can pick up a large sheet of foam board and a glue stick. Put the glue on the back of the artwork and attach it to the foam board so that it sits in the center, making it appear like a frame. Purchase of fun-tack and based on the instructions, add it to the back of the foam board. From there, just put it on any wall and you’re set. This is mainly recommended for inexpensive and replaceable art.

Last but not least, if you have a window or two, you might have a curtain rod. Get a piece of twine, yarn or any other string-like fabric and attach it both ends of the top of the rod. If you don’t have a rod you can simply use the corners of some widow edges to secure the fabric. Attach artwork to the fabric letting is hang down. You can choose any number of items to do this. For a more modern look, you may want to use fishing wire and either paper clips or binder clips. For something more rustic, you can use twine and wooden clothespins.

All in all, there are lots of ways you can decorate without doing any harm to your walls.