Renter Friendly – Melodrama

DIY: Here’s How I Colored My Appliances with Heat Wrap Vinyl

Published on May 10, 2019November 29, 2025 by Krys21 Comments

I’m a renter so anything I do in my apartment has to be put back to its original condition when I move out. Because of this (as you may have noticed from the rest of my apartment) temporary wallpaper has basically become my best friend. I even covered my modern refrigerator in a cute retro blue before I brought in my vintage GE. Unfortunately, temp wallpaper isn’t ideal for stoves because of the whole ‘they get hot’ thing. Even though my oven door never gets hot to the touch, I wanted to be safe. I reallllly wanted a pink stove, but none of the vintage ones I was finding could fit in my kitchen. Besides it was already a pain in the ass to swap out the refrigerator. I looked for a solution similar to peel and stick wallpaper and that’s when I thought of heat wrap vinyl!

I wrapped the vinyl around all of the door edges and replaced the screws and handles.

I made sure to cover the sides too! I didn’t cover the cooktop because it most probably would burn and melt, being so close to the fire and all. I used the same method to cover the front of my dishwasher.

And here’s the final result!

It took a lotttt of patience, but once I got into the groove it went on a lot faster and smoother. It’s very easy to clean and has held up really well. Even with JV cranking the oven to ungodly temperatures when he’s baking bread. When I’m ready to move out I’ll just peel it off and be good to go. Yay!

{Update: We moved and it peeled off clean! I used a little rubbing alcohol and stainless steel cleaner to buff out any markings left behind and the appliances looked brand new.}

Mid-Century Metallic Diamond Bi-Fold Closet Doors

Published on November 7, 2017November 29, 2025 by Krys1 Comment

Here’s an easy, inexpensive, and renter-friendly way to add a little pizazz to plain bi-folding closet doors.

When I moved into this newly renovated 1960’s apartment it was a blank white canvas, and I’ve been trying to find temporary and inexpensive ways to add doses of my personal style where I can.

As you can see, there wasn’t much character in here. Even after doing wallpaper and decorating the room, those closet doors needed help!

I thought about adding some kind of moulding, but I didn’t want to add weight or texture. I wanted something metallic to go with the wallpaper! Something inspired by brass inlays! That’s when I found metallic mylar tape*. Much easier, and much more renter-friendly than moulding.

All you have to do is just run the (very forgiving) foil tape between each center point where you want your points to meet, smooth it down, trim it with a blade, and you’re done! And if you hate it, it comes right off with no damage to the underlying paint.

I added vintage starburst knobs, which is another fun way to add a vintage touch to an otherwise stale door.

And there you go. Hope this helped solve some plain bi-fold door problems! Bye for now!

Bedroom Vanity Accent Wall | Removable Fabric Wallpaper

Published on October 29, 2017November 29, 2025 by KrysLeave a comment

Before I show you my full bedroom reveal, I wanted to share this easy and renter-friendly project you can do with any lighter weight fabric. It’s a very forgiving DIY project, and a unique way to add pattern or colors to your walls without using wallpaper or paint. And cleanup is a breeze.

I used this wall treatment and a remnant peice of fabric in the vanity nook of my bedroom’s built in shelves. You can find my past tutorial here, but basically all you need is some liquid starch and a paint roller to adhere your fabric to the wall.

I changed the hardware to a vintage set that I found on Etsy, and also changed the light to a beautiful brass Sputnik sconce from Lucent Lightshop.

When I move I’ll just peel it off the wall and wipe down any residue.

Yay I Installed Peel and Stick Temporary Wallpaper In My Bathroom!

Published on May 1, 2017April 16, 2023 by Krys19 Comments

I finally did something I’ve been wanting to do for years, but didn’t feel like it was worth it in my last apartment. I installed bathroom wallpaper!

As you probably know I’m a renter, so many of my projects have to be temporary. That’s why I decided to look into peel and stick wallpaper options. There’s such a great selection out there, but when I found this botanical print from Tempaper I was smitten!

Turns out installing this type of wallpaper isn’t as daunting as it seems. The paper is super durable and forgiving, allowing you to adjust and re-position as needed to get everything lined up and perfect. This is great news because bathrooms can be especially tricky. Working your way around a toilet can be a big pain in the ass. No pun intended (zing!).

The first thing you need to do is measure your wall. By the way, Tempaper has a cool calculator that helps you determine how much paper you need. I only needed one roll for this wall and had some to spare. Please note that this kind of paper won’t adhere well to textured or matte walls. Eggshell, Semi-gloss, or gloss paint works best. Bathrooms usually have semi gloss paint, so you should be good.

Next, pre-cut the lengths you need. This makes your life so much easier. Be sure to line up the pattern with each new piece you cut.

Remove any toilet paper holders or towel racks that might get in the way. Outlets are fine, you can just use a razor to cut around them later.

I did this entire job alone because there’s just not enough room in my tiny bathroom for this to be a two person job. If you have room for help, it’ll make the job easier, but if its just you don’t worry, you can do it. As you can see I could barely fit the step ladder.

Now the real fun starts. The first piece is the trickiest because you need to get it on there straight, that way all the following pieces line up. Use the wall corner and ceiling (and a level if you have one) as your guide and you’ll be fine.

As you can see I didn’t measure or pre-cut the window section. Just simply go around when you’re done and trim around any windows, outlets, and edges with a razor blade. Just keep lining up each piece at the side seams and use a Tempaper squeegee to push out any air bubbles and smooth it out.

And that’s it! If you’re wondering how well this paper might hold up in a bathroom, I’ll just say I took a steamy shower about an hour after I was done and no seams or edges came away from the wall. The paper is also non-porous, so it seems it’ll hold up to moisture well.

I really love how much life it brings into this small room. I originally wanted to try to do the whole room, but I think the accent wall approach is actually perfect for in here.

I love pink and green together so I added pink and coral colored towels and rugs and a flamingo shower curtain.

Major mid-century Palm Springs vibes, right? Now I just need to find some art work and make a valance for that window (stay tuned for that) and it’ll be complete!

Special thanks to Tempaper for being kind enough to provide product for this project. As always, all opinions are genuine and my own.

Mid-Century Inspired Refrigerator Makeover with Peel & Stick Wallpaper

Published on April 13, 2017November 29, 2025 by Krys5 Comments

The only thing that really bothered me about my new kitchen was the way the refrigerator looked in the space.

Now don’t get me wrong it’s a nice brand new refrigerator, but the way the side of it created a big black rectangle in in the middle of everything bothered me.

I bought a peel and stick wallpaper a couple of years ago with the intention of covering my old refrigerator, but never got around to it. Luckily I found the paper when I was unpacking and since I’m still renting I decided to put it to use!

I like the shape of the refrigerator door and I don’t mind the stainless, so I decided to only apply the wall paper to the sides and top to cover all the black. I was also inspired by the two-toned refrigerators that were popular back in the day.

The paper I used is a light minty blue with a metallic silver cross-hatch pattern. It looks very vintage to me and reminds me of mid-century upholstery fabric. I knew it would work perfectly for what I wanted to attempt.

All I had to do was pull out the refrigerator and apply the peel and stick the paper, carefully matching the seams and making sure to smooth out any air bubbles. This type of paper is very easy to work with and made the job extremely simple.

To finish off the edges I used a thin washi tape in the same color and similar pattern. This gave it a more finished look and helped make sure all of my edges were properly secured.

What an improvement! The refrigerator no longer stands out like a sore thumb and adds a nice subtle color and more retro flair to the space. It also gives it a nice smooth texture which makes it way easier to clean than the bumpy texture that it had before. I love it!

Now I’m going to use a different peel and stick wallpaper to cover that back wall as well. Stay tuned!

A Look Back At My Apartment Through The Years

Published on March 13, 2017April 25, 2025 by Krys2 Comments

If you haven’t heard the news already, I’m leaving my apartment of over 6 years and moving back to Palm Springs!

As I pack up each room for the move I’m reminded of how many faces each one has had over the years, and how we started out here with literally only an air mattress and a laptop. I worked hard to make this apartment feel like our own home and did every thing I could to personalize it within the limits allowed. In the beginning I worked with what I had and could afford, which wasn’t much, and slowly improved each room over the years and brought in new and better things to make it what it is today. I had fun doing it and I’m really proud of what I’ve done and been able to share with you all since the blog started.

I thought it would be fun to take a little look back through the years. Each rooms has looked even more different than what you’ll see below, but this is what I could find on my Instagram and photo archives.

The living room and dining room have always been the main focus. It’s where we spend the most time and really the only room people see when they come over. It started out with ugly paint and carpet (the floors were eventually changed by management) and eventually turned into a bright and spacious feeling room. It was even featured in Better Homes and Gardens!

As you can see I flipped the entire layout last year.

The dining room has had a few different lives too. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Even the front door got a makeover a couple of times!

And lastly, the bedroom. I went from garden grandma chic vibes to tropical resort vibes.

I’ve had a lot of fun living here and sprucing this place up, but I’m excited for something new!

Stay tuned for projects in the new place soon!

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment//How To Use Fabric As Temporary Wallpaper

Published on December 5, 2016November 29, 2025 by Krys10 Comments

Do you like the look of wallpaper but can’t commit to installing any? Same here. A lot of the projects I do in my apartment have to be temporary because I rent, so I’m always trying to find inexpensive and temporary solutions to my design problems.

When I redecorated my living room earlier this year I knew I wanted to do an accent wall behind my sofa, and I knew I wanted it to be a pattern. I’d heard of people using fabric as temporary wallpaper before and decided I wanted to give it a whirl. I fell in love with a fabric that I ended up scoring for $6, and the other materials are really inexpensive, so it was no big loss if it didn’t work out.

For this project you need fabric (I used a light weight cotton), liquid starch, push tacks, an exacto knife, and a paint roller. For everything I paid less than $20 total!

Side note: I did this project on the rainiest day of the year, so please excuse the lighting in some of the images!

First, I used push tacks to hang the fabric up on the wall. I tacked at the ceiling line and sides.

Then I used a paint roller to apply the liquid starch to the fabric.

I started at the top, smoothing out air bubbles and wrinkles as I worked my way down. Make sure you saturate the fabric thoroughly so it sticks to the wall very well. I repeated the process for each piece, matching up the edges on the sides. This fabric had a label on one of the selvage edges, so I cut that off before applying it to the wall.

Let it dry thoroughly for several hours. I let mine dry over night.

Next, I used an exacto-knife to cut around the edges of the wall and around any details like air vents and electrical sockets. For any left over air bubbles, I just sliced them and re-saturated, then pushed any air out.

That it! I was actually shocked at how much easier it was to do than I imagined. It took me a few hours but wasn’t as labor intensive as I anticipated. Here’s how it turned out!

I love it!

To remove it all you have to do is set a corner with warm water and peel it straight off the one in one piece. I actually removed a piece and put it back up on the wall because I didn’t like the placement. The best part is this fabric can be laundered and reused whenever I choose to remove it!

Clean up is also a breeze. Just regular soap and water will do!

Have fun!

Peel and Stick Faux Tile Backsplash in Rental Kitchen

Peel and Stick Faux Tile Kitchen Backsplash | SmartTiles Review

Published on August 2, 2016April 17, 2023 by Krys8 Comments

If you’ve been following me on Instagram and Snapchat you’ll probably remember that I installed a white tile backsplash in my rental kitchen a couple of months ago. I didn’t want to post details about it right away just in case the product didn’t live up to its promises, but I’m happy to finally report that it has been great!When deciding on a backsplash I had some important requirements that had to be met. I’ve mentioned before that I rent so anything I decided on needed to be temporary, easy to install, and easy to remove. I also didn’t want anything that looked too fake and wouldn’t hold up over time. I came across the Metro Blanco peel and stick tiles from SmartTiles that met all of my criteria and decided to give them a try.

They’ve been AWESOME. We use our kitchen a lot and I was worried they wouldn’t stick for long with all of the cooking and cleaning we do, especially behind our stove. So far they’re holding on strong and have held up to steam, 500 degree oven temps, pasta sauce splatter, and daily cleaning.

I could have taken progress photos but honestly, SmartTiles has wonderful installation videos that do it better than my photos could. All you need is a utility knife and a ruler. It’s really that easy.

They really have transformed my kitchen for the better. It no longer looks super basic and boring. My kitchen doesn’t get a lot of light, but these add some reflectivity and brighten up the space. (I had before photos but they got lost on my dead computer. Sad.)

My friends and family couldn’t tell that they weren’t real until I told them. They’re usually brutally honest with me so I can trust them.

If you’re looking for a temporary, easy solution for your kitchen definitely check out SmartTiles Peel and Stick Tiles.

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