It's the Little Things, Part I: Wallpaper an Entryway

Today I'm starting a series about little things you can do to spruce up your home to make a real impact. These things don't require a whole weekend of effort and hardly cost a thing (if they even cost anything at all). They're just little touches that make a significant difference in projecting a polished space. So the first "little thing" I did is make over my entryway this weekend. The total cost was about $5 and all in all I can't say it took more than an hour. 

This way my entryway before. Nothing too memorable (however, the fish umbrella stand is one of my all time Craigslist scores).

Last year at the DC Design Center clearance sale, I got a (brand new) roll of this amazing Thibaut trellis wallpaper for $1. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the background is a creamy ivory color with flecks in it, sort of like a hand-made paper. The trellis is a gray/silver color with a hit of metallic sheen.

Problem is, as a renter I'm not going to go to the time and expense of actually wallpapering a room (mostly because I don't want to have to remove it when I leave). But I figured that for such a small space, there must be some other way to hang wallpaper. So I got out a roll of double sided carpet tape and decided to see where it would get me.

I put the tape around the borders of the wall (sides, top, bottom) as well as down the middle for the seam. The width of the roll covered about 3/4 of the wall, so that part was easy. To finish the remaining part, I got out my X-Acto knife and cut a smaller strip (taking care, of course, to line up the trellis pattern at the seam!). After securing the second piece, I used my X-Acto to run a straight line in the corner and remove any little bit of excess that was left. Worked like a charm.

The result is even better than I expected.

Now I smile every time I open the door!

It's been 3 days and the paper is still holding strong- I haven't had any problems at all. I wouldn't necessarily use this technique for a larger wall, but for a wee space, it's working for me! Now I'm just on the lookout for a little rug for this space and I'll be all set. I'm hoping to find an beat up kilim on ebay or somewhere like that.

Stay tuned for the next "little thing" coming next week!