The Renter's Guide To Painting Made Easy

As a renter, plain, bland, white walls are pretty much the norm, but the creative side in you craves more vibrancy. You can achieve this in the form of colored walls. Unfortunately, the terms of your lease don't exactly give you a green light to make many changes to your unit. However, this isn't to say that you can't paint the walls. With a little effort on your part and some patience, you can actually add some color to your apartment without worrying about breaking your lease agreement.

Don't Go Too Dark

If you're able to get permission from your landlord to paint, part of the agreement is likely that you will return the walls to their original color once you move out. Avoid painting the walls in very dark colors, such as royal blue or black, as they will be harder to paint over. Lighter colors, like pastel yellow or sky blue, can still add warmth to the space, but can easily be painted over.

If you fail to completely cover the paint, the landlord could actually charge a penalty during your move out inspection. If you must go with a dark color, go with a high-quality paint that will only require a single coat.

Accent Paint

A rental is a great place to accent paint. With accent painting, you don't have to add color to all the walls in a particular room. Painting a single wall in a room is the most popular form of accent painting, but painting the crown molding or baseboards are additional ways to accent paint.

This style of painting is much easier to complete, is less messy and doesn't require you to spend as much money because you don't need a lot of paint. Additionally, should you make a mistake, given that it's a much smaller area, mistakes are easier to cover-up.

Call On A Professional

If you're having a hard to getting your landlord to budge on the idea of painting your unit, call on a professional (such as one from APC Services). Contact a local painting contractor and get an estimate on the cost to paint your apartment. Take this information to your landlord and inform them that you plan to have the unit professionally painted.

This should significantly reduce any fears your landlord might have about you damaging the apartment. To sweeten the deal, agree to have a professional painter come in a repaint the walls white once you get ready to move out.

Just because you are renting, this doesn't mean you can't add character to your living space. Consider all the unique ways to add color to your home to make it more enjoyable.

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