Friday Finds - Home Improvement

This one's for the renters. I'm at the age where I don't want to have a bunch of college mismatched furniture. I want a nice home. Most people want to make their place look nice, but don't want to do any major home improvement projects because a) you are leaving one day and why should your landlord get off so easy, and b) you might lose your security deposit if you make major changes. So these decorating tips are for people living on the cheap, living temporarily, but also living with an adult sense of style.

Oh my god I spent sooo much time trying to track down these tiles online. I had heard about them on some blog's discussion and had to do a thousand google searches before I found them. But you will be happy that I did.

SmartTiles are as resistant to humidity and oil spatter as ceramic tile, can go right over existing tile or any other surface, and are a great alternative to spending tons on a tile job. They are especially good for renters who don't want to spend money on someone else's property, but still have a home improvement jones. You can even grout them. I think they are basically sturdy puffy stickers. You can get four standard sized tiles for about $7 on the Home Depot website. Don't know how they look in real life, but the pics are very nice:


I want these mosaic ones for a backsplash in my kitchen:


I thought this rubber dipped chandelier by Tobias Wang was really cool looking.


But at $4500, I am probably never going to own one. Besides, wouldn't it be more fun to make one yourself? You can buy a crappy looking chandelier at a flea market, tape off the bulb area so that it can actually work when you are finished, and then use spray on rubber!

You can generally find spray on rubber (in white and clear) at marine supply shops, as boaters like to keep all of their stuff waterproof. You could also go crazy and rubberize a lot of things in your house, like doorknobs, handles, ugly vases and gaudy decanters.

Wallpaper isn't really my thing, mostly because it is a pain. But some genius invented temporary wallpaper that self-sticks and comes off in large sheets when you are over it:

Crate and Barrel carries this design:

Tempaper specializes in temporary wallpaper. It's a vinyl coated paper you can reposition and remove. At $75 a roll, it's kinda steep, but similar styles go for well over $100/roll


I would think this would also be useful for shelves, cabinets, and behind a sheet of glass or plastic as a backsplash in a kitchen. I like the black and white brocade for the side of the fridge that peeks above the counter. In my house that side always gets cluttered with magnets.