Topic

Walls and windows

Hang, cover, and soften a room without betting the deposit on a hole.

• No-drill curtain rods that hold blackout curtainsA spring rod from the dollar shelf will hold sheers. Blackout cloth is heavier, and the failure is a slow bow that drags the hem onto the sill.
• Command strip limits, with the rental derateThe number on the box is a lab rating for a set of pairs, on clean paint, at a friendly temperature. Your frame does not live in that lab.
• A renter gallery wall that comes down cleanThe attractive version is a mix of one or two light hung frames and several frames that only lean. The unattractive version is seventeen strips on bad paint.
• Removable wallpaper versus painting a rentalPaint feels permanent because it is. Removable paper is only removable if you buy the kind that says so and test it on the paint you actually have.
• A field guide to tension rodsTension rods are the most useful fastener in a lease, and the most abused. The cup, the span, and the job have to match.
• Command, gel tape, putty, or a tiny holeThese products are not substitutes. They fail in different rooms, and only one of them is designed to stretch off latex paint.