How to Decorate Without Paint - UK Edition

A couple of my readers have asked whether the products I talked about in my original version of this post are available in the UK. On that note (as promised!), here is a Brit version of How To Decorate Without Paint!


Temporary Wallpaper
Sadly, Tempaper (makers of fabulously removable temporary wallpaper) doesn't sell in the UK. Still, you might consider using normal wallpaper with temporary adhesion, like Winston's Roost did here - this gorgeous wallpaper is attached to the wall with thumb tacks and the edges are held down with blue tack.

Laura Ashley has some exquisite wallpaper designs (like Oriental Garden paper I used on my coffee table) but other places worth a look include Amazon, B&Q and other DIY shops.

Make Your Own "Wallpaper" with Fancy Masking Tape
HappyTape sells gorgeous Japanese washi paper tape from about $3 for a single 50' roll - perfect for a tighter budget. Jenny at Pearl Street Interiors used their aqua masking tape to create a subtle diamond pattern in her entryway. Genius!

From here

I haven't found a stockist in the UK, but HappyTape does ship internationally and it's not much more expensive than shipping to the States ($4.25 to the States versus $6.95 or about £4.20 to the UK).

A slight less renter-friendly option is to use ribbon and thumbtacks like Rita from Design Megillah did. You might be left with a lot of patching to do when you leave, but it sure is pretty!

From here

Use Sticky Back Plastic (aka Contact Paper)
If you have plaster walls (this method isn't so great on drywall - it can be hard to remove), sticky back plastic can provide an inexpensive starting point for more interesting walls. Stephanie at Sabbe Interior Design used white contact paper to create a chevron pattern in her rental.

See the tutorial here

 She used the same method to make bird decals too.

Some of the designs are yummy enough to use as-is:

Left: Heritage Flock Black & White - £5.99 (450mm x 1m)

Right: Glitter Fablon - £4.99 (450mm x 1m)

Available from UK Wallpaper

And if you'd rather not stick it on the walls, you can always use it to cover the back of a bookshelf or a china cabinet, like Jesyka at Visual Vocabulary did here:

{Love love love!}

You can buy plain, transparent sticky back plastic at WH Smith. Look for more decorative versions at B&Q, Homebase and other DIY shops. UK Wallpaper sells a range of Fablon sticky back plastic, including solid colours, lookalike wood grain or granite and the pretty designs above. Prices start at about £2.99 per sheet.

Wall Decals

If you have drywall in your place, or you aren't interested in making your own decals, ready-made decals can be an equally affordable option. They range in price starting from as little as £7.

B&Q has a limited but pretty selection, including these beauties (available online only):

Gold Mirror - £27.98

Damask Giant Wall Sticker - £19.98

Lace Giant Wall Sticker - £26.98

And All Posters is definitely worth a look, with a much bigger selection, including these lovelies:

Grey Branch With Birds - £26.99

{Cute for a girl's room}
Butterflies - £19.99

Sophia - £6.98 (on sale)

Black Chandelier - £26.99 (also available in white, hot pink, grey and other colours)

Jazz Up A Kitchen or Bathroom with Tile Stickers

Got a boring back splash? Give it a custom look with tile tattoos.

UK stockists include Benporium (which also ships free to the US):

Geometric 01 - £12.50/$20.00 (set of 8)

And Mibo:

Ventnor Blue - £12.50 (set of 8)

Other UK sites include Tile Transfers, Easy Tile and Spin Collective.

Starched Fabric Walls

Another alternative to wallpaper - take enough fabric to cover your wall, apply liquid starch (available in supermarkets) with a roller, and stick the fabric to the wall like Kim Myles did here. When it's time to move, dampen the fabric with a sponge and it'll come right off again. I am itching to try this myself!

You could also use decorative thumb tacks to secure fabric to the wall for even easier removal.

Please let me know if you find anywhere else in the UK that sells any of these products, and if you decide to give any of these ideas a go, I'd love to see your results!