decorating a rental: fabric + starch wallpaper method

Well, we are back home from Oregon with a sick little G. Poor dude. He has his first official fever. He slept the first 3 hours in his own bed and ended up in ours the rest of the night. Just hoping we can all avoid getting what he's got. I feel bad that he was with my family this weekend while R and I were in Oregon.

I can't help but check craigslist and google for rental listings. We came home with one prospect we are waiting to hear back on but not much else. Its got a few negatives but we both agreed it would meet our needs and has some good positives. We both feel hopeful that something is going to work out. I love that peace that comes, but then I hate just not knowing and having to be patient! I will be grateful for the peace and continue doing our best.

What we did come home realizing is that we need to get up to Oregon sooner than later for R's new job and so we have to kick our booties into gear! Looks like our goal is a start date of March 1st and thus moving the end of February. If we can't find the rental by then it will be pushed back, but that is the goal. So much to do, too much to do! I may have to stay behind with G and finish business here with the house.

Now, to go to the point of this post. Looking at rentals got me down, seriously down. It was as if you'd find one with a great interior and a great exterior, shoot we couldn't even find one with the goods going on inside and out. It was one or the other, or neither! Since every single one we looked at had a little eye sore going on somewhere, I thought I'd do some more research on fixing up rentals and those temporary ways to improve life. So here's what I came across when I searched temporary wallpaper on pinterest:

Source: remodelaholic.com via Stacy on Pinterest

Kitchen Backsplash fix using fabric + starch! The above photo is from Liz at The Chronology of Him and Me. This would be so inexpensive and you can customize the fabric choice! When I saw the above photo on pinterest, it reminded me that Jenny at Little Green Notebook had posted a while back on the same topic. Here is a link to the post with how-to details.You can search "fabric wallpaper" on her blog and there are several other photo examples too. She is a great inspiration for may DIY home projects. The starch method allows it to be temporary. Anyone actually have experience doing this and then taking it down? Any leftover evidence? I read starch attracts bugs, hum that could be a problem!

This solution could have come in handy with about a third of the houses we viewed.

What has your experience been with renting and walls? Did your landlord allow you to paint walls as long as you painted back to their original color when you moved? What about asking to paint over existing hideous paint jobs (without using that term obviously). Oh life's dilemmas!

Check out my previous post with ideas on temporary fixes and ways to decorate a rental here. More to come on that subject! Any great suggestions, send them my way!