Decorating

As many of you know, I am a live-in Resident Director which means that I live in a Residence Hall. 
No, I don't share a bathroom with a bunch of beer chugging, all-nighter pulling, fist-pumping first-year students.  Sorry to disappoint you. 

We have our own 2-bedroom apartment with an outside entrance which gives us a good amount of privacy.  The building we live in is only 3 years old and quite modern which means that our apartment feels rather cold and unwelcoming without any personal touches.  I've been working on making the apartment feel more home-y since we moved in, and finished up a project this past weekend.

As a non-homeowner, there is no painting that can be done (luckily Facilities painted in nice colors before we moved in).  So no painting, and limited changes are allowed.  So wall decals have been my saving grace.  They are easy, relatively inexpensive, and add a HUGE design punch when used correctly. 

I recently bought decals from etsy's Wordy Bird Studios and couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out.  I totally did a happy dance when I was done!

First you tape the paper up with the grid side facing the wall

I taped all my decals up to make sure I had the design right

Our giant tv--clearly Sean's idea

Peel the bottom (grid side) of the paper off so that the decal is still taped up to the wall.  The tape acts as a hinge.

Then using a credit card, smooth the decal onto the wall getting rid of any air bubbles.

When you're pretty sure it's stuck on well, start peeling the paper away.  Go SLOOOOOOWLY and if the decal sticks to the paper just rub it back on the wall and peel again.

TADA!  A beautiful decal that looks painted on the wall. 

It took me a total of about 2 hours to tape all the decals up, rearrange, and then stick them to the wall.  Pretty quick for a total wall transformation, and now our apartment is a bit more cozy and welcoming with some added visual interest in the living room!

A fire alarm--the joys of Res Hall Living!

See the cardinal?! A must have