Jelly - Standing for 6-8 hours straight will make you hate any job. The rest of it is fine, I don't mind it, but the standing just kills me.

I have windows, but they get no substantial light. Not enough to light the room well in day, and certainly not enough for a plant. I've tried, but they just suffer in my window.

Yeah, poster putty leaves awful marks. If you can afford it, maybe try those 3M command strips? They're supposed to come off easy without leaving a mark. I think they have some for posters, too. Might be called something different across the pond, but I mean these things:

I bought a set of Command Strips on....someone's recommendation, I think it was ~LONGCAT~: I've yet to use them, but I do have some!

I've also bought some more photographic paper. A pack of 20 sheets for less than £5. They're buy 1 get 1 free, and free postage, so a nice bargain. So I will be stealing some more images from Google. The only issue there is every one will be A4, which I'm not fond of! But I can rearrange the stuff on the walls and intersperse the A4 stuff between the larger posters that I have.

Time for the magic eraser on the walls at that point! Hopefully it leaves at least some paint behind.

Holy mother of chum I want one of those! Imagine the storage capabilities for small things. Or a friggin' rock collection. *LEGASP* I could finally start my bug hobbyisms!! We did it in high school and I think my favorites are butterflies, moths, beetles, and caterpillars. Occasionally centipedes, but those *rseholes bite.

If you can find the photo paper in other sizes, you could print bigger stuff out at a library.

I like command strips better than some of the other alternatives out there, but I don't remember talking about them? But then again I can't remember if I ate breakfast either.

I like framing my posters most. Looks nicest, IMO. But it depends on the ability to drill holes into walls, and frames of that size often cost more than the poster itself. >< But for an A4 print, it'd be much more reasonable.

My financial budget is literally nil now, lol, hence me printing stuff off that I've found on Google. I like things framed, but I'd like pretty frames not bog standard dull ones, and of course, if only some were framed...meh. I think command strips is the best option for me. I'd not considered getting stuff printed at the library, but as well as I know myself, I have to face the fact that I'd probably not bother doing that.

Alex, good luck finding a typesetters cabinet then! Look at this.
VINTAGE HAMILTON MFG CO TYPESETTER DRAWER w/ ORIGINAL DRAWER PULL | eBay $80 just for one drawer, admittedly that's a big drawer though! Awesome, isn't it? People mount them on the wall and display lots of little things in them. They're lovely looking things. Maybe you'll see one in a thrift shop for $10!

I WANT IT I WANT IT. I want that thing more than I wanted the full sized, double record playing memory chest I saw at a thrift store for $80. I think we've got about 12-14 in town. Always full of great stuff. If I ever get the time I kind of want to buy all the old box TVs (what with everything going to flats) and make stuff out of them. They sell for about $20 because who wants to heft a full 55"-45" plastic box around? And I figure I could make things like memory boxes, you know, take action figures from older shows and set it up inside like a telly scene, paint a splashback and foreground. Like those eco boxes they had us make in school. I also saw a cool one online where you make dog beds out of the vintage wood lined TVs.

That sounds like a fun thing to do! You just want to have fun smashing the screens of all those TVs, don't you! Alex is a secret rock star! :P I have 2, verging on 3 (current one is dying) broken old big black TVs, you want to come collect them? I've been wondering how the hell I'm going to get rid of them.

That many thrift stores? D: Though having said that there's a fair few in this town, plus of course the recycling project where I worked. Funnily enough, we'd always hate it when people donated TVs because no-one wants them so we'd end up with loads and really struggle to get rid of them. >< How big are the thrift stores in the US? The average UK charity shop is mainly clothes.

We had a huge one that was easier to move with a handle, then a neighbor got rid of a massive 55" with absolutely no grips. They did not miss it.

Yup! And that doesn't include the 2-3 antique stores we have. It's the same with TVs here, now that flat's a thing. They're pretty huge, too. Even the smallest is 1/3 stuff 2/3 clothes. I looooove looking for furniture. There's almost always a book nook. The glassware ranges from old, to REALLY old, to new, and a ridiculous amount of that 70's design. There's even one place that buys new, gently used, stuff that legitimately "falls of the back of a truck" and they sell it at around 1/4 the usual price. I'm hoping I can go there again this next weekend.

Edit: But yeah, the majority are 2/3 stuff and 1/3 clothes.

But simple frames are best! If you get them fancy, it just distracts from what you're having framed and looks busy. With just a simple brown or black frame, it just highlights the photo. Plus, it's nice and cheap.

Mmmm, that shelf looks so nice for hanging and displaying things in, like you said. I ought to consider something like that as my art toy/figurine/shut-up-they're-not-toys collection grows. Maybe I could find one cheaply at a flea market. I certainly wouldn't need one that big, in any case.

I do have some frames, Cherry. I bought my mum 2 sets of prints a number of years ago, all landscapes, one lot clearly Tuscany, and the others just as clearly Canada, as they're places she likes. I got 4 cheap frames from a shop here in town, then changed my mind and got those ones that are just a sheet of perspex that clips on. I also have a frame that I got made for a pic Yan was going to draw for me of my sister and brother-in-law, for a wedding present. But I didn't do that in the end. I've also got 2 herb prints that my mum gave me years ago to put up in the kitchen, and I never have.

These are all golden wood tones. I've also got photo frames. Hmm. 2 that are capiz shell and 2 that are white daisies. Again never used. Not even sure where the shell ones are but I think I've still got them. I've gonna collect together what I can find...

Well there you go, one of the 4 matching frames has wandered as, as has one of the daisy ones, they'll be about somewhere. The issue with the photo frames is the fixings on the back of course. The standy up bit can be removed easily from them, it's the little clips that hold the back on that could be a stumbling block.

I weighed the mirror and that's 2.5kg, so I can easily use command strips to hang that too, the pack I have there has large ones in it which hold up to 7.2kg. This is me in a nutshell really, these things were all sat in a cupboard, the majority of them for years. It's a bad habit of mine.

Alright, here's a challenge for you all... what are some guy-friendly decorations? The boyf got a new place and it's bare as hell. Driving me crazy. I don't mind buying him a few things to perk things up, but I'm stumped for ideas. I don't even care what the things are, just something. I can't stand staring at that massive expanse of beige wall anymore.

WEAPONS. Horns and antlers. Leather.
There's a chance I may live with Gaston. I have all these things.

I think I can actually help with this. Really.
How guy is your guy? Tell me five things he likes... any fandoms?

He's moderate guy? Like, he's not effeminate, but he's not MACHO MANLY MAN GRRR either.

He likes graphic design (esp. typography, but he's picky), football (Cincinnati Bengals especially), Tekken, The Walking Dead, Fringe, and, um... cooking? But that doesn't really translate into any sort of decoration he'd like. Thing is that he wants everything to be functional. I tried to buy him some stuff already and he was like "ehhhh, but I can't use it." He does have a Walking Dead poster, though, so he's cool with posters.

Hit up a thrift store and buy the biggest, ugliest painting you can. All you really want is a canvas and the frame. Take the painting apart carefully, so the canvas doesn't tear. Spray paint the frame black. Nothing too glossy. Paint the canvas orange, and run some black stripes diagonally over the orange after it dries. Bam.

Whoa, that's such a neat idea! I love it! Thank you!! I'll see about trying that soon. I'll share pictures if I do!

The boyf is also interested in making a big chalkboard to practice typography on and maybe add to his portfolio. He bought some chalkboard paint, he's just looking for the right thing to turn into a chalkboard. He doesn't want just a plain rectangle, he wanted something unusual - so that's providing a challenge for him. Now that he's all finished with moving, maybe I should remind him and offer to help him look for materials (again). It would definitely be fulfilling his wish for something functional!

Oh. Oh, I'm so glad you like.
Upcycling unloved things into creative projects is my go-to advice for relatively inexpensive decorating and it's fully customizable.

Hmm. LOVE the will-get-used chalkboard. Not a rectangle. Maybe a circle? Try yard sales or Craigslist for a round table top, paint that puppy with the chalkboard paint. Mounting that might be tricky and require a little trial and error but it would have a nice three-dimensional effect popping off the wall.

That's a really neat idea! It would have to be a small table, though. Something that could be held up with command strips. So a cheapy table, probably, nothing made of heavy, solid wood. Apartment renting means no screws in walls! But that's a really neat idea, and something we had overlooked when looking for things to turn into a chalkboard (and yet we considered damn near everything else ). Thanks so much!

I used to have a coffee table that I covered in chalk board paint. We used it as a table though sochalk drawings and notes got smudged off almost as soon as you put it on. I wonder if he couldn't discuss it with the landlord. Depends entirely on the situation but some are willing to work with good tenants. The main thing is running it by them first. They just don't want renters tearing up their walls so they put stuff like that in the lease.

Anyway, could always just lean that puppy on the wall. Roll it behind the couch when/if you want it out of the way. By not mounting it - he could have more freedom of movement. Lay it out on the floor, working around the circle.

Potentially could be worked out. Or, if nothing else, there's always spackle.

If I moved into an apt, I know the first thing I would be asking is if I could paint the walls. I don't want to do any crazy colors, I just can't stand the beiges and whites generally in apartments. I like cool grays and light minty blues. Second question would be if I could hang shelves. Though if I was painting, that wouldn't be a problem... Just save a little bit of the paint, and when it's moving time, spackle over the holes and paint over that. It's like it never happened!

Ugh. Me too, "can I paint the walls?" "No?" "Okay. Would you kick me out if I did?"
Then they would say something about not getting the securit deposit back and I'd say wanna bet? Perhaps shake on it. Like you said paint over it and it never happened. Of course I haven't had a proper landlord in ages so my advice is to be taken lightly.

I'd try to spin it as increasing the property value. The beige my boyf's place is done in is just hideous. It's so ugly and dated. I'd point out that it was a really dated shade and that my choices were much more modern. I'd bring magazine clippings showing trendy rooms in greys and light blues to prove my point if they needed convincing. My goal would be to walk out of there with them taking some money off that month's rent to reimburse me for updating their apartment. Some apartments will actually do that!