Patterned wallpaper behind a tree does something no garland can. The whole corner looks finished, even when the tree is small. The catch for most of us is the lease. So this is about Christmas walls you can peel off on January 2 without a fight with the landlord.
Start with one panel, not a room
A full wall of holiday print gets loud fast, and it’s a lot of rolls to remove later. One or two vertical strips behind the tree, the bar cart or the bed are enough. Think of it as a backdrop the size of whatever stands in front of it.
Measure the height you want to cover and the width of the furniture, then add a few inches each side. A 17-inch strip run floor to ceiling covers more than you’d guess.
A peel-and-stick print
The geometric Christmas peel-and-stick wallpaper (on Amazon) comes in 17.3 by 78.7 inch rolls, so two strips side by side make a backdrop about three feet wide. A geometric print forgives small misalignments better than a busy scene with figures in it.
Before you hang a strip, test a small piece somewhere hidden, like inside a closet. Leave it for a few days, then peel it slowly at a low angle. Flat or matte paint and freshly painted walls are the ones most likely to lift. If paint comes up with the test piece, skip the wall and use the ideas below.
Words instead of pattern
A lettering decal gives you the wallpaper feeling with far less coverage. The Outus Merry Christmas wall decal (on Amazon) is removable PVC and comes in more than one size, so check the option against the space above your sofa or headboard. Center it on the furniture, not the wall, and keep the bottom of the lettering a hand’s width above whatever is below it.
Glass counts as a wall
Windows, mirrors and glass doors are the safest surfaces in a rental. A sheet of snowflake window clings (on Amazon) (116 pieces across 9 sheets) can cover a mirror edge or the lower half of a window. Clings stay put without glue and come off clean, and you can store them flat on their backing for next year.
Add light last
Patterned walls look best with a little light raking across them. Run a strand of fairy lights along the top edge of your panel and hold it with Command clear mini light clips (on Amazon). They’re made for that job and are designed to come off cleanly when you follow the removal tabs.
For more ways to dress a wall in a small place, see Christmas window and wall decor. If you want the room around the panel to match, the Christmas color schemes post has palettes that work with a single printed wall.
Taking it down
Peel from the top corner, pulling the strip back on itself rather than straight out. Go slowly. If a strip resists, warm it for a few seconds with a hair dryer on low. Roll the strips print side out around a tube if you’d like to try them again next December.