Wallpaper alternatives that won't leave you stuck

The kitchen in my childhood home has sported the same awful, ducklings-in-togas wallpaper for more than 30 years. (Don't even get me started on the pineapple-theme guest room.) What seemed stylish in the early 1980s has turned into a perpetual reminder that wallpaper is a sticky situation.

Wallpaper is time-consuming to remove, leaves behind a messy residue and becomes outdated before you know it. White paint seems like a valid alternative; we've got an even quicker and less-permanent way to combat blank white walls.

These homespun projects all took less than one hour to do, cost less than $50 each and can be removed with ease.

Diamond in the rough

This larger-than-life adaptation of a ribbon board is an adult-approved version of the dorm-room staple. We peppered ours with personal effects and prints, but, much like during undergrad school, feel free to experiment.

Materials:Inch-wide ribbonPushpinsScissorsHow to1. Starting in the upper left-hand corner of a wall, tack the end of a spool of ribbon with a pushpin.2. Pull the ribbon tight and tack it on a slight diagonal to the bottom of the wall. Snip it with the scissors.3. Tack the ribbon parallel to the first. The narrower the distance, the more diamonds you'll get. (We spaced ours about 1 foot apart.)4. Stretch the ribbon to the bottom of the wall and tack it in place, making sure to keep it equidistant from its parallel pin.5. Repeat until entire wall is covered, and then do the same starting from the upper right corner.Raster of your domainRasterbation (we'll pause for chuckles) is a term used to describe a type of tiled printing. By magnifying an image and arranging it in a grid, you get mosaic-like results with a modern bent.Materials:ComputerPrinterTapeHow to1. Find a digital image you love. It can be in gray-scale or color, and the larger the file the better. (We scored ours on Shorpy.com.)2. Download the proper software. We recommend the Rasterbator for PCs (The-rasterbator.en.softonic.com) or PosteRazor for Macs (Posterazor.sourceforge.net).3. Follow the directions to upload your image. Adjust the number of pages you'd like your final product to have.4. Print the pages.5. Trim any excess white space and tape them to your wall, using a level to ensure a straight line.Bound for cratenessWhen built-in shelving isn't an option, re-purposing boxlike receptacles is a thrifty alternative. Blogger Stacey Remiker of Asortoffairytalegirl.blogspot.com, nailed a cluster of vintage soda crates and wire racks into the wall and filled them with antique china, tea tins and Mason jars. The result? Ample display space that's DIY approved.Materials:Wooden cratesWire racksHammerNailsHow to1. Arrange your crates and racks on the floor to get a sense of exactly how you want them to be displayed.2. Hammer your nails in the coordinating areas of your wall.3. Hang the slats of your crates and racks on the nails.Couldn't have thread it betterDon't be intimidated by this elaborate-looking (yet foolproof) project: If you can tie your shoelaces, you're already overqualified. All it requires are a few knots and simple materials.Materials:NailsScissorsHammerYarnPencilRulerHow to1. Using a ruler and pencil, draw your letters directly onto the wall. For timesaving purposes, you can do a Google image search for #8220;alphabet stencils#8221; and print and trim letters on heavy-stock paper to use as a guide.2. Hammer the nails into the outline of each letter.3. Tie yarn to one of the nails and begin winding it around each nail in a random manner until the entire letter is filled in.4. Knot off yarn and trim any excess.Not into hammer time?Try the following non-DIY options:#376; Whatisblik.com carries vibrant wall decals of all sorts.#376; Cover walls with groovy temporary wallpaper from Tempaperdesigns.com#376; Affordable art from sites such as 20x200.com spiffs up blank space. 15882292Rasterbation is a term used to describe a type of tiled printing. By magnifying an image and arranging it in a grid, you get mosaic-like results with a modern bent. Attach to the wall with tape.Marge Ely/The Washington Post 16262001DonÂ’t be intimidated by this elaborate-looking (yet foolproof) yarn-and-nails project. All it requires are a few knots and simple materials.Marge Ely/The Washington Post