Living in a rental house can often limit the ways in which you can customize the property. Many property owners now prohibit tenants from painting the walls because it is such a pain to get the walls back to a light color, if the tenant choose a bold or dark color. If you find that you are not happy with the look of the kitchen in your rental property, but are not allowed to paint the walls, consider updating the look of the kitchen backsplash without making any permanent changes. Use the following guide to create a custom backsplash in just minutes.

Visit a Hardware Store

To create the updated look you want, you do not need a lot of materials. All you need to get to create the customized backsplash is electrical tape and scissors. Electrical tape is designed to be waterproof and has stickiness attached to it so you do not have to worry with the hassle of glue. Check out hardware stores like Siwek Lumber and Millwork, Inc. to get all your materials.

Make Horizontal Stripes

Cut a strip of the electrical tape and place near the top of your kitchen backsplash. You want to get as close to the bottom of the cabinets as you can. Once you have completed a strip that goes from one end of the backsplash to the other, you will be ready to move on to the next line.

Cut another strip of electrical tape and place it roughly half an inch below the piece that you already placed on the wall. The distance between each strip of tape should be the size of the tape. You are creating the illusion of tile and need the blocks to be roughly the same size. Continue placing the strips of tape horizontally until you have stripes going from the top of your backsplash to the bottom.

Make Vertical Stripes

Cut a piece of electrical tape and place it as close to the edge of your wall as you can to create a vertical stripe on the backsplash. Cut another piece of tape and place it roughly a half an inch to the side of the first vertical piece you placed on the wall. You should now see that you have created small blocks on the backsplash that look like checkerboard tile. Repeat the process until your entire backsplash looks like checkerboard tile.

This is a very inexpensive way to create a unique look in your kitchen. When it is time to move from your home, you can simply pull the tape away from the wall and throw it away. It will not cause any damage and be very easy to clean.