Most seasonal decorating involves attaching something temporary to a surface that is not meant to be attached to. In a rented property this is a deposit question, and in an owned one it is a decorating question, and the methods differ considerably in how much damage they do.
The Options, Roughly in Order of Safety
- Tension rods and existing fixtures: picture rails, curtain poles, bannisters
- Removable adhesive strips designed for the purpose
- Low-tack decorator’s tape, for light paper items only
- Freestanding solutions: backdrop stands, furniture, doors
- Small pins into a picture rail or wooden frame rather than plaster
Use What Is Already There
The best fixing is one that already exists. Curtain poles, picture rails, door frames, bannisters, shelf edges and light fittings all hold decorations without any new attachment.
A backdrop hung from a tension rod in a doorway, or a banner tied to a bannister, leaves no trace at all. Ranges designed to be hung from existing points, such as those catalogued at ohomestore.net, generally come with ties or sleeves rather than assuming a wall fixing.
Adhesive Strips and How They Fail
Removable strips work well and fail in predictable circumstances: on textured surfaces, on fresh paint, and when loaded before the adhesive has cured.
Fresh paint is the trap. Paint continues curing for weeks after it looks dry, and adhesive applied to it takes the paint off when removed. Anything painted within the last month should be treated as unsuitable.
Removal is the other half. Pulling directly takes plaster and paint; stretching the tab slowly, straight down and parallel to the wall, is what releases it cleanly.
Weight Matters More Than It Looks
Fabric banners weigh very little dry and considerably more than people expect once they are long. Rated capacities assume even loading, not the whole weight hanging from one corner.
Using two or three fixings rather than one, spreading the load along the top edge, is what stops a banner peeling away halfway through an evening.
What Not to Use
Sticky tape of any general-purpose kind on painted walls, which removes paint reliably. Drawing pins into plasterboard, which crumble the hole. Anything containing a solvent near a painted surface.
Blu-tack style putty is better than tape and still leaves an oil mark on wallpaper and emulsion over time, particularly in a warm room.
Ceilings
Worth a specific caution. Anything hung from a ceiling is above people’s heads, and ceiling surfaces hold adhesive considerably less reliably than walls because the load pulls straight down.
Light items only, multiple fixing points, and nothing above a table where people will be sitting for hours.
Photograph Before and After
In a rented property, a photograph of the wall before anything goes up, and after it comes down, takes seconds and settles any later disagreement.