Most coastal wall art advice assumes you own the walls. Most coastal art buyers do not. This is the practical version of the advice for everyone who is renting in Bondi, Coogee, Newcastle, North Fremantle, St Kilda, Burleigh, Noosa or anywhere else where you cannot put a drill through the wall without losing your bond. Browse paintings for the beach house for pieces selected with holiday homes in mind.
Renting an Australian coastal apartment with no art on the walls is a particular kind of melancholy. You can see the water from the balcony. You can taste salt in the air. And then you walk inside to magnolia paint and a single Ikea print left by the previous tenant. The wall art is the bit that turns a rental into a home — and the bit that most renters give up on too quickly because they assume their hands are tied.
They are not. There is a small set of techniques and product choices that make coastal art easy and bond-safe in any Australian rental. Here is the actual playbook.
Hanging Strips: The Single Biggest Game Changer for Renters
The most important development in renter-friendly art hanging in the last decade is the high-grade adhesive strip — primarily 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips, but also Tesa, Smartfix and a handful of others. Used correctly, these hold canvas prints and small-to-medium framed prints solidly to the wall, then peel off cleanly when you move out.
Three things matter when using them:
The wall has to be clean and dry. Most strip failures come from someone sticking the strip onto a wall with dust or oil on it. Wipe with rubbing alcohol, let it dry, then stick.
You need enough strips for the weight. Each Command strip pair holds 450g to 1.8kg depending on size. A medium canvas (around 46 x 69cm) weighs around 1.5kg, so a pair of Medium strips is fine. A large canvas (60 x 90cm) needs two pairs of Large strips minimum. Always round up — strips are cheap.
The wall finish matters. They work on standard paint and on most matt walls. They struggle on textured walls, vinyl wallpaper, and any wall painted with high-VOC gloss enamel. If you are in an older terrace with rendered brick walls, the strips may pull the paint when you remove them. Test in a low-stakes corner first.
Canvas vs Framed for Renters: Canvas Wins
For renters, canvas is almost always the better choice over framed prints. Two reasons.
One: canvas is lighter for the same wall coverage. A Medium framed print might weigh 3kg with glass; a Medium canvas of the same dimensions weighs 1.2kg. Strips hold canvas more reliably.
Two: canvas is more forgiving when you move. Framed prints with glass are fragile in transit. Canvas wraps survive being put in a removalist truck far better.
For broader notes on the canvas-vs-framed decision, see our detailed canvas vs framed guide. But for renters specifically, canvas almost always wins.
The Five Common Mistakes Renters Make With Coastal Wall Art
Mistake one. Hanging strips on greasy or dusty walls. This is the number one cause of canvas-falling-off-the-wall incidents. Always clean the wall first.
Mistake two. Going too small. Renters often choose smaller prints because they assume the smaller wall area is safer. The opposite is true. A single small print on a large empty wall looks worse than no print at all. If you are going to hang one piece, go big — a Large or X-Large canvas reads as decisive even in a rental, and the strips can hold it.
Mistake three. Using picture hooks just this once. Even small picture hooks leave marks that rental inspections will catch. The cost of patching the wall and the bond risk is not worth it. Use strips.
Mistake four. Not removing strips correctly. To remove Command strips: hold the canvas firmly against the wall with one hand, grip the white tab at the bottom of the strip with the other, and stretch it slowly straight down the wall (not outwards). It will peel cleanly. Pulled outwards or quickly, it can take paint with it.
Mistake five. Forgetting that canvas needs to acclimatise. Canvas prints freshly delivered in winter may be tightly stretched and shift slightly as they adjust to room humidity. Wait 48 hours after delivery before mounting, or you may end up restretching strips after the canvas relaxes.
What to Choose: Best Coastal Prints for Australian Rentals
The selection criteria for a rental are slightly different from a forever home. You want:
Mid-size pieces (Medium or Large) that work on strip-hangers.
Compositions that look complete on their own, without needing a pair or gallery wall (since strip-hung pairs are harder to get level).
Versatile palettes that will move with you to your next place, which might be a completely different room.
Some pieces that hit all three criteria:
Boat at the Beach — soft, neutral, complete on its own. Medium size hangs comfortably on a pair of Large strips.
The Silent Sea II — abstract coastal photography that will work in almost any future home you move to. Restrained palette means it adapts to whatever the next rental wall colour is.
Sunrise Swim — a single quiet photographic piece. Hangs on its own without needing a partner.
Cottesloe Views — for renters in WA especially, this gives the apartment a regional anchor without needing wall fixings.
Coastal Fog — moody, atmospheric, brilliant in cooler rental light.
For a broader view of pieces that work well at this scale, browse the Best Sellers and Abstract Ocean and Beach collections.
Diptychs and Pairs: A Renter Nuance
Pairs and diptychs are particularly hard to level on adhesive strips because you need both pieces hanging at exactly the same height and parallel. There is a workaround: hang the pieces using a pencil-level technique. Mark the centre point of each piece, mark the wall at the desired height, use a long spirit level (or a level app on your phone) to draw a faint pencil line, then mount each piece with the bottom of the canvas aligning with that line. The pencil line wipes off easily later.
A diptych like the Morning Marine Layer I & II works beautifully in a rental once you have done the level-line technique. So does the Sea Shore pair, and the Palm Tree Sepia diptych.
What About Brick Walls
Many older Australian rentals — especially the converted warehouses in inner Newcastle, parts of Northcote, the inner-west of Sydney, North Fremantle, parts of Brisbane — have exposed brick walls in at least one room. Adhesive strips do not work on raw brick.
For brick wall coastal art, you have three options:
Lean it. A canvas leaning on a console table or against a fireplace mantel needs no fixings. This works very well with mid-size pieces.
Use brick clips. Specifically designed for hanging on mortar joints between bricks. They leave no marks, but they only hold lightweight framed pieces (under 2kg).
Use a freestanding easel. A wooden artist easel placed against a corner, holding a canvas, is more design-led than people expect and avoids the wall entirely.
The Move-Out Plan
When you move, you want a clean wall. The sequence:
Take down the canvas. Hold it against the wall with one hand, peel the strips slowly downward with the other.
Check the wall. If a strip has left any residue, rub with a clean cloth and a tiny drop of rubbing alcohol. Do not use harsh solvents.
Wrap the canvas. Use the original packaging if you kept it, or wrap in butcher paper and bubble wrap. Stand canvases on edge in the removalist truck, never flat.
If you accidentally left marks on the wall: most paint shops can colour-match a wall sample to a small pot for under twenty dollars. A touch-up before the inspection is cheap insurance.
What This Adds Up To
Renters do not need to live with empty walls. Canvas, adhesive strips, medium-to-large sizing and neutral coastal palettes = a setup that adapts to any rental, holds securely for years, and moves with you when you move.
The bond-safe coastal apartment is real. It just requires a slightly different set of choices than a forever-home setup.
If you are setting up your first rental from scratch and want a starting kit, the most foolproof combination is one Large canvas (a strong single piece like Cottesloe Views) above the sofa, plus a smaller Medium piece (Morning Swim) in the bedroom or hallway. Two pieces is enough for a one-bedroom rental to feel finished. Add a third only if you have a strong third wall to populate.
For more reading on coastal sizing decisions, our room-by-room size guide and scale and spacing guide are the natural next reads. And for renters specifically, the bedroom canvas guide includes a section on apartment-scale pieces that are easy to live with on strips.
Final Thoughts
Coastal art in a rental is not a compromise. It is a different application of the same craft. The walls cannot accept drills, so the art has to accept that constraint — and once it does, you can build a coastal home in any apartment in Australia. The bond comes back, the walls stay clean, and the canvas moves with you to the next place.
Renting is the most common state for under-35s in coastal Australia. There is no reason that should mean magnolia walls and a single Ikea print. Three good canvases, two pairs of strips each, and an evening of careful hanging is all it takes.
Continue Reading
Renters working with hanging strips usually still want the rest of the styling answers. These four follow-on pieces cover framing choice, composition, the broader coastal style brief, and care for the canvas itself.
- Framing Coastal Prints: Oak vs Black vs No Frame
- 5 Coastal Triptych Compositions That Anchor a Living-Room Wall
- The Difference Between Coastal, Hamptons and Boho Beach Style
- Salt, Air, Sun and Wall Art: Canvas Care in Beach Houses