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Create a Boho Folding Fan Wall Decor that’s Renter Friendly

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Create a renter-friendly folding fan wall decor for under ten dollars with this easy and unique DIY and find more wall art ideas.

Are you looking for wall art on a budget and/or trying to get around rental restrictions? I have the perfect wall decor idea for you!

How to Create Folding Fan Wall Decor with Dollar Store Fans

Hi there!  Thanks for stopping by today.  If you are new here, welcome.  We are a military family living in Japan and I’m currently making over our rental home with inexpensive DIYs and renter-friendly decor.

Try this dollar store DIY for your rental decor wall art with no holes! A picture of a bright foyer with Japanese hand fans hung on a white wall with a grey upholstered storage bench and colorful rug.
Folding Fan Wall Decor

Japanese Hand Fans Wall Decor

I’m really excited to share this fun DIY!  Every time I go shopping, I’m on the lookout for lightweight wall art that I can hang with command strips.  (Our walls are concrete so even if we could use nails, it would be difficult!)  

After a few trips to the 100 yen store, it dawned on me that oriental fans could be a pretty wall treatment for our foyer.  This is the first “real” foyer we’ve had and it’s flooded with natural light and a lot of wall space!

A rental home in okinawa, japan showing a white foyer filled with natural light.  A grey bench and colorful rug is placed.
A Bright and Empty Foyer

Isn’t it cute? Did you notice the aqua trim?  When the sunlight hits the walls, the wall paint turns a light blush pink.  Super pretty!  It is really the perfect setting for modern boho decorating.

Anywho, let’s get back to the fan wall decor.

What you need for a folding fan wall decor/art:

  • An assortment of fans from the dollar store. If you have a Daiso nearby, check there! Paper fans are relatively cheap even if you don’t have 100 yen stores.
  • Command strips (Poster weight is fine for this project)
The 100 yen store hand fans laying on a tile floor.
100 Yen Store Fans

Even though the fans were inexpensive, a few of them are actually made with real fabric. There are a few different chains of dollar stores in Japan and they are so much fun to shop at. You can find anything from dishes and towels to furniture pulls and storage bins.

A picture of a folding fan from the 100 yen store and command strips.
Folding Fan and Command Strips

How to hang paper fans on the wall:

Open the fan and put a command strip on each end to attach a hand fan to the wall. Make sure to read the instructions on the command strips as there is usually one side meant for the wall. Press and hold in place for 30 seconds.

An open hand fan on a tile floor with a command strip on each end.
Asian Fan with Command Strips

I selected fans in Asian and floral motifs and modern prints with bold colors. The busy patterns and saturated colors made the fans look small on my big white wall.

A japanese folding fan hung on a white wall.
Japanese Folding Fan

I quickly realized that I wanted more of a neutral look so I rehung the fans facing backward. What a difference it made.  Here are the Japanese hand fans facing the correct way.

A bright foyer with colorful folding hand fans hung on the wall above a grey bench and colorful rug.
Asian Fans on the Foyer Wall

And here they are turned backward.  The neutral backdrop still has subtle colors and the textures are so pretty.  I snuck one wood fan from my cousin’s wedding at the Japanese Gardens in the mix. The muted colors are really pretty.

Asian fans turned backwards and hung as nueutral wall art above a grey bench with pilllows and a colorful area rug in Okinawa, Japan.
Fans Turned Backwards

A bold IKEA pillow paired with a soft aqua on the upholstered storage bench adds to the boho vibe. I brought those items with me from the states but the colorful area rug I found at a local home decor store here. It is thin with a felt back and can go right into the washing machine to be cleaned.

A DIY foyer fan wall on a white wall wtih a grey bench and pillows in a rental home in Okinawa, Japan.
DIY Foyer Fan Wall

The foyer now has the perfect spot to drop off purses and scarves and easily remove shoes.

Boho fan wall art with dollar store folding fans hang on a white wall above a grey storage bench and colorful rug.
Boho Fan Wall Art in the Foyer

You can also use round paper fans or bamboo fans if you don’t want Asian fans for wall decor. Check out my friend Cuckoo for Design’s DIY Paper Stars would be beautiful wall decor! And a DIY hand fan tutorial from the Spruce crafts.

A view of a bright and big foyer in a rental home in Okinawa, Japan with DIY folding fan wall art, grey upholstered storage bench, pillows, and rug.
Storage Under the Stairs in the Foyer

The door under the stairs has a lot of storage and is where we keep luggage, workout equipment, and larger cleaning supplies.

A view into a large and bright foyer with build in shoe cabinets and bookshelves, a folding fan wall art, storage bench, and colorful rug.
Built-in Shoe Cabinets and Shelves

Did you notice the entry is lower than the rest of the foyer? That is a common feature in Japanese homes and actually has an interesting concept of guests walking up and into someone’s personal space. The lower sections of some traditional Japanese homes’ foyers are actually exposed to earth.

Built-in shoe cabinets can be found in most homes here too. Removing shoes is required in every home and many restaurants and tea houses. I adore these traditions!

Join me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes, DIYs, decorating tips, room tours, and home inspiration. I’ll see you over there!

White walls in a bright foyer with folding fan wall decor, storage bench and pillows, and colorful rug.
Storage and Seating in the Foyer

So for only a few dollars, you can have unique, hole-free, gorgeous wall art.  Just a few more white walls to go y’all in our Okinawan rental home. Make sure to check out a traditional Japanese rental home too and my favorite renter decorating tips!  Do you have a favorite wall treatment?

kathy

FYI: This post has been updated since I first wrote it when we lived in Japan. It is one of my favorite renter-friendly ideas for wall decor and I hope you enjoyed it! Read more about our new life in the snippet below.

If you are new here, howdy! I’m a retired military spouse who moved back to Texas after being gone for 19 years.

I perfected the art of rental decorating and overcoming challenges in small spaces for over fifteen years but now am tackling homeownership with a new set of challenges!

Our family of four lived in some of the most beautiful coastal towns in the US and Japan which have influenced my colorful and global style with DIYs and furnishings in our one-story 60’s ranch-style home in Fort Worth.

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3 Comments

  1. This is absolutely fantastic! I’ve been a Japanophile since I was a teenager and went on my dream trip to Japan in 2014. Surprisingly I didn’t get any fans (which I now realise is a dumb move). But I can find the same stuff in China town here (Ottawa, Canada) on the cheap. And I’ve been looking for an idea for a statement wall for so long now and I just stumbled upon your blog! I have a military spouse too but a member of the Canadian Armed Forces is not likely to ever be posted in Okinawa so I’ll have to go back to Japan on my own dime one day. Love what you did with that apartment.

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