Tacky Columns

I have spent the past few nights dreaming of ways to get rid of the columns on the apartment I'm moving into. Picture this, there is a half wall dividind the bedroom from the living area, but the top half of the wall is actually made up of wooden carved columns painted with glossy, tacky, shiny, fake wood paint. I suppose I can saw them off carefully and keep them until my lease is up, but what if I can't put them back up? I wonder how they are attached to the wall and the ceiling... I could also use a courtain, or maybe even hang some posters up to cover them, but that would be tacky too and it would defeat the purpose.
Meh, can you see the kind of trivial issues that occupy my mind lately? I hope August comes fast and school starts soon, I need to put my brain to better use!