WALLPAPER WOES

Wallpaper: the word alone can strike fear into the hearts of do-it-yourselfers. The thought of choosing the pattern, applying it to the wall, and after all of that work, what if you’re not happy with it? The fear of it all overtakes us, so we just decide to paint (yawn). I am here to ease any wallpaper woes that you might have and take the fear out of adding wallpaper to your decorating. I have always been a fan of wallpaper, even when it wasn’t the “cool” thing to do. I just love how the application of it can instantly change the feel of a room. Wallpaper can take a room from ho-hum to fabulous in minutes (or days depending on your speed of hanging it)

Wallpaper: the word alone can strike fear into the hearts of do-it-yourselfers.

Here are some of my ideas to ease into the world of wallpaper:

• FOCAL WALL: I know many of you are familiar with the concept of painting a wall in your room as the focal wall. The rest of the space might be a nondescript neutral, but you allow yourself to walk on the wildside, well tiptoe there anyway, with an experiment of vivid color on one wall. Let’s apply that same idea to a wallpaper focal wall. Choose a paper that you love, maybe that super bold pattern that you are too squeamish to apply to the entire room, and simply apply it to the wall behind your bed, sofa, dining room sideboard, anywhere! Choose the wall, choose a coordinating paper, and go for it!

 

 Wallpaper can take a room from ho-hum to fabulous in minutes

• PAINTABLE PAPER: Texture is a component that all rooms need in some form or fashion, so what about textured walls? There are lots of paintable textured (or sometimes called "embossed") wallpapers on the market that you can paint to any color, shade or patina, over and over again-just like your typical walls. The papers also come in tons of patterns to match any décor.  (ANAGLYPTA AND LINCRUSTA are two classic textured papers that you might have heard of). A nice feature of textured wallpaper is that it hides imperfections in your wall if the wall is a little old or bumpy. I have used textured paper in older homes over rough plaster and also over paneling. So don’t tear out your old paneled walls, just apply paper and go!  Another favorite of mine is to choose a pattern reminiscent of a tin ceiling and add it to your ceiling and then paint with a metallic paint for a very realistic look.  Textured and paintable wallpapers are a great way to ease into wallpaper, but still have control over the paper if it becomes “too much.”

So don’t tear out your old paneled walls, just apply paper and go!

 

• WALLPAPER OBJECTS: To really walk slowly into wallpaper, think about objects and accessories onto which you can apply the patterned paper. Some things to paper include: lampshades, serving trays, pencil holders, simple decorative boxes and more! This list can go on and on…

Other fun applications:
*Buy standard canvas frames and apply a great wallpaper to the frames and hang on the wall as Instant Artwork!

*Insert a wallpaper clipping into a glass picture frame and hang

*Cut a piece of wallpaper the exact size of the top of a chest or table and lay glass over the top for an instant update to a tired table

*Wallpaper your light and outlet switch plates

Make sure that you correctly prepare the walls by cleaning, filling holes, painting bare walls, etc.

On the application side of things: If you are totally afraid of hanging the paper yourself, hire someone. However, once you get started, it is relatively easy to do. Don’t choose a intricate pattern that you have to match closely for your first time hanging-this can be difficult to master. Also, make sure that you correctly prepare the walls by cleaning, filling holes, painting bare walls, etc.

So get thee to a wallpaper store and apply!