C&C at Home :: Let’s Talk Wallpaper
Okay, so some of you saw the title of this post and got a little giddy…others of you may have shuttered at the thought of wallpaper. For the latter group, by the end of this post, you will be sprinting to your nearest wallpaper store to pick out the perfect pattern for your space! Just trust me on this.
Let me first tell you that I used to HATE wallpaper.
I loathed it mainly because in my short life I’ve taken down many a stubborn strip of paper. Paper that seemed, no matter the concoction sprayed on it, there was bound to be a sad piece of sheet rock left over that would need a serious layer of mud applied to make it even remotely smooth. On more than one occasion I concluded it may haven been easier to rip the whole wall out than try to scrape the wallpaper off.
When we moved into our current home eight years ago, our dining room had a wall covering that I was not a fan of and so we began the stripping process. This is where it got fun for me… Knowing a little about the family that had lived here for YEARS before us, I got a little glimpse into their past…
Somewhere along the way someone, most likely the lady of the home – Mrs. Lilla, had gotten tired of this beautiful vintage yellow-bird wallpaper and covered it with a 1990s-ish striped paper. I may have gasped a little when I saw the yellow birds because, how cute are they?! And why would you cover them? They were so charming and lovely.
Oh but wait, behind the yellow birds was another wallpaper – this lovely pink damask print that had me feeling all nostalgic to know what the dining room had looked like in the 1960s. I loved it and wished I had thought of a way to preserve just a little piece of this memory from the previous owners.
After stripping all the wallpaper, we had a very sad wall left behind from all the scraping and pulling, and hired some friends to come in and smooth out the wall so that it could be painted. In my then-limited knowledge and imagination of wallpapers I was scared of choosing something ‘dated’ or ugly, or worse yet, that I would hate a year later and then what?
So I stayed away from it altogether.
Until recently.
My new affinity for Wallpaper:
Just a few years ago, we remodeled our powder room and I convinced myself that I wanted to wallpaper it. So where did I turn for inspiration? Pinterest, of course. After months of looking at different options I kept returning to Tanzania by Thibault. I drove to my local wallpaper specialist store and the owner knew exactly which one I wanted and so we had it installed.
Fast forward about two years and we’re now flipping houses full time and have our own ‘Wallpaper Guy’ named Charlie. He’s amazing and has done several projects for us; one that I love the most, this Egrets pattern from York Coverings. I first spotted this pattern on Anthropologie’s website in a green motif. I loved it and Andrew hated it. Passionately. We may have even had a slight argument about the look of the bathroom I wanted to put it in.
After not wanting to give up on this gorgeous paper, I found it in a taupey-cream at my wallpaper store. We agreed that it would fit the downstairs bathroom in our 808 King Street project beautifully so Charlie came in and installed it for us.
Fast-forward to this year and Rifle paper brought out peel-and-stick wallpaper. What could possibly be easier, I thought!
Someone else installing it was the answer.
I anticipated having both time and capacity to spend a few hours one day installing Garden Party, but much to my dismay, it sat and sat in my laundry room until I couldn’t stand it any longer. So I ended up calling Charlie to see when he could fit me in on his calendar.
After just an hour or so, the entry wall to my laundry room had a bright, new cheery disposition! And now I love doing laundry! {well, maybe not…} But it is definitely the happiest spot in our home, and the first thing you see coming in from the garage.
If I haven’t convinced you at this point that wallpaper is a good idea, let me give you so PROs:
- Wallpaper breaks up the monotony of paint in any room or home
- Wallpaper can be used as art, even if just on an accent wall
- If chosen wisely, wallpaper can withstand many years of decor changes
- There is a wallpaper right for you and your space
After staring at many wallpaper samples and adding to my Pinterest board, I am CONVINCED that there is a wallpaper just right for you. From vintage birds and florals, geometrical shapes and designs, Damask and everything in between…there is a vast array of patterns and colors from which to choose. It just may take you a month or three to find exactly what you’re looking for. Just be patient and keep looking.
For someone that was a total wallpaper critic and skeptic, I’ve come a long way. I have Garden Party in my laundry room, right next to the powder room that features Tanzania and it WORKS. I was worried at first that it would be too much but after having Garden Party installed it’s amazing. The gray/black of Tanzania pulls out the black in the flowers of Garden Party and they compliment each other rather delightfully.
If you’re scared…
There are MANY varieties of peel-and-stick available now. Grab a roll and do a small wall, door or even the ceiling of your closet {it would be AMAZING!}. If you’re still scared of the peel-and-stick like I was, hire a professional to install it. Pro tip: thicker papers make installers happier than the flimsy, thin wallpapers even if they’re the peel-and-stick kind 🙂
If you’re ready to jump in with both feet to a non-peel-and-stick, still hire a professional. Why? First, let them measure. Wallpapers are super tricky because they use phrases like ‘single roll’ and ‘double roll’ when purchasing and unless you’re uber confident you can figure out the lingo, just let the pros do it. He will tell you how much you need {more than what you may think…} and how long it will take him to install it, aka how much he will charge you.
If you think you have a paper you will love but still are unsure you’ll still like it in a year, tape your sample to a prominent spot on the wall so you can see it every day. Does it make you happy? Are the colors appealing to you most days? Why do you like it? If after several weeks or even months you still love it, go for it and don’t look back. Next thing you know, you’ll be wallpapering everything in sight!
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