Do you have a boring wall?

                                                          Room without a window?

                                                                                                                  No focal point?

Here are some ideas:

If you like to paint, you can add stripes, an accent wall, a faux finish, a mural, or words.

More about this in upcoming blog posts.

You can wallpaper. But traditional wallpapering requires a pretty flat finished wall (no texture) and is usually quite permanent.

 

But what if you want a fun, fast, and can be a more temporary way to jazz up a wall?

Leave the hard-to-hang, even harder to remove, wallpaper that was our “grandmother’s thing” in the past. Think awesome “REMOVABLE” wallpaper!

 

Just completed my second project. My first was a geometric, this time palm fronds. Both of these had large bold patterns so the matching is a little bit trickier, but because you can remove and reposition, it is a bit more forgiving. Smaller more random patterns can be a little easier but choose what you LOVE!

 

Step 1: Pick your wall or walls

A wall to highlight a special piece of furniture, a fireplace wall, a wall opposite the entrance as you walk into the room, behind the vanity, the whole room, above a wainscot, or the ceiling. Or have some fun and line a corkboard, cover storage containers, line dressers, and bathroom drawers, and line the back wall of an armoire. Doing these types of small projects can allow you to practice working with peel-and-stick wallpaper.

 

Step 2: Measure the length and width of the wall(s) you want to cover

 

Step 3: Select and Order wallpaper

Wallpapers vary in length, width, and pattern repeat, so I suggest using the manufacturer’s instructions to calculate how many rolls you need. You will need extra for matching the pattern, and a little extra for the top and bottom. I find walls and the edge where the ceiling meets the wall, notorious for not being plumb. So, a little extra at the top and bottom is needed to get a clean straight edge along the ceiling and the baseboard. If the store allows returns of unopened rolls, purchase additional rolls to have on hand to use if needed.

Removable wallpaper can be found at most Lowes, Home Depot, other hardware stores, and online. Check out some selections on my Pinterest.

 

Step 4: Decide where to hang the first strip

Measure the width of the wall and divide by the width of the wallpaper. (If the wall is 9 feet or 108”, and your wallpaper is 20” wide, Divide 108/20=5.4 which means you need (6) 20” wide strips of wallpaper to cover the width of the wall.

Decide where you are going to start and make a plumb line. You can purchase a plumb bob (they are usually inexpensive) or create one by tying a string to something heavy like a heavy washer or weight. You can also use a level, but to be useful it should be 48” or longer. Why? Because you need that plumb line from floor to ceiling. The plumb bob allows you to create a line from floor to ceiling.

Walls are often NOT perfectly straight, so make sure your plumb line

allows for about a 2” allowance of extra wallpaper on each side of the adjacent walls. This allows you to use a straight edge and razor to trim the edge of the wallpaper so it fits perfectly into the corner where the two walls meet.

 

Step 5: Peel off about a quarter to a third of the backing on one strip

Position the wallpaper along the plumb line, matching the pattern and smoothing gently. Continue pulling down the backing, smoothing it into place, and removing air pockets as you go. Don’t pull too hard, it may cause the wallpaper to stretch.

Decide where and how the second piece lines up with the edge of the first piece. Unfortunately, there will probably be some waste paper on the top as you match up the second piece pattern with the first. Peel off about a quarter to a third of the backing on the second strip. Position the second piece of wallpaper along the edge of the first piece matching pattern and smoothing gently. Gently pull down the backing and smooth the wallpaper into place. Remove air pockets as you go.

 

Step 6: Trim the edges

Use a straight edge and razor blade to trim along the ceiling, baseboard, and adjacent wall corners. Be sure the razor blade is new and you are holding the straight edge tightly against where you are cutting.

I removed my first project about a year after it was hung. You could not tell it had ever been there. Remember that all homes and surfaces are different. The technique and product that worked for me may not always work the same way for you. Always use due diligence when doing any type of home improvement and assess how techniques are working for you.

Want more tips like this one to improve the look and feel of your home, vacation home, or maybe investment property?

My upcoming Blogs will be full of more great info and How-to’s for things that you will actually want to do . . . and I have a lot of great tips!

 

Subscribe here now plus receive my free video tips about organizing your closet —> https://gracebermudes.com/9secrets/

 

 

Find me on Pinterest

Join my Facebook group Your Awesome Organized Home

Find me on Linkedin 

 

Let’s get you enjoying a Beautiful Organized home!

 

–Grace

 

 

Find out how I can help you organize and beautify your home!

Grace Bermudes
Organize-Stage-Style/Refresh-E-Design

408-202-4272
Grace@GraceBermudes.com
www.GraceBermudes.com