Talk to me about wallpaper

[MontrealMum]

It's been years since I was involved in wallpapering anything and I was a child at the time. Due to my obsessive HGTV watching I am aware that things have changed since then. I seem to recall hearing that there are types of wallpaper now that don't require all sorts of messy paste? If you know anything about this, could you please point me to some brands? So I need either a name or a link to an actual product as the stores are all different here. I'd rather have paint on all the walls but it seems to me that covering over the hideous wallpaper in our hallway would be the simpler/quicker route.
TIA!

[mackmama]

I've also started to like wallpapers thanks to HGTV. I don't know any details about the paste, so I'll also be watching this thread. If you do decide to remove your existing wallpaper, though, I just wanted to pass on something that helped me. Mix warm water and fabric softener and spray on the walls. The wallpaper comes off a lot easier! (I learned this from an HGTV show of course) :)

[Pepper]

See if there's a paint and wallpaper store in your area - not a big-box Home Depot thing, but a mom-and-pop outfit. They will have the best selection of papers and can give you advice/help with hanging it. Be sure to take the sample books home and look at your choices in the hallway itself - sometimes the paper you love looks awful in the room's lighting, or the scale of the patern is wrong for the space. (The store may ask for a deposit when you take the books home, which is usually credited towards a purchase).

After you strip the old wallpaper, take the time to prep the walls - wash them down with a sponge & a solution of TSP (a dergent that you can get at the hardware store) and then wipe with plain water. Buy some "wallpaper primer" and give the walls a coat - it will make it easier to hang the wallpaper, plus easier to remove it if you want to redo it in the future.

Personally I don't think the pre-pasted papers are that much easier to use...you have to dip them in water, then "book" the paper (i.e. fold it in half so that the pasted sides are together, then let it rest for 5 min) anyway. With papers that you paste you can just cover a big table with newspaper, brush on the paste, then book the papers...hmmm now that I think about it, I think there's something called paste activator that you can use with the pre-pasted papers, so you don't have to mess around with water.

Have fun!

[twowhat?]

Are you thinking of papering OVER existing wallpaper? I believe you can paint over existing wallpaper as well as long as you prep the old wallpaper underneath correctly...not sure how but I would imagine it would involve some amount of at least tearing the paper away from the edges or wherever it can peel up. And possibly applying something to prime the remaining wallpaper and make sure it adheres to the drywall (forever haha).

In our new house they did a hand-troweled texture and paint OVER existing wallpaper because it would've been a nightmare to remove the paper from the entire (huge) master bedroom and bathroom with really high pitched ceilings (no idea WHY they put the paper all the way up there to begin with). But - I am not convinced they prepped correctly to do this because along the edges of the doorframes, etc I can see the paint peeling back with the wallpaper (which is how I figured out that they had painted over wallpaper to begin with). Ah well, not too noticeable and when we really need to we'll re-do it the right way. Or pay someone:)

[MontrealMum]

Thanks, everyone, this is great! Yes, I'm thinking of papering over the existing paper. It seemed less time consuming to me. Though, of course, I don't want it peeling off so I'd want to prep it properly.

I don't know if I could paint over it or not because the paper is highly textured and it would look weird, I think. Though I did pick up a bunch of paint chips today at Home Depot.

My DH thinks I'm nuts, by the way. I can't be the only woman who does minor home reno on her own, can I? Of course, he also doesn't think the existing wallpaper is ugly and the darkness of the hallway doesn't bother him.

[mackmama]

It bothers you, so I say go for it. I think you might need to remove the existing wallpaper though. Maybe not - ask at Home Depot?

[twowhat?]

Thanks, everyone, this is great! Yes, I'm thinking of papering over the existing paper. It seemed less time consuming to me. Though, of course, I don't want it peeling off so I'd want to prep it properly.

I don't know if I could paint over it or not because the paper is highly textured and it would look weird, I think. Though I did pick up a bunch of paint chips today at Home Depot.
My DH thinks I'm nuts, by the way. I can't be the only woman who does minor home reno on her own, can I? Of course, he also doesn't think the existing wallpaper is ugly and the darkness of the hallway doesn't bother him.

If you do add a texture before you paint, it might be a non-issue. Lots of textures to choose form (knockdown, trowled, orange peel, etc).

[brittone2]

We removed wallpaper from a few rooms in our current house. We refined our technique in DS1's bedroom where it was only on one wall and not in a common living area. After completing that we kind of had the hang of it. Toward the end of the removal in our study (a fully wallpapered room) we had found our groove and it wasn't that hard. We preferred using the steamer and after a while Dh could get it steamed off in big sheets that came off neatly (using a scraper).

There were a few things like it appeared the PO had maybe superglued a few loose spots down through the years as that adhesive was clearly different. We really had to clean the walls well afterward. Some spackling, etc.

I don't think I'd want to paper over paper if I could avoid it. I'd probably just try to remove the old stuff. I have heard some horror stories though where the walls weren't primed/sized correctly underneath and paper was on the bare drywall, which makes repairs a pain.

MIL changes paper by herself every few years and acts like it is no big deal at all. She isn't really bothered by removing or applying it. I am totally amazed at her skill!

[Jo..]

OMG. JUST SAY NO to wallpaper.

In WV I had to strip dang near every room.

Here in OK, I have a friend looking for a house, and she is shocked by the ugly wallpaper. She was like "Do you HAVE to WP your bathroom in a disgusting floral to live in Oklahoma"?

I was like, yes, I think you do.

My neighbors (60s) have WP everywhere. I don't like it. PAINT and walk away!

[MamaMolly]

I love wallpaper. Love, love, love it. It is SO much easier to do than paint, IMO. (granted, that is just me!!!)

I have always only used the pre-pasted paper. And yes, it can be goopy, but they make a plastic dipping bucket thingy that is a wide as the paper and shallow. So you cut the length you need, dip it, fold the glued ends towards the middle so all the glue is touching glue, and then hang it after it rests for about 4 minutes.

The hardest part is hanging the first piece perfectly straight. Once that one goes in the rest is just matching up the pattern. Use a plumb line or laser level to get a perfectly straight vertical line, then go for it.

You'll probably need to remove the paper that is already on there. If it is textured enough that it would show through paint it will likely show through another paper that is put over it.

I've had 2 different experiences with old paper. In the first house DH and I had, it was so easy. I picked an edge of the paper and it peeled right up. The walls had been primed for paper obviously. The second was at my sister's house. The paper had been put on dry wall and we did a craptastic job of getting it off. We cheaped out on tools and remover, and her walls suffered for it. If I had to do it over I'd totally rent a steamer.

HTH! I love paper, I think you'll love the results. And if not, peel them off and try again! :)

[lowrioh]

I have heard some horror stories though where the walls weren't primed/sized correctly underneath and paper was on the bare drywall, which makes repairs a pain.

That is exactly what we are dealing with right now. I finally got DH to strip the ugly wall paper in our bedroom and it looks like the walls were never primed so it is a mess. I think that I'm going to look into some sort of paint effect because I'm sure that the dry wall repairs are going to be extensive.

[boolady]

I'm not a huge wallpaper fan, probably as a result of growing up in a town with a lot of Queen Anne and gothic Victorians that had way too many wallpapered rooms competing with each other for attention; but, my parents recently wallpapered only their dining room when they moved, because my mom saw this wallpaper in a magazine and loved it. Their dining room is done exactly like this-- paper on top, paneled on the bottom. It looks beautiful. They were very happy with this brand, which seems to have many different design styles.

http://thibautdesign.com/images/collections/cypress/sha_roomset_550.jpg

http://thibautdesign.com/index.php

[MontrealMum]

If you do add a texture before you paint, it might be a non-issue. Lots of textures to choose form (knockdown, trowled, orange peel, etc).

Hmmm, this is very tempting. I'm going to look into it.

Our walls are plaster (the house is over 100 years old) and I have no idea what went into putting the paper up there but based on some of the other DIYs done by the previous owner I'm guessing it may have been a bit half-baked. The crazy woman sponge painted the bathroom door and ceiling and then put some sort of crackle paint over that. That was fun to remove!

[MontrealMum]

That's a gorgeous room, Boolady!

[boolady]

That's a gorgeous room, Boolady!

I'll admit to being wrong when I'm wrong :) ...I was a huge naysayer about the paper and it turned out looking great. It's made me realize that I think I just object to too much wallpaper, not well done wallpaper itself.

[gatorsmom]

I'm not a huge wallpaper fan, probably as a result of growing up in a town with a lot of Queen Anne and gothic Victorians that had way too many wallpapered rooms competing with each other for attention; but, my parents recently wallpapered only their dining room when they moved, because my mom saw this wallpaper in a magazine and loved it. Their dining room is done exactly like this-- paper on top, paneled on the bottom. It looks beautiful. They were very happy with this brand, which seems to have many different design styles.



http://thibautdesign.com/index.php

thank you for this suggestion. That wallpaper is gorgeous! I"m pinning that website!