Wallpaper is one of my absolute favorite things to use to update a space...any space, every space. OK, maybe not EVERY space but you get the idea. It is a relatively inexpensive way to add awesome to a space (depending on the type of paper you snag!). I will show you (wait for it...) six, yes SIX different places I have used wallpaper in my current house (two ideas from my last house). I will only ever and for always use peel and stick. It is the best. And if you have ever removed pasted wallpaper you fully understand why the entire world should also use peel and stick. It is the way.
1 - Accent Wall
It all started with this gorgeous girl. I took one look at her and new I had to have her.
The one spot I knew I wanted to hang her was a little vanity room(?) Can't think of what else to call it! It's a little room that connects our bathroom to our bedroom and has the door to our closet. So, vanity room it is. When we bought our home this past summer this little room already had the counter and small set of drawers attached to the wall (amongst some nasty carpet and dated wallpaper). So I was hoping I could use a lot of what was already there to make it awesome again.
Here's a shot of the room before (complete with the old wallpaper and light fixtures). The next pic is after removing the carpet, old wallpaper , light fixtures and taking out the little cabinet and desk/counter top.
I sanded the desk, stained it and sealed it. Then it was time for...WALLPAPER :).
So good, right? I'm not much of a primper...BUT I WILL BE NOW. Light fixture is from Amazon (yes, it came with two, but putting two lights in here wasn't going to work out...so if I can't find a place in the house for the other one...do you want to buy it off me? Hit a girl up, yo...), mirror is from Target and Indiana Josh made me that stool! Updating the hardware on the cabinet was much more involved than I wanted it to be, so that will come later. I AM BUT ONE WOMAN.
After Before After
I only ended up using one of the two rolls I had purchased so I immediately started searching around my house for....
2 - A Nook
I love me a nook. I use the word WAY too much for WAY too many places. BUT I LOVE A NOOK. Enter...BOOK NOOK. There is a very weird space in our home that was once used as a planter (at least we took out a huge metal bin that was full of dirt...so...).
It wasn't in the budget to remove it and we didn't want to enclose it and make the space feel smaller. It's a nook right next to our entryway and at the top of the stairs heading down to our family room.
BEFORE AFTER
I painted the brick black (obviously :) and then went to town with the same wallpaper. When you put wallpaper in a little nook like this it defines the space and makes it look intentional. Plus my kids LOVE books. And I knew they would freak when they saw this in the morning #momoftheyear Book ledges are from IKEA! If you nook it, they will come.
3 - Small Room
Let's talk about frogs. The half bathroom right off of our family room had frog wallpaper. At first I thought it was bizarre, then I thought it was awesome, then I just got too much side-eye from the frogs and THEY HAD TO GO. (It was QUITE the emotional roller coaster.) But I knew I wanted wallpaper in this bathroom. And I also knew it was a small enough room that it could handle wallpaper on every wall. Without a window I didn't want to get too cray-cray and go dark. So when I found this paper I knew it was perfect. Plus I felt like the birds were a little nod to the frogs, "Hey! We're animals too!" Perhaps I was feeling guilty about the frogs?! I mean...maybe...
BEFORE AFTER
It works! And it's a small room so I felt like it could handle ALL the paper, and not just an accent wall. Welcome, birds, we hope you're quite comfortable here.
4 - Stair Risers
I think this is probably my new favorite place to put some peel and stick. Clearly I have no problem putting it in lots of places...but this one...oooooh weeee...I likey. I wish I had a better before pic here. But the green tile that was covering the steps got removed way before move-in for us and this is all I have. Our amazing contractor used a heat gun and scraped ALL of that off to preserve the wood underneath. SO impressive.
BEFORE AFTER the heat gun magic AFTER sanding /before wallpaper
I actually had this paper for awhile. I snagged two rolls when I saw it was on a crazy sale on Amazon. I wasn't sure where I was going to use it until my sister said, "You could always use some wallpaper if you don't want to paint the riser." (Which I have been calling stair "faces" for quite some time. Oh boy.) I realized I still had this black and gold beauty and it called to me. Plus the gold in the paper looks so dang good with the golden tone of the floor. IT WAS MEANT TO BE.
One of my favorite transformations in the house so far. I'm crazy about it. So crazy about it that I did the stairs going up to the bedroom level using this paper...
I couldn't use the same paper on these steps because it competed too much with the kitchen floor. But this paper is black with a wood grain so it looks awesomesauce. (It's closer to contact paper but still peels and sticks so easily.) AND IT WAS $8. I only needed two small rolls to get these babies done. SIXTEEN DOLLARS (did the math myself).
5 - (ALMOST DONE, I PROMISE) Kitchen Backsplash
6 - Faux Tile in a Bathroom!
We didn't have the budget/desire/know-how to do a kitchen backsplash in our last home so I put up peel and stick!
And then I wanted to do an inexpensive upgrade to help make our last master bath less builder-grade. So I added a peel and stick subway tile.
Boom. WALLPAPER. I love you so.
Tips:
-My favorite place to shop for peel and stick wallpaper is Amazon. It is hard to beat their prices. (Still price check sites before you buy to make sure you're getting the best deal.) Prices fluctuate on Amazon so be patient too! (I don't like to spend more than around $30/roll so these projects are affordable. And so I can buy more wallpaper later... :)
-Use peel and stick. Always and forever. If you change your mind you can easily switch it out or just take it down.
-Use Pinterest to get an idea of what certain wallpaper would look like in a space before you buy it.
-Calculate how much paper you're going to need first so you know exactly how many rolls and the cost of the project.
-If you are drawn to more expensive paper then think through a smaller space to use it so one roll doesn't mess up your retirement.
-If you're nervous, call me, I'll be right over.
Go get you some paper! Or I'll get you some. Either way...WALLPAPER.
Hugs & Kisses,
Best Friends Forever,
Never Change,
B