If you missed Monday’s post, then you might not know it’s International Wallpaper Week and I’m giving props to this event with a series of blog posts about – wallpaper decorating ideas!
Photo by Holly Phillips @ The English Room
Growing up, almost every room in our house was wallpapered. Part of the reason for that is because my father owned an interior decorating business. So not only did my mother get free decorating labor, she also got wallpaper and paint at wholesale prices.
On a side note, my dad’s main gig was being a junior high math, science, and computer teacher. But since he had five kids to feed he needed to supplement his income. In addition to teaching and his decorating business, he was also a wrestling referee and a baseball umpire. No wonder my mother complained about him being away too much!
I always loved when my mother let me help her pick out wallpaper – especially for my bedroom. We’d go to the decorating store and look through big heavy books of wallpaper. I thought it was so cool that the store let you take the books to your house – much like checking a book out of the library.
Although I don’t currently have any wallpaper in my home, I would enjoy a single wallpapered wall in the bedroom – or any wall in the house for that matter. Wallpaper is a great way to emphasize an accent wall. You don’t even need artwork to help adorn it.
I love this old-fashioned looking wallpaper that pairs a geometric design with soft florals. This is a great choice if you can’t make up your mind which way you want to go.
I’ve seen people stencil patterns like this on walls, but I think it’d be much easier and faster to hang wallpaper with the same pattern. My dad taught me how to hang paper and when he officially retired from decorating, he gave me all his wallpapering tools – including the wallpaper boards to set out like a table making it easier to measure and cut the paper.
Photo by Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs
For me, hanging wallpaper is an art form. You have to cut properly to fit windows, but the most challenging is cutting curves to fit the paper around curved moldings. And then, of course, is the skill required to line the pattern up as you apply the paper to the wall. The ultimate compliment is when someone tells you that they can’t see the seams.
Whether you choose a big and bold pattern, or a small soft pattern, you’ll never run out of options when it comes to wallpaper decorating ideas. Paper the whole room, just one wall, or choose to paper only above or below a chair rail.
I’m loving some of the wallpaper murals you can find today. They quickly transform a boring, bland room into something special.
If florals aren’t your thing, there are numerous geometric pattern options available.
When my mother and I would look at wallpaper decorating ideas, she tended to choose contemporary papers whereas I opted for traditional florals and vines. Funny how that worked out – she liked modern and I liked old-fashioned.
One word of advice when it comes to choosing wallpaper – don’t buy the cheap stuff! It usually rips when you try to cut it and since it’s often thinner than the good stuff, it’s much harder to hang on the wall.
See More Bedroom Decorating Ideas:
How to Choose Bedding for a Beautiful Bedroom
I love your sweet stories! When we moved into our present home I kept the wallpaper in the baths and kitchen but took out the wallpaper bordes. I had a hunch that it was time for wallpaper to make a comeback and I really liked it.
When we first went to look at this home, my daughter and 8 year old granddaughter went with us. As we peered into the kitchen Grace Annie said, “Oh, Memommy, THIS is your house! Look at the blue and white wallpaper!!” She was right. 🙂
I’ve always had a spot of wallpaper somewhere in any home I’ve lived in. Paint, especially neutrals, is so impersonal but not so wallpaper. I’ve been through the old fashioned papers in bedrooms, the kitchen borders, the contemporary stripes – not all at the same time, of course. And now with the new removable wallpapers, you can change your mind or your decor any time you like – and a whole new set of decorators who are renters can join in the fun.
Oh these are just gorgeous. Really adds so much to a room. I have two rooms that have wallpaper, and the rest are painted. The only wallpaper I didn’t care for was the geometric pattern. Kind of makes you dizzy. But the rest of them I think were beautiful.
I loved all of the wallpapers except the geometric one. Florals are my favorite. I also like the fact that wallpaper can now come in a peel and stick form so you can change up more easily if you get bored with what you’ve done.
I’m glad wallpaper and murals are making a comeback.
I had pink Cinderella wallpaper when I was a little girl…it was so great!
Christine
New Hampshire
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I love wallpaper also. My current home has none, due to the labor of removing kitchen and bathroom wallpaper in our previous home. I had used Walltex paper and applied it to stay on forever. Whoop boy, what a job. But I still love it. And, like you, I prefer floral and vines. And the more modern large floral are nice too. My mother and I had wallpapering down to a science and made a great pair. We had our favorite tools, tricks, and a designated wallpaper board. Thus brings back wonderful memories. When I was pregnant with my first baby, we used a gender neutral paper (no ultrasounds) and painted the ceiling a really nice yellow in the nursery. And, on a side note, I once made patchwork curtains and a quilt ftom the fabric samples in the wallpaper books.
We have wallpaper in every room of our home! I, too, love looking at the books and bringing them home to see if the paper will look at wonderful as I think it will!