Don't do it! PO in our last house did and it was awful. We couldn't remove the wallpaper and had to use an intense multi coat process to paint over the wallpaper and it never looked right. You will create a much larger problem down the road if you skimp now.

Sure you can. So long as you don't ever expect to get the wallpaper off the wall, or so long as you won't mind having to reskim the walls with 3/8" sheetrock afterward and then fix all the molding.

Prime the wall with paint primer first to help protect the sheetrock.

Then apply a wallpaper sealer and primer.

Here's why...

Here is a link that might be useful: Why prime

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Thu, Jul 17, 14 at 7:49

I'm with Annie ...

Use the PVA drywall sealant and at least one good coat of flat latex paint on all drywall (even the stuff that will be behind cabinets).

Then apply the proper wallpaper primer so you can remove it without chewing up the drywall, and then do the wallpaper.

You might want to try posting on the Painting forum about this to see what the pro painters recommend. I would apply Zinsser Shieldz first. It will also make applying the wallpaper easier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Zinsser Shieldz

If you LOVE wall paper then you will no doubt want to change the paper as years go by in this your "forever" home. Do it right the first time--save you HOURS AND HOURS of time not to mention the money the fix will cost later.

Thanks for the input. I grew up in the northeast, and oftentimes when people changed out wallpaper, they simply slapped it on top of the previous paper. I'd probably go ahead and prime the wall, but my main concern was whether the tape/mud would show through without adding a level 5 flat texture to the wall.

My house still has 30 year old wallpaper(solidly adhered directly to wallboard -under paint. My only other choice was to replace the wallboard. In most of the house the paint has held up well, but in a couple of places (like the dining room wall that backs up to a dryer vent) the paper eventually loosened and buckled. I just patched and patched and patched the board after pulling it off, but would really have to replace the sheet rock to make it perfect.