Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
lenagirl

Is wallpaper coming back in??

lenagirl
13 years ago

I finally stripped all my wallpaper down in my bathroom and the walls are so bad that I need to re-wallpaper. I am going to do beadboard on the bottom. Any pictures of this combo. My bathroom is really big with vaulted ceilings and I didn't want to spend a lot of money. HELP- I need ideas!!!!

Comments (26)

  • greenthumbfish
    13 years ago

    Is wallpaper coming back in??

    Only for those that don't have to put it up or take it down and who can afford to change it out every 5 years when it looks dated.

    Fix the walls and paint, you'll be glad you did.

  • graywings123
    13 years ago

    Wallpaper is a breeze to take down if the walls are prepped correctly.

    70's-ish wallpaper is re-appearing in magazines, and the really good stuff never went out of style.

    I love wallpaper.

    Beadboard and wallpaper, however, I'm not so sure. I would do one or the other.

  • My3dogs ME zone 5A
    13 years ago

    I'm with graywings all the way. I have Thibaut and Waverly wallpaper in my house, and it gets rave reviews from those who see it. The upstairs bath is also wallpaper and headboard. The paper there is Thibaut's 'Paysannerie' toile, with a valance I made from their matching fabric.

  • pinch_me
    13 years ago

    I've always used wallpaper. I just finished papering my new bathroom with black paper with a very small gold/copper design on it. Living room was papered 4 years ago. Those colors are not "current" and I had a terrible time finding drapery fabric to match. I will always use paper no matter what anyone else does. The paper these days is not your grandmother's paper. It's much easier to take off now.

    And I papered the ceiling, too.

  • greenthumbfish
    13 years ago

    To each his own, I stand by what I said. If you're DYI-ing, most likely the wall paper WASN'T put up correctly.

    I just finished taking the kitchen WP off - did the powder room 5 yrs ago, master bathroom is next and I'm not looking forward to it, although I think it might be the easiest of the three due to the humidity level.

    SIL had (not DYI) her dining room painted and patterned (like wall paper) because the hired job was CHEAPER! It looks fabulous too!

  • sheesh
    13 years ago

    You're right, greenthumbfish, it is "To each his own" and always has been. I love my wallpaper, too, and have always had it. It isn't very popular on this forum, though.

    Beautiful rooms above, folks!

  • lindac
    13 years ago

    Classic style is NEVER out of vogue...

  • oceanna
    13 years ago

    I have always loved good wallpaper.

    Have you thought about doing a textured paint-it-yourself wallpaper? This (below) is lincrusta, which costs an arm and a leg, has deep recesses, and is quite firm. But I always thought you could do a bathroom in this with the regular you-paint-it embossed wallpaper, just using these techniques. It would be breathtaking. I might try out some samples on cardboard first. I've been thinking about this for my guest bath.

    The way to do the two-toned ones is first paint on the color you want to stick out the most, painting the whole wall with it. Next, paint on the color that will be the most recessed, then wipe it off with a fairly stiff flat sponge. The effects you can get are endless.

    This would also cover up a world of sins on your bumpy wall. Please show us pictures if you do it!

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    13 years ago

    I've had (and have seen) some really rotten experiences stripping wallpaper. Sometimes it was no surprise - totally expected that the walls were not prepped for the paper. Then there have been other times when everyone did everything they were suppose to in prepping the walls -- and the darn stuff was STILL a bear to strip.

    One of my contractor friends, Tim Bodine, totally clued me in on why even the best prepped walls sometimes won't give up the paper.

    All the products that are sometimes called sizing, or wallpaper primer, or whatever don't really work that well all the time. Or not everyone follows the directions for drying time, etc. Even if the directions are followed for those products, they may work on an interior wall with constant temps, but on an outside wall it gets far more dicey due to the temp changes and the chemical reactions that happen in that thin layer of "goo" between the paper and the drywall.

    If you want to use wallpaper, you must, must, must prep with GARDZ. It will help in the hanging process because it provides a dreamy, workable slip to get the paper up and where it's suppose to be AND because it won't break down over time or go thru some weird morphing due to other circumstances.

    Prep with GARDZ and even cheap wallpaper goes up easier and it all will come off the wall when you're ready for a change.

    I've done it. I've tested it and Tim is not full of sh!t. I kinda suspected he might be a little out there about wallpaper + GARDZ, but ends up he has this one nailed.

  • noellabelle
    13 years ago

    When we moved into our home 6 years ago, the entire place was wallpapered, and most was definitely not our taste (lots of the shimmery pink floral 80's look). Some came off easily, some took FOREVER to get off. Dh and I made a pact that we'd never put up wallpaper again!

    I do really like the look of the textured paintable paper posted above, or something in a subtle stripe. But I much much prefer paint, and I've had quite a bit of experience by now of fixing not so nice walls under wallpaper....if you want beadboard/paint, it's fixable!

  • pamelah
    13 years ago

    It's threads like this one that have made me an avid reader of this forum. Thanks, Oceanna, for the Lincrusta pics! I was not familiar with the product, so although I have seen pics of beautiful rooms that were likely done with Lincrusa, I would not have known how the look was achieved!

    I am going to order some samples of Lincrusta and Anaglypta Textured Vinyl High Leaf from wallpapersplus.com. It will be interesting to compare the effects that can be achieved with the Anaglypta (90% less cost) vs the Lincrusa.

  • susieq07
    13 years ago

    Wallpaper never goes out! I purchased a textured stone wallpaper and used it for several feature walls in my home, and love it!
    big wall in foyer:


    niche' up high in greatrm.

    bistro setting guest suite:

  • CaroleOH
    13 years ago

    I like wallpaper. I had wallpaper in my small powder bath and when I stripped it, the walls weren't in the best condition - hence why the wallpaper was put on in the first place. So, I redid the wallpaper. This time I did a textured solid color and it looks really nice.

    I have wallpaper in my foyer, stairwell and upstairs hall. It's been there 10 years and it's time for either a change or a removal/paint job. I have done alot of wallpapering but am not sure I'm up for this challenge. I had someone come and do it 10 years ago. I think I may just strip and paint.

  • biochem101
    13 years ago

    RE: the walls being really bad.

    Are you going to be there 10 years? Or move before you would probably change it? You don't want to put it off.

    Our house had 40 years of wallpaper in multiple layers when we moved in. Others had *tried* to remove it, discovered the problem (original paper applied to wallboard w/o sufficient prep) and re-wallpapered (instead of fixing) in successively heavier and more textured layers, finally ending in grasscloth. Plus stuff like that pictured above.

    We've been removing all the way down (below the wallboard!) one room at a time for years now. It's been a trip. Lots of spackling and sanding later most of the house (all but one BR) has smooth painted walls. Some of them had to be gouged out pretty bad too. PITA. IF you're halfway there I'd continue removing at this point.

  • oceanna
    13 years ago

    Pamelah, you're very welcome! Thanks for letting me know you appreciated it. It's exciting that you ordered some samples to play around with and I hope you post with pics when you do. Lincrusta is the firmest, highest relief, and most expensive. Anaglypta is next step down, and paintable wallpaper is the most affordable. All three can be beautiful and add depth and interest to a room. I love the samples I posted above (got them off the web) because they are elegant, timeless and so unexpected.

    My3dogs, don't know if I ever told but I have loved every pic you've posted of your beautiful home. You have a wonderful flair for color and decor.

    PinchMe, wow, you did a lot of work there and it looks great. I wouldn't have thought of the black.

    After learning about it here, I did my split entry stair walls, and my dining room in the Graham and Brown beadboard wallpaper. It's raised and it looks exactly like the real thing, and is only $25/roll. Much easier to put up than the real thing -- especially on stairs. I LOVE it! I'm sorry, this area is hard to photograph and the pictures don't do it justice, but I've had tons of compliments on it.

    In the dining room the upper walls are a golden tan and the effect is really pretty. Sorry, I don't have photos of it right now.

    This is not my house but I saved this pic because I really like it. You could do this with two different wallpapers...

    What happened to the gal who started this thread? No feedback from her?

  • rosysunnygirl
    13 years ago

    Actually wallpaper's been back in for a few years now. In some circles, it was never out.

    Lots of the modern papers are even easy to put up yourself (you just paste the wall and unroll the paper), but I've been told the key to easy removal in the future and keeping the paper on the wall is to use oil based paint instead of water-based latex. My new painter (a longtime wallpaperer) swears by it (and so do her references). Might be worth a try.

    Just my 2 cents, but everything we do to our homes is at some point going to look out of date to somebody. Fashion goes in and out all the time -- just look how many times toile has been "out of style"... but good style always recycles itself back around in some way. And some things that initially seemed risky at the time -- like painting walls anything other than white or ivory -- become accepted by nearly everyone and seem like the height of good taste (like those shades of yellow, tan, and green that are in every new-construction house or on staging shows now).

    Modern paper's not cheap, but you don't need a ton to make a statement. If you want to check it out, I've had luck at these sites:

    Wallpaper Collective: www.wallpapercollective.com/

    Graham and Brown (I've got "Desire" in teal on the way for my entryway): www.grahambrown.com/us/index

    Ideal Home UK (The British design magazines are a bit ahead of most of our mainstream ones, and I think their look is fresher and much more creative; maybe you will, too): www.idealhomemagazine.co.uk/

    Living Etc (also in the UK): www.livingetc.com/

    Wallpaper Direct (in the UK -- shipping is super-high, but the videos are great for inspiration): www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk/videos.php

    Good luck with whatever you do with your project!

  • kjmama
    13 years ago

    Here is beadboard and fabric - could be wallpaper though

    Here is a link that might be useful: photo 6

  • gsciencechick
    13 years ago

    I think the toile with beadboard as in my3dogs is classic and never out of style.

    When I was at the SW store picking up paint, there was an interior designer looking at the wallpaper books. There were really lots of stunning ones in there.

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    13 years ago

    One huge advantage of GARDZ is the quick drying time. Oil paint like other products takes time to set up and that's one of the failures in the process.

    Tim explains it pretty well.

    "Most hangers use a water-based acrylic pre-wallcovering primer. The specs usually say to let it dry for 24 hours before initializing the next step. Hmm. How many of us apply the next coat when the primer is dry enough to touch or lightly sand? Yeah, me too."

    Here's the whole scoop, story.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Why GARDZ

  • lenagirl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for all the feedback....I've been so busy I just got back on gardenweb today. I have beadboard in my bathroom downstairs and I put a sample of wallpaper above it. I looks okay, I just hate the thought of putting up wallpaper but in order to save my marriage, I might have too.(ha-ha) When I took down my wallpaper in the kitchen my husband and I were arguing non-stop! It took forever to get the walls in descent condition. I'll post pictures once I decide.:)

  • susanelewis
    13 years ago

    Just a thought but you could use wallpaper liner paper to help smooth out your walls. I have used the stuff to cover up paneling and also bad walls where the previous owners wallpapered directly to the drywall, overlapped the seams and then painted over it. OMG it was horrid. The liner paper did a great job camouflaging the horror underneath and then I put a great texture wallpaper on top. I got lots of compliments on it after it was done.

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    13 years ago

    Several years ago I stripped wallpaper from a bathroom too and the walls were awful. I thought I had smoothed things out, but when the new faux ragged treatment went up, it was far from smooth. However, the whole thing with the faux and ragged walls ended up looking like stucco and actually looked pretty good and possibly intentional!

    However, I have since done it over. I think faux is out. This time I was much more experienced at patching and smoothing the walls and they came out fine. The only areas that are not great are a few small spots around the vanity or toilet that you just can't get a good angle on to sand well. But with 98% of the walls now smooth, I can live with a few less than perfect areas.

    My patching compound of choice is called "Ready Patch". In a black can I think. Sometimes two thin coats may be needed. After dry, sponge off excess with hot water. (not too wet, not too dry). Then let dry again and lightly sand as needed. (too much sanding makes a crazy dust mess... so I try to minimize that by the pre-wash step and not over applying the product in the first place.) Then prime and paint.

    You can do it! Its a little tedious but at least its a bathroom so its probably not a large room.

    Having said that, wallpaper is still a good option. I would keep it neutral...a tone-on-tone kinda thing. I've never learned to install wallpaper nor did I want to, so it was not an option for me.

    Another choice, which I did in another bathroom, is to have some drywall people come in and skimcoat the walls. That was kinda pricey (a couple hundred?), but very EASY!

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    13 years ago

    oh yes and always sand with a sanding block of some sort. Its tempting to just use a piece of sandpaper, but it will end up wavy even though you think you are sanding flush.

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    13 years ago

    Oh, I just re-read the "vaulted ceilings and really big..." part.

    well, if its accessible enough to wallpaper, it is accessible enough to smooth and sand. Just takes longer. at least its a one-time thing.

  • pinch_me
    13 years ago

    I used bead board paper on my kitchen ceiling and 1x2 painted pine boards for "trim". I hung it every other direction in 4 ft. squares.

  • oceanna
    13 years ago

    Pinch Me -- Oh, I love that! What a super idea. That looks marvelous.

    That might be a great solution for after removal of a popcorn ceiling, too.

    Did you have trouble getting it to stick to the ceiling? Did it try to fall down on your head? I thought it was pretty good paper, and pretty easy to handle, but I didn't try it upside down.

    And what a sweet little china fixture!

    Did you all see this one I had posted to the gallery? I think this is really cool to have the light fixture look like a part of the wallpaper.