Would you.... wallpaper?
I've heard, read, seen that wallpaper is making a come back. It seems to come and go every 20 years or so. It think it was last popular back in the 80's or very early 90's.
Living in a vintage (1920) house, there is a lot of wallpaper buried beneath layers and layers of paint. Obviously, at one time, it was extremely popular to just paint right over the paper. Not sure what that was all about! Both of our upstairs bedrooms have a floral wall paper buried under the paint. The one room is kind of a cute, pink, floral paper... very vintage looking. It would be kind of cool to have it in that bedroom but I'm sure if I tried to peel the paint away, well let's just say I probably wouldn't have a good end result!
That said, I do like the look of old, vintage wallpaper. Shortly after we moved to Red Gate Farm, I came a cross a magazine where one of the photos had a really cool vintage looking wallpaper. This particular line happened to be a whole line based on vintage designs and colors from the 20's to the 40's. I found the source and ordered one double roll (only way it was sold) for around $75, thinking I would use it in our open area upstairs. I really loved the colors... aqua, creamy white and kind of a pale bronzey/tan tone. I thought if I put this paper on just one wall, the wall where you can also see into both upstairs bedrooms, I could then paint those bedrooms in a color out of this paper, tie it all together. The tan color I've used elsewhere on trim in my house went really well with the paper too.
Well, fast forward a couple of years and I still hadn't "hung the paper". Finally one week my mom came over to help, and we got it up. It was fortunate that I had the double roll, since the pattern is fairly large there was a lot of waste in matching up the pattern. The decision to only do one wall was good, both financially and since it is kind of busy and this space is fairly small it would have been rather overwhelming.
I didn't think it was too bad for my first try....
until I realized we'd hung it upside down! Good think it's a floral and most people don't notice unless I point it out!
Chris at Red Gate Farm
Living in a vintage (1920) house, there is a lot of wallpaper buried beneath layers and layers of paint. Obviously, at one time, it was extremely popular to just paint right over the paper. Not sure what that was all about! Both of our upstairs bedrooms have a floral wall paper buried under the paint. The one room is kind of a cute, pink, floral paper... very vintage looking. It would be kind of cool to have it in that bedroom but I'm sure if I tried to peel the paint away, well let's just say I probably wouldn't have a good end result!
That said, I do like the look of old, vintage wallpaper. Shortly after we moved to Red Gate Farm, I came a cross a magazine where one of the photos had a really cool vintage looking wallpaper. This particular line happened to be a whole line based on vintage designs and colors from the 20's to the 40's. I found the source and ordered one double roll (only way it was sold) for around $75, thinking I would use it in our open area upstairs. I really loved the colors... aqua, creamy white and kind of a pale bronzey/tan tone. I thought if I put this paper on just one wall, the wall where you can also see into both upstairs bedrooms, I could then paint those bedrooms in a color out of this paper, tie it all together. The tan color I've used elsewhere on trim in my house went really well with the paper too.
Well, fast forward a couple of years and I still hadn't "hung the paper". Finally one week my mom came over to help, and we got it up. It was fortunate that I had the double roll, since the pattern is fairly large there was a lot of waste in matching up the pattern. The decision to only do one wall was good, both financially and since it is kind of busy and this space is fairly small it would have been rather overwhelming.
I didn't think it was too bad for my first try....
until I realized we'd hung it upside down! Good think it's a floral and most people don't notice unless I point it out!
Chris at Red Gate Farm
Too much!! I bet noone will notice. I mostly like wallpaper in a powder room...
ReplyDeleteI have a New Giveaway from the French Basketeer I think you will love!
Karena
Art by Karena
lol....as soon as I looked at the pic I thought "Oh no,,she hung it upside down"! I only thought that because I did that one time myself!..different pattern. Don't feel too bad...before I learned how to paper I paid a professional and HE hung the pattern upside down! and you cold tell it..the leaves were upside down...funny now (not then)..I still love wallpaper and plan on doing a little in our new house...small checkered pattern I'm thinking. Hope I don't have to pay $75 for a double roll...I better start looking...
ReplyDeleteYour post really struck a chord with me (lol). Many years ago I hung a paisley wallpaper in my master bedroom and realized when I was finished that I had done the whole thing upside down. You couldn't tell but once I knew it was wrong, if forever bugged me. However, I really think your wallpaper is very pretty and looks fabulous and I certainly would have never known it was hung upside down. You're right - it is a floral. Love the soft colours.
ReplyDeleteLisa@SuburbanRetreat
Funny, I've been looking at photos of decorating with wallpaper and have had the urge to do a room with maybe just one wall. I think it is slowly coming back. I love your paper and never would have known it was upside down. Although I am extremely sure that my mom and I would do the same thing! : )
ReplyDeleteI never noticed, but I've always loved that wallpaper!
ReplyDeleteI do like the new wallpapers. But what goes up must come down at some point and I don't want to be the one taking it down haha! I love that paper you put up and the trim color. I would have never noticed it is upside down
ReplyDeletelol girlfriend, as far as Im concerned, you did it that way on purpose because it reminds you of
ReplyDelete"bringing sun kissed flowers into the kitchen from the summer garden, laying just so on the table waiting for an artistic loving touch "
:P At least thats how I explained my upside down wallpapering behavior...
You know, I think all of us have done something like that in decorating our places! It's always something silly! I also remember that when I was a little girl we had a hallway that had beautiful pink cabbage roses on the wallpaper. One day we had company and he said to my mom
ReplyDelete"you can almost see a pigs face in the cabbage roses"!!! I'll never forget how it became a funny topic of conversation from that point on!
They were beautiful roses and until he said that, they were just pretty roses to us. Once he said that, everything changed!!!