I don't remember having experience in using wall paper. And now we are in the process of considering wallpaper instead of re-painting the interior walls of our house. My question is the practicality of using wallpaper because I know it is not as durable as paint but the cost is not so cheap compared to paint.
I've replaced old wallpaper once in my life and never want to do it again. Paint is better and easier.
I like both about equally, and I use it that way. I like doing two walls with wallpaper and two painted with a color which is in the wallpaper. We have a small bathroom which is too small for a tub. It has a shower, a toilet, and a sink along with some shelves on either side of the shower. Right now it's painted a cold color of blue and actually has two shades of blue in no logical pattern. I bought some whimsical wallpaper at the thrift store and borders with a musical theme. I plan on using the wallpaper on two walls and probably yellow or a pastel green paint on two walls, with border on all walls. I have a stereo in there, which adds to the musical theme. I will then be using some of my numerous album covers from all eras in lieu of floor tiles. Top that off with two garden frogs, one of which is playing the saxophone and one drummer, on small pedestal shelves. Hoping for the best.
I'm like @Michelle Anderson. Finding a wallpaper that you can live with is the key. I like change and color so I seek out wallpaper and borders at thrift stores that would cover at least one wall and if I find a matching border that's great too. I think that when you wallpaper a whole room it makes you dred making a change with the work it takes to remove it. Our house had old wallpaper layered in every room except the kitchen. We removed one only to discover another it was a pain.
I like wallpaper but it seems like people have gotten away from using it. I think textured paint is the way to go when you are considering using the sort of decoration you need in your home. Many people will use this wallpaper to decorate their homes, but like I said, I just think its time has come and gone. I am trying to sell my house, otherwise I would redo a room with this kind of paint. It is just one of the ways that you can redo your home or a portion of it, in an effective manner without worrying about putting up wallpaper.
We had the same problem. When we bought our house, it had been a 3-unit apartment house for decades. One of the rooms -- a kitchen -- had 6 layers of wallpaper, each one more horrid than the last. I don't think we removed the last two layers. More horrifying is the fact that each of the former tenants apparently had at least one dog, and each time they moved out, the landlord apparently laid a new carpet upon the old. The living room of one unit had literally 7 layers, each of which had old dog urine -- and worse! -- which had permanent absorbed into the layer. Thankfully, it was spring time when we moved in, because we had to keep every window and exterior door open every day for more than a week.
You'll have to post a pic when you are done! I may be too OCD to use your bathroom if I ever visit. I like things simple....of course I might enjoy looking at the album cover tiles while I'm sitting there. I'm also not understanding how you could put them on the floor? Does something need to be done to them?
This thread excites me on the prospect of using wallpaper. My plan is to experiment on our garage which has 3 walls - 2 big plain walls while the other has the entry door to the house. It is a carport for one car so it's quite small and good for a guinea pig. Maybe I can use both paint and wallpaper as what @Michelle Anderson does. I have an upcoming vacation of 1 week in the later part of this month so that's a good time to do the wallpapering of the garage. Thanks for the comments and more are welcome.
Removing wallpaper for me has become much easier now. I don't use any of the products made for its removal instead I use a sponge mop and hot water, wet areas down, make a tear and start pulling. As the water begins to cool I add more hot water. Any remaining residue withing arms length is wiped off with a rag or sponge. My grandson helps sometimes. He gets the low areas.
Elmer's glue to affix them to the existing floor and then polyurethene over the top, which will both give it the glossy look I want and finish the job of making it stick well to the floor. (I got the idea from reading about a lady who used paper bags to tile her floor. Here is the article I found after reading about the people who tile their floors with pennies: http://lovelycraftyhome.com/2011/11/09/the-ultimate-brown-paper-flooring-guide/
My neighbor did this on her kitchen floor using wallpaper. I didn't see the result but she seemed pretty satisfied with it. She saw the idea online too. I've been wanting to do something different to the vinyl flooring in our bathroom. This method is something that I would consider.
That was my question @Von Jones, about the removal of the wallpaper. I can remember removing layer upon layer of wallpaper, only to find that some had been painted over. That was truly a nightmare. Maybe the newer wallpapers are easier to remove. I have noticed that wallpaper seems to be coming back into vogue. You know how it goes with design and fashion, what once was old now is new. The ones I've seen used on HGTV seem to be very thick and many have bold patterns. I would maybe consider papering one wall in a room or two, but that's about it. The walls here have some sort of texturing, so I don't know if it would be possible to simply paper over them (it's not a very thick texture), or if they'd have to be stripped before applying the paint.
@Diane Lane, I wouldn't try putting wallpaper on a textured wall unless it's with wallpaper glue. Many wallpapers are pre-pasted but not enough to adhere to a textured wall. To me once you use glue it becomes permanent and even more difficult to remove.