Home: Peel & Stick Wallpaper

As we continue to plod our way through the 5-year renovation plan our new super old house came with, while we live in it, with 2 young children and full time jobs...

.

.

.

Sorry. Just had a little panic attack. I'm back.

Like I was saying, our home reno is a major process. We just (mostly) finished the kitchen and living room, which is a huge relief, but there is one pesky wall behind the refrigerator where lots of electrical things and pipe things run from the basement to the second floor. Long story short, when we get to renovating the second floor, this wall is going to have to be opened back up to run more electrical things and pipe things (technical terms) when we add a master bathroom. Since it will be months or years before that day comes, we each proposed a solution:

Noah: Obviously it makes no sense to sheetrock this wall when it will have to come out later. We should just leave it exposed until the second floor is done. #efficiency

Me: #facepalm

Through the power of the stink eye compromise, we settled on a mutually agreeable solution: we put up the sheetrock, but did not tape, bed, or texture it, and bought some inexpensive peel and stick wallpaper that can easily be removed when need be.

I was pleasantly surprised with the number of different designs in the peel and stick wallpaper department. It was hard to narrow the options down! It did help to limit myself to the $1/square foot range.

I particularly love Target's Opalhouse line (not just wallpaper, but rugs and decor, too. Their designer is my spirit animal):

The pink floral one was out of stock, or I probably would have gone with that one. I also almost went for the bird/floral one. And somewhere, someday, those jaguars are going in a house we remodel. #rawr

There were several I considered on Wayfair in my price range:

Links: leaves and watercolor

And then there's this beauty, which I considered in spite of the fact that it was NOT in my price range:

Oh, hello. I will use you one day, yes I will.

Ultimately I went with this large dalmation print from Wayfair because it's whimsical, light (our dining room is kind of dark), and you don't have to worry about matching an intricate pattern. 

This wallpaper came out to $1.06/square foot for a grand total of ~$120, and we only used 3 of the 4 rolls I ordered. Assuming it stays up for a year or more, which is likely, it was totally worth the investment in my mind. 

Me: Look at this cute wallpaper! This is the one I'm ordering for the dining room.

Noah: Is the chair part of the wallpaper?

Me: #facepalmagain

When I got the wallpaper, I was a little nervous that it would be a little too '11-year-old girl,' but let's be honest: neither my design aesthetic nor my food palate has advanced past middle school. #ramennoodles #easymac #sourstraws

Applying the wallpaper was really pretty quick and easy. We went through 3 rolls in about 2 hours. It did help to have 2 people to line the seams up, but I'm pretty sure I could have even knocked this one out on my own. When we got an air bubble, we just peeled it back up or rubbed on it and it came right out. It's not perfect (most seams overlap a little), but I knew big pictures were going on this wall, and it's temporary, so good enough is good enough. :) I like it even better than I thought I was going to!

And I finally got to hang these photos that have been sitting in a stack for a year, patiently waiting for the perfect well. Are they all 3+ years out of date? Yes. Lay off. We're getting so close to having an actual dining room!

I’m not sure how long this kind of wallpaper has been around in this price range, but I wish I’d used it in college when I rented. It’s perfect for spicing up an apartment or dorm, as it is advertised to come off as easily as it goes on with no residue or damage (though I can’t attest to that yet). I’m a big fan, and am already trying to figure out what to wallpaper next (*mwa-ha-ha*).

Toodles! TLO