Let's Talk Wallpaper

Still on cloud 9 with finally wrapping up the loft project, and the main star of the show was the beautiful faux grasscloth wallpaper from the Chasing Paper x Printed Pattern People collaboration. This was a project was special for a number of reasons.

This area of my home was one of the many deciding factors that lead me to purchasing Hattie (my home). When I first laid eyes on this space, I immediately thought about all the amazing memories I could create, not only for myself, but for friends and family. I wanted to make sure that when I decided to tackle this room, that I went all out. So, when it was time to finally work on it, I wanted it to make a statement as soon as you entered the room. Just like every other room in my home, intention has to be the driving force. Going with faux grasscloth was a choice that I'm 100% happy with, and now find myself going with exclusively in the future. Traditional grasscloth wallpaper is handwoven from real grasscloth material, with some materials being arrowroot, hemp and jute (hence the hefty price tag). Faux grasscloth is designed to mimic the real thing, but made of vinyl printed via a machine. The main attraction to grasscloth wallpaper in general is the look, and feel - when you see this type of wallpaper, you can immediately and visually see the difference over peel-and-stick.

Natural grasscloth wallpaper is a lot easier to damage, and a lot harder to install. It's also a wall covering that usually can only be dusted, any moisture in cleaning products will damage it. Faux grasscloth on the other hand is extremely durable, can be wiped with a damp sponge or cloth and is a lot easier to install.. not to mention way more cost effect than the traditional kind. So for us who have busy homes, need a little forgiving nature in our products and want to save without sacrificing design, faux grasscloth is the way to go!

Since this area of the home use to be an attic, the ceilings are a lot lower than the rest of the house. I knew with that in mind it would be extremely noticeable, and there was no way around that. When you can't change up features like this in home design, you have to lean into it. I knew I had two options, either paint the ceiling ... or wallpaper it. Of course paint would have been 10x's easier, but when have you guys ever known me to take the easy way out.

Now that I had my mind made up about using wallpaper, it was then time to get out there and pick from the MANY MANY designs options. I immediately got anxious at the thought of combing through the never ending choices that is wallpaper, and, the samples that I would probably need to purchase. On that note, I will always recommend purchasing samples before hand. Sure looking at it online gives you an idea of what it looks like, but it's also important to know that it feels like as well. It's also important to see what it looks like with the lighting you decide to use, and in the room during different times of the day. Once it's all said and done, this will determine whether you like your wallpaper, or if you LOVE it! There's nothing worst than making an expensive, and custom mistake. So take your time, and don't rush this part.

As I'm on Pinterest, Instagram and just about every site you can think of for inspiration... it hit me! I made a mood board for this exact room, wallpaper and all (see sources below).

1. Café 30" Smart Five in One Oven 2. Chasing Paper x Printed Pattern People Cleo Horizontal Stripe Wallpaper 3. Café Built-In Dual-Drawer Refrigerator 4. Delta Single-Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet 5. Zio & Sons + Clé | Charred Cedar Octagon 6. Yamazaki Tosca Basket W/ Wooden Handles Black/Natural 7. Elkay Quartz Farmhouse Workstation Sink 8. Boho Basket - Sconce Lighting 9. Opalhouse x Jungalow Black/ White Vases - discontinued 10. KCO KCOLighting 1-Light Sconces 11. Ikea VADHOLMA Kitchen island, black/oak

This was a major win win for me with the decision to use this wallpaper. Not only was this the perfect patter and print that represents my style, but also this collection was designed by a very close friend of mine from Printed Pattern People. PPP is a black, woman owned design and print company founded by Shadé Akanbi, and has been one of my favorite businesses to support. So imagine my excitement when she mentioned that she would be collaborating with Chasing Paper on an upcoming design. I knew the minute I saw the preview of the designs, that I would be using this exact print upstairs. Now, as I'm sitting here looking at the finished area, I'm so glad that I decided to wait.

Tips + Tools

I mean.... can you even!?!?!.... because I can't stop swooning over this room. The fact that the ceilings were on the shorter side, 7'ft to be exact, made this a lot easier for me to apply this wallpaper. If you're thinking of adding wallpaper to your ceilings, take the height of the room into consideration. The height of your ceilings, will determine the level of difficulty for the project, and the timeframe as well.

Even for me, the application for the project took a little longer than I expected. The entire room took about 4 days, with a lot of breaks in between panels.

Let's talk about the materials you will need:

• Tall prep table (thank me later, this will save your back in the long run)

• Wallpaper Adhesive - I used Roman

• 3/8-inch to 1/2-inch Nap Paint Roller

• Paste Brush

• Paint Tray

• Exacto Knife

• Bucket (for water)

• Seam Roller (optional but highly recommend)

• Wallpaper Smoother

• Utility or Heavy Duty Sponge

With all these tools in hand, your wallpaper installation should go pretty smooth. This was my first time installing anything other than peel and stick, and learned a lot while actually on the job. I've come to realize that even when you proactively do the research for a project, there will always be more to learn while actually doing the work in real time. Make sure to make room for those learning curves, and be gentle with yourself on your DIY's.

One thing I love about using paste for wallpaper, over the peel and stick, is how forgiving the paste version is. A lot of older homes have uneven walls which, take it from me, can be a nightmare when dealing with peel and stick. Once that contact paper hits the wall, the sticky side does exactly what it's designed to do, and holds on tight. Which makes moving it when you need to adjust extremely difficult.

I found that using the paste on the back of the wallpaper allowed me to shift the panels as needed to get them to adjust to the uneven joints of my wall, and match perfectly with the adjacent panel - just make sure to do this immediately after applying your panel, and before the paste dries.

Another tip while applying the wallpaper is work one panel at a time, so that you have a window of timeframe to work. Applying the paste on the back of additional wallpaper prematurely could cause the glue to dry too early and warp your panel. Remember, the name of the game with this project is patience!

Installation

Now let's address what you guys are here for, the installation. First things first, let's take out your wallpaper. Wallpaper typically comes rolled in panels, so once rolling your panels out, you'll notice that the ends want to revert back to rolling on itself. The goal is to get your panels as straight as possible so that they are easier to work with. I had some extra boxes of flooring laying around, so this was the right amount of weight to flatten those pieces out. After grabbing a few rolls and laying them flat to straighten out, it was time to put them on my work table to prep for glue.

Again, you only want to work with one piece at a time. The goal is to work with the glue, not against it. The trick to making this step easier, is to lay two staggering pieces of panel under the one you're working with, so you don't risk the glue getting on your work table. The reason this is important is because if glue get's on your work table, it will transfer to the decorative side of your wallpaper - and obviously we only want to glue to go on the side of the panel that will come into contact with your wall.

Now that you understand the layout of your panels, grab your rolling tray, and get your paint roller ready. Once you have everything out, open your wallpaper paste, and pour smaller amounts in your tray as you go. Just like paint, you want as little left over as possible so that your glue doesn't dry in the tray, resulting in waste.

With your panels layered staggered, roll your paint roller in the glue and start working from the center of the panel out towards the edges. Work your roller in one direction only, going outward.

You work your roller in this direction to avoid rolling backwards on your panel, and getting paint on your decorative side. This part is a super conscious effort because we are so use to rolling our paint roller back and forth like normal, but once you do a couple panels it because easier. Also, remember to use your wallpaper brush as backup for those corners that you might have missed with the roller. I noticed that once up on the ceiling, there were a few little areas that needed touch ups with paste, and since the panel was already on the ceiling, it was easier to grab my brush and add paste as needed. This eliminates the need to take the entire panel down for one area.

Now this next step the pro's recommend, but I believe that since I decided to lay something heavy on my panels prior to rolling paste on them, I was able to skip this step and still achieve beautiful results. This step is called 'booking' , booking is the process of folding the paper in on itself. It allows time for the paste to activate and the paper to soften. Since my wallpaper was grasscloth, and super thick, I found that I didn't need any additional time for my panels to soften. However, if you find that you're having a hard time getting your wallpaper to absorb your paste, and it's difficult to work with, I would highly recommend this step. Another benefit to booking in certain instances is if you have very long panels. Booking will help you work only with the section of the panel you need, eliminating the need to worry about getting paste on your wallpaper, or drying during application.

As you can see from the video, I'm folding over my pasted wallpaper panel from the top, and the bottom, meeting them together in the center. Allow this panel to sit for 5 mins before working with it on your wall. As mentioned earlier, this process helps soften your wallpaper, and if you have super long panels, makes it easier to work with.

Since most of my strips of wallpaper were applied to the ceiling, I had to come up with a little system to make sure that everything stayed exactly where I wanted - gravity wasn't on my side during certain parts of this process.

The main thing to remember is, your first panel will dictate how straight the rest of the wallpaper looks. So I recommend if you have one, to use a laser level on this project, especially the first strip. Following the guide of the laser level will 100% ensure that everything following will be straight as an arrow.

This is especially important for older homes, like mine, that don't have the straightest walls and ceilings. I found that the process of wallpaper with paste is extremely forgiving, and will allow you to shift and adjust your panel as needed. One little hack that helped to ensure my wallpaper didn't move after hanging it, was using push pins to hold it in place. The push pins also helped keep the edges completely flat, until your glue dries. The more precise your edges, and seams are, the more professional and clean your wallpaper will look - so take it super slow, and be patient.

Now that you have a little system, and groove going, and you have your second panel up, it's time to press the access paste from underneath and seal your seams. This is also a very important step because you don't want any additional paste drying under your panel causing lumps and humps that will be visible once dry. So the goal is to press out as much of that glue as possible so that your wallpaper is as smooth and flat as possible.

So grab that wallpaper smoother, and your seam roller, and with the smoother up first... smooth your panel from the middle out to the edges. You'll see your glue come out from the edge of the panel, and that's exactly what you want.

Now, if you panel is super long you probably have to wipe the access glue off in stages so it doesn't sit too long on the decorative side. My ceilings were shorts enough that I was able to do one entire panel, and go back and wipe the access off all at once.

Again, your paste is forgiving, so as long as you wipe the access up with your damp sponge

quickly, you won't have to worry about it damaging the paper. Once you have your panel smoothed out, and the access glue pressed, roll your seam roller over those edges to make sure everything is flat, and that there are not open gaps or seams between panels.

The last step for your installation is cutting the access hang off your wallpaper once it meets the end of your wall, or in my case ceiling. Grab your exacto knife and run it along the length of your wallpaper, making sure to press firmly as you slide so that you break through the wallpaper.

If you need a little help keeping a steady hand, and help your knife glide a lot easier along your wall, you can use a metal putty knife or even the smoothing tool. If you have trim down at the bottom of your wall, you can also use that as a guide while running your blade as well. Make sure your exacto blade is sharp, and as new as possible. If your blade is dull, you will have difficulty breaking through the wallpaper - especially if your wallpaper is thick or grasscloth. You also want to make sure your blade is nice and sharp so that it doesn't snag and grab on the wallpaper while cutting, which can then cause your nice and straight panel you just hung to shift.

For areas around outlets, you can use the backside of the faceplate to use as a template to cut around, and the same goes for any fixtures or openings. Just make sure that if you're cutting around open lighting, and wires, to turn all electrical off at the breaker.

Just to remind you guys, this was my first time doing a paste wallpaper project, and would absolutely recommend it to even the most novice DIY'er. It's not as difficult as one would think, and once you get a system in place, it actually moves pretty quickly.

Now that I've applied wallpaper using this method, I can't imagine going back to peel and stick - mean check out the quality.

So now that your internet cousin has done the research, and provided a blog post with all the details, I hope to see more of you guys tackling projects like this.

I'm so happy with how the loft turned out, and even more happy at the fact that it came out better than I had imagined in my head - which is a major win for someone who loves to DIY.

Thank you so much to Chasing Paper, and Printed Pattern People for providing this stunning wallpaper to complete the space. Check out the other amazing patterns from this collection, that I know everyone will love.

Until next time....