RenovationsFloral Wallpaper in the Master Bedroom May 5, 2016The master bedroom for this spring’s ORC has been slow going, but we’re finally really making progress! While we still have plenty to do, I feel so much better now that the wallpaper is installed. The wallpaper is the focal point of the room and it was the most time-consuming thing we had to do. But I am LOVING the impact that it makes! A lot in this shot will still change, but I’ll get to that later. First of all, let’s talk about how we installed the paper. This was our first wallpaper experience and I’m not going to lie, we were a little nervous. The whole permanent wallpaper thing made us a little nervous and we were anxious about installing it properly. It really seemed difficult in our minds, especially when it came to lining up all of the seems perfectly. This paper from Milton & King is formulated to be super easy to hang. I watched some tutorial videos that talked about having to soak the paper for a certain about of time and other steps that seemed much more work intensive. We followed the steps Milton & King sent us exactly and it really couldn’t have been easier. The entire project took us two hours, start to finish. 1.) Clean & Prep the Wall This was a new wall, so we didn’t need to fill any holes or smooth anything out. This step would be key to getting a good finished product, so I definitely wouldn’t skip it. We just wiped down the wall to make sure there was no dust or anything lingering. We moved everything away from the wall, so that there was plenty of walking space. And cover the floor with a drop cloth, or something to protect your flooring from wallpaper paste. It really didn’t make that much of a mess, but it caught a few drops for sure. 2.) Paste the Wall We got basic wallpaper paste at a local home improvement store. You want to paste the wall in sections and then hang the paper in that area. If you paste the whole wall up front, it’ll dry before you get to the end. Our wallpaper was 2′ wide, so we made sure to paste slightly over that each time. First, we “cut-in” the corners, top and bottom of the first section with a brush. You want to make sure the entire area has paste on it all the way up to the seams, but you don’t want to get it on the other walls or ceiling. This part is a big meticulous, but making sure you get good coverage will make laying the wallpaper much easier. Then, roll the rest of that section of wall with a natural fiber roller. Mohair was suggested, but our store didn’t have one of those, so they suggested the roller that was most similar to that. It worked great! 3.) Cut Paper to Size We rolled the paper out and cut a piece that was several inches bigger than we needed for trimming. 4.) Carefully Adhere Paper to Wall This part isn’t difficult, but it is a bit tedious. We started on the left side of the room, so we had to line the paper up with that corner first. We left the paper hanging over the ceiling and floor seams by several inches and worked to get the corner right first. We worked top to bottom, from the center out with a large sponge to get all the wrinkles and bubbles out. It also works well to have some sort of a straight edge (I bought ours in the paint section at Home Depot). We used the straight edge to really work the paper well into the corners where the sponge wouldn’t really work. 5.) Trim Excess Using a straight edge and a razor blade, we trimmed the excess from the top and bottom. The straight edge piece is so important to get a really nice finished line. Move the straight edge down and just keep pulling the razor blade down the line until it’s cut. Once you see that first piece or two installed, it’s so gratifying! 6.) Install the Other Pieces This step is pretty much a repeat of the above steps with a few key changes. The first piece you install is really the easiest and is your guideline. When installing the others, we held them up to the last installed piece and matched up the pattern. On most, that meant we needed to cut that piece off the roll a little longer than the first. I would highly suggest getting extra paper and having some to spare! You’ll need it to really match up the pattern. The hardest piece to install was the very last piece where you had another corner. We worked from top to bottom. We’d match the top part to the pattern on the left, use the sponge to smooth it out and into the corner and then use the razor blade to cut just that top piece. The paper is thick, so you need to do it in sections like this because the corner overlap becomes too much to work with. In the end, we were so pleasantly surprised! It was so much easier than expected, but it makes the exact statement I’d hoped! I’m LOVING having this focal wall and pattern in the room! The color and floral pattern from this wallpaper with the rug and other elements makes me so happy. I love the colorful Persian with the little sheepskins at the side. And our DIY Moroccan Wedding Blanket will have its home in here (even though the rest of the bedding is changing). And see how it all ties with this other side of the room I shared last week? Now just to finish the rest of the space for next week’s big reveal. Here’s the remaining list: Put in New Nightstands Make and Hang Headboard Wash and Put Out New Bedding Hang Artwork Style Details It’s going to be a busy week, but getting this wallpaper done made me so excited to finish it up! I can’t wait to share the reveal with you next Thursday! This is a sponsored post by Milton & King. All opinions are 100% my own.
Sarah says May 5, 2016 at 8:46 am As soon as I clicked on the link and saw the wallpaper the first thing that popped into my head was YES. I am seriously in love with this wallpaper! I also really love it with the rug! I can’t wait to see the finished product! Reply
Austin says May 5, 2016 at 10:52 am That looks fantastic! Wallpaper is super intimidating to me, but this makes it sound way more doable! Can’t wait for the completed room next week. Reply
Shamrock says May 5, 2016 at 12:37 pm I will now admit that I wasn’t to sure about the wall paper and rug together when I saw them on your project board – but now I see they are perfect together. Love it! Another can’t wait to see the finished room. Reply
Laura Ingalls Gunn says May 6, 2016 at 12:03 am Lindsay I adore the wallpaper and I can’t wait for the reveal! I love the direction the space is going in. As a fellow ORC participant it’s been wonderful to gather some fantastic inspiration. Reply
Claire Brody says May 6, 2016 at 10:07 am SOOO good Lindsay!!!!! Oh man, so excited to see this reveal next week! Reply
Brenda says May 10, 2016 at 2:46 pm Love how the wallpaper picks up the blue in the rug. Looking good! Reply
Ashley says June 22, 2016 at 7:52 am This is my first time commenting, so before I ask my question, let me say that I love your blog, your mixture of styles, and your “run like a herd of buffalo” mentality. I also really appreciate your decisions re: sponsorship, especially given how hard it must have been to make that call. Now my question. My husband and I moved into our first home (!!) earlier this month and we’re wallpapering an accent wall in the living room. We’re going with this one (https://shop.miltonandking.com/shedding) in Puffin. You said in your post that you recommend getting extra — if the Milton and King calculator says I need two, would you recommend getting a third? Or was your two rolls enough for one wall? It’s so expensive and really hard to justify getting a third if we don’t have to. (For reference, our wall is 7.5′ by 13.5′) Thanks for any advice! Reply
Lindsay says June 24, 2016 at 8:13 am Thanks so much for all of your sweet words, Ashley! I really appreciate it and you made my day! So, I do recommend getting extra, but it also depends on where you fall in a roll, if that makes sense. If you need right at two full rolls for sure, I might order a third. For your size wall, I do think you’d be fine with two. We got three rolls and it only took a little over 1.5. Our wall was 8′ x 12′, so we definitely had enough left for your extra wall space! Reply
[…] and her master bedroom transformation and get her tips on how to install wallpaper on her blog here. We love the interesting combination of the feminine floral pattern with the stunning, bold […] Reply