Wallpaper has become ever more popular as the years go by and so many companies offer the “peel and stick” variety that allows you to change your mind in 6 months or 6 years without damage to the walls. I even read a really great article in @thespruce recently about designers saying how great peel and stick is after 3 months, 3 years, and  even 5 years…hint: it holds up beautifully as long as you followed instructions for putting it up!

So many different kinds of wallpaper are beautiful and have longevity of pattern. You know I love making spaces beautiful, functional and timeless! Wallpapers create a bright fresh space in the home from an accent wall to a bathroom and look great above wainscoting or included in more modern patterns such as below a chair-rail with paint above! I’m a big fan of the colors and variety of patterns available, something for everyone. My favorite brand of paper right now is @chasingpaper. I’m always so thrilled to run through their richly colored and patterned selection, and seeing and feeling how thick, textured and fabulous it is in person.  I encourage my clients to use wallpaper when it’s appropriate to the look and design of the room! 

The most challenging part of putting up wallpaper is your walls. Be sure to prep your walls or have your handyman or contractor do so before putting up paper. Paint drips from previous owners as well as divots and bowing in the wall can cause bubbling. Also use a level to see if your walls are even. In older houses they often are not so paper needs to be cut carefully at an angle to fill in any unleveled gaps.

There is one caveat though, unless you enjoy spend hours lining things up, trimming, cutting around windows, making sure the paper lines both with the walls and a level, and doing all the things that make wallpaper challenging (even if it’s peel and stick), get a professional to come put it up for you. Always ask if the handyman or construction service that you are using has a person experienced in putting up wallpaper. Many companies do, but be sure. I have certainly seen what should be simple wallpaper put up by those "professionals" who didn’t read the instructions or check to see if the pattern was lining up…not good results for sure! Here at Casia Home Design/Build we do have a person who is experienced in putting up wallpaper so we love to offer that as a suggestion. 

Wallpaper is wonderful, and adds so much more interest than paint alone. Don’t overdo it and do the whole house or a whole large room (unless wainscoting is involved), but enjoy it to the max as an accent wall, and (my favorite) in a hall bath! When it’s complete a room that may have been blasé has transformed into a Wow! moment that friends and guests and you will love for a long time to come! 

Check for my “Top 10 Hacks for a More Chic Home” blog for more ways you can easily update your home and add freshness!