Wallpaper...where to begin?

[Anonymous]

Well, according to 8.46, you are a decorating disaster. Oh, and tacky. And it's your foyer - all your friends are talking about it, even the ones who didn't have to pee!

Tear down that wallpaper and get out the "Shining Starlight," or whatever that color is.

[Anonymous]

I knew it. Hanging my head in shame. Can I at at least use a better paint than Behr?

[Anonymous]

Lift you head up proudly. There is no shame in wallpaper. I wallpapered our living room when we moved in. We're in a DC rowhouse with beautiful oak trim. The wallpaper is a two-toned gold/tan and has a William Morris look. I get tons of compliments .

In our other rowhouse, I wallpapered the lower half of the powder room in a black and white mattress ticking stripe.

[Anonymous]

If this is a home that you are living in for a while - do what you want. Wallpaper isn't forever either - it can be removed if you decide to move. There are many high end professional decorators who use wallpaper and you will find it in established design magazines and high end homes in this area - from more classically decorated to more modern. The store recommended by pp isn't exactly a low end place.

If you decide to try wallpaper, talk to them first on how you measure - its not initially intuitive. Depending on the pattern, you will need to match the repeating pattern, which means more rolls are required so its not simply a matter of looking at the price per roll.

If you go paint, and want something other than behr that is seen as higher end, try Benjamin & Moore. Their customer service is good and you can easily order large samples on line that arrive in days. Duron used to be good, but was bought by Sherwin Williams and many believe quality has gone down and is inconsistent. Farrow & Ball has become trendy in this area.

[Anonymous]

PP I am the poster who was accused of being tacky because I have wallpaper in my foyer. We live in a 1930s house in Lyon Village and looked at photos of the house provided by the original owner's granddaughter. The original house had a William Morris-type wallpaper, probably similar to what 9:44 used in her DC rowhouse. We found a similar paper and it is beautiful. No one has accused me of being tacky. I also agree with you, that the use of wallpaper denotes a more sophisticated type of decorating. My mother laughs because she had grasscloth in her foyer and halls and never got around to removing it. Now it is in vogue once more.

Believe me I do not take my decorating cues from DCUM, but I do think wallpaper has been so demonized by the 1980s Laura Ashley and the country look that people do not realize the texture and style it adds to a room.

I agree with you and thank you for your comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I knew it. Hanging my head in shame. Can I at at least use a better paint than Behr?

Sure if you want to waste money. Consumer reports rates behr the best. I guess you could buy some bm stickers or a tshirt to let everyone know you paid extra.

[Anonymous]

Ugh.

Before you do it come finish removing the crap I want gone. Should make you change your mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP I am the poster who was accused of being tacky because I have wallpaper in my foyer. We live in a 1930s house in Lyon Village and looked at photos of the house provided by the original owner's granddaughter. The original house had a William Morris-type wallpaper, probably similar to what 9:44 used in her DC rowhouse. We found a similar paper and it is beautiful. No one has accused me of being tacky. I also agree with you, that the use of wallpaper denotes a more sophisticated type of decorating. My mother laughs because she had grasscloth in her foyer and halls and never got around to removing it. Now it is in vogue once more.

Believe me I do not take my decorating cues from DCUM, but I do think wallpaper has been so demonized by the 1980s Laura Ashley and the country look that people do not realize the texture and style it adds to a room.

I agree with you and thank you for your comment.

This is a good point. Wallpaper can be quite nice, and it can also evoke colonial country nightmares, like the shit the prev. Owner left me (blue geese, anyone?). There are some great textures and patterns now available, but even so I'd only consider using it if I planned to be in the home several years (I don't) since trends come and go so quickly. I highly doubt that gray will be a trendy color in a couple of years, or the giant bird pattern paper I saw in Dwell recently. But if you like it, it's your home and you should enjoy it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I knew it. Hanging my head in shame. Can I at at least use a better paint than Behr?

Sure if you want to waste money. Consumer reports rates behr the best. I guess you could buy some bm stickers or a tshirt to let everyone know you paid extra.

I've been a subscriber to CR for decades, but I find them less and less reliable. I guess that should be another thread, though. Anyhow I love Benjamin Moore paint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I knew it. Hanging my head in shame. Can I at at least use a better paint than Behr?

Sure if you want to waste money. Consumer reports rates behr the best. I guess you could buy some bm stickers or a tshirt to let everyone know you paid extra.

Consumer Reports and Angie's List are not what they used to be. They have fallen to the siren call of filthy lucre.

[Anonymous]

Painters love bm because they make money with each can sold.

[Anonymous]

Check out Anthropologie wallpaper for something really unique. It's pricey but I found it easy to hang and most are now easy to peel off, too (I think it's called sure strip or something). Love my sunroom with insane wallpaper, and know from experience that it's easy to remove, as I royally effed up a few panels while I was getting the hang of things. Good luck! Life's too short for taupe walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out Anthropologie wallpaper for something really unique. It's pricey but I found it easy to hang and most are now easy to peel off, too (I think it's called sure strip or something). Love my sunroom with insane wallpaper, and know from experience that it's easy to remove, as I royally effed up a few panels while I was getting the hang of things. Good luck! Life's too short for taupe walls.

You have summed up the discussion nicely.

[Anonymous]

I've written several of the pro wallpaper posts.

Went to Anthropologie site and looked at wallpaper. OMG don't do it! This sort of thing is what gave wallpaper a bd name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've written several of the pro wallpaper posts.

Went to Anthropologie site and looked at wallpaper. OMG don't do it! This sort of thing is what gave wallpaper a bd name.

What have you got against meerkats in top hats?