March 21, 2014

Removable wallpaper in the bathroom


Here's a look at our upstairs guest bathroom. Last night I covered an accent wall with removable wallpaper. I love it!


This bathroom has a peculiar layout. You walk in past the shower stall on the right, and when you hit the sink, you turn right to get to the toilet. Which is under a lovely arch at the end of a passage that is almost long enough to feel like a hallway. The paint color in there doesn't bother me (hard to capture in photos under electric lights) but that wall under the arch was begging for something interesting. I considered these drops wall decals at Walls Need Love, but after browsing their site some more, I was taken by the Waves of Chic print. Nice and watery for a bathroom, and I can't resist a pattern.


The kind folks at Walls Need Love sent the product to review. Cute packaging, eh?


Like the Sunburst wallpaper I designed last year, this paper is essentially a giant self-adhesive wall decal, and it's easily to peel off and reposition. Unlike our dining room wallpaper, the traditional kind, it was easy to put up by myself. Much to Alex's relief, I'm sure. The material is Fab-Tac, which is a textile coated with an adhesive on one side and backed with paper you peel off.

I measured the wall and cut a length of paper that would leave a little extra overhang at the bottom. I peeled off about a foot of backing from the top of the piece and stuck the paper to the wall along the ceiling. I held a level to the right edge to test the straightness (the corner was a little wavy and unhelpful, so a level worked better).


After a couple tries I had it, and then it was just a matter of peeling off the backing paper gradually while smoothing down the paper with the tool provided.

I cut another piece to place next to the first panel, overlapping the seam by a quarter inch to match the pattern.

Then with a craft knife and straight edge, I trimmed off any overhang that wrapped onto the adjacent walls and baseboard.


This stuff is really forgiving if you accidentally get it stuck to itself. I had a crumpled up ball of excess sticky paper I'd trimmed off the baseboard and wondered if I could untangle it. Yep— with patience you can straighten it back out, and since the substrate is fabric, it doesn't show any crumple marks in the pattern.


Now I just need an awesome picture to hang above the toilet, and we're in business! Or rather, people can do their business.


A huge thank you to Walls Need Love for making my bathroom cuter! Check out their other products: besides wallpaper and traditional decals, they offer anatomy prints, map stickers, and adhesive taxidermy, too. You know you need a buffalo head...


35 comments:

  1. Lovely improvement in there! If I didn't know better, I'd think the wallpaper leaves white residue on your fingers, but I'm guessing that has something to do with the change in the baseboards. ;)

    Great job... on both!

    Mum

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  2. I hope you don't change your mind like you did in the dining room and decide to do all the walls. One could feel like they were drowning in there! ;)

    Mum

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  3. Ha, don't worry. No plans to do the whole thing.

    I should have photoshopped that paint off!

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  4. Yeah... go back and remove the paint!

    Nah... it just shows you'd been working. Be proud of it! :)

    Mum

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  5. That's a nifty little tissue holder, too. :)

    Mum

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  6. So...if that's an accent wall, does that make the toilet an accent piece? ;) Love the paper!

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  7. Oh yes. It is a found object I am using as an art installation.

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  8. Looks great! I am one room out of 10 down removing wallpaper in our entire house so I think it will be awhile before I crave pattern again, but when I do, definitely going the removable kind!

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  9. Looks great.Bringing the toilet a new appearance.

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  10. Cute! It made the small space comfortably looking! I like it :D

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  11. I love the print & the concept of a giant "sticker". That print calls out for a Japanese or Chinese art print. (IMHO) You did a great job in the whole house!

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  12. Looks fabulous. I love wallpaper but my walls have a texture to them - yours look super smooth!

    beautiful Job!

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  13. After thinking that "adhesive taxidermy" was the dumbest thing I ever heard of, I caved and bought a llama for my wall. I'm already laughing. I'm sure he'll keep me laughing when he gets on the wall of my workroom. Thanks for making my day!

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  14. I just love this, such a transformation! You made it look so easy too.

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  15. Thanks!

    Kathy, I KNOW. I thought the same thing at first, but those heads are so goofy they're strangely appealing! I kind of want one, too....

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  16. I love, love, love this and would love to use removable wallpaper. I've been investigating but since I rent I'm a little worried to take the plunge. Do you think it's easy to remove, and would it leave any damage to paint or anything?

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  17. I'm very impressed. I hate wallpaper because of hideous wallpaper that has been in the houses I've purchased and the hours of painful removal. I'd be more likely to try this wallpaper after your recommendation. THANKS!

    Smiles,
    Kelly

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  18. Oh that's lovely - much better than the plain wall. And clever you for putting it up all by yourself. I would've had it all stuck to itself and myself.....

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  19. Kathy and Jessica, I bought the ram's head (as a gift for my dad)! I think the giraffe heads would look so funny behind a toilet, too. :-)

    There was a code for 25% off for today only so I couldn't resist.

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  20. Rae, based on my experience of sticking it to the wall, pulling it off and repositioning, it should be just fine. (My paint finish is satin, by the way.)

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  21. I have been following your great blog silently for awhile now, and this is my first time making a comment. :)

    I have a teeny tiny bathroom similar to yours that's been puzzling me as to what I could do to spiff it up, so this is definitely an inspiration!

    Could you please tell me the awesome tissue holder is from? I must have it!

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  22. It's by Umbra. I got it on Amazon a few years ago.

    http://www.amazon.com/Umbra-Casa-Tissue-Cover-Avocado/dp/B005M8GUOU

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  23. May I suggest a round mirror with a wide frame? I think that would look stellar on the pretty paper!

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  24. Hi Jessica - wondering if you think this removeable wallpaper would be okay as a backsplash in a kitchen. Do you think it could hold up? Is it wipe-able?

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  25. Personally, I wouldn't try it. The finish feels a little fabric-y like there's not a coating on it, and even if you could wipe off food, I'd worry that water spots might be left behind.

    I'm not concerned about it in my bathroom since it's kind of dim back in the corner instead of front and center like a backsplash, and this is the guest bath so it doesn't get as much use.

    But I probably wouldn't cook in front of it.

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  26. Thanks! Love that pattern. Might have to try it in my powder room.

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  27. I know nothing about wallpaper - does it only go on smooth surfaces? We're stuck in a rental with bare brick everywhere (icky) and gorgeous stuff like this would be such a bonus!

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  28. Hmmm, I'm gonna guess it won't stick to brick; too rough. I wonder if you could use fabric instead, stapled to a painted or covered wood strip at the top and bottom of the wall, where the wood is screwed into the brick in a few places. Press the fabric under at the seams/edges and stretch it like panels of wallpaper? Then it doesn't have to stick TO the brick but covers it???

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  29. Its quite a brilliant idea for bathroom, and makes it look better. Thanks for sharing, will keep visiting then :)

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  30. Beautiful! Am I the only one wondering where that window came from?

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  31. Hello, I am also considering putting up a section of removable wallpaper in my bathroom, but because it's removable, can the moisture in a bathroom peel it off?

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