How to Hang Adhesive Wallpaper

My husband is the most patient and loving husband ever.  You may be wondering why I’m tell you this….

It will soon become clear.

On our anniversary I had the brilliant idea to start a DIY project.  I thought it would be quick and easy just like the video.

We finished our dining room quite a while ago, but there was one corner of the room I didn’t share with you.  The built in china cabinet.  It is gorgeous with dark woodwork, but the previous owner had hung some fabric that didn’t go with our current decor.  Under that fabric was Delft style linoleum.

While online last week, I was reading a post by my friend Elizabeth on the Circular Home.  It was discussing Target’s new line of adhesive wallpaper.  Did you know they now carry wallpaper?!?  Oooooh, I was so there with Conor and a slushy and popcorn (well, Starbucks for me, but you get what I mean).  We selected this paper:

It is Devine Color Chantilly Wallpaper in Firefly.  Isn’t that roll so cute?  A roll covers 25 square feet.

So on our 12th anniversary, after I got home from yoga we got started on our little DIY project.  I thought it was going to take an hour.

We started by removing all the fabric…

Then we removed the tape that was holding the fabric up.  See how excited I am (please ignore the bad post-hot yoga hair!)?

The instructions recommended two people to do this and I highly  recommend two people too!  They also said to measure first, which we did.  Since the cabinet is builtin we couldn’t remove the shelves.  So did the measuring row by row and started at the bottom.

Luke likes to measure which is a good thing because I don’t.  I’m all about eye-balling everything.  This needs to be precise.

Take a mat and a ruler and measure the paper.

We used an exacto knife to cut the paper.

And yes, that was the “royal we”.  Luke used the exacto knife.

You want to make sure the pattern lines up which means you’ll need extra paper for the large repeat pattern (I didn’t think of this when I only bought one roll).

Once you’ve cut all the paper then it is time to hang it.  There is a plastic backing on the paper.  You want to peel this back a few inches and line up the paper.  Then press the paper out, going from middle to the edge.  Then unroll more of the backing (a few inches at a time) until the whole piece is up.  Gravity will help you.  If you find that you haven’t lined it up correctly you can peel it back and reapply.

The hardest parts we found were doing the corners of the cabinet.  It was also hard to reach the very top of the cabinet.  There are a few bubbles up there but I don’t think you can really see them.  Here’s a comparison of the before and after:

BUT the project took much longer than the hour I expected.  We actually started around 11am and were still on the middle shelf at 3 when we needed to get ready to go out.  After our anniversary dinner, I had to go back up to Target to get another roll.  We finished at 10pm that night.

Saying that I LOVE how it came out!  The china and silver look so gorgeous against the happy yellow paper.

I love the pale yellow pattern against the warm wood. It is so nice to be able to share this corner of the room:

Worth all the hard work and effort and the bonus is I have some left to line drawers for painted pieces down the road!

So my tips: –

1. Definately work with a partner.
2. Make sure you have enough paper before you start.
3. Have plenty of time for this project, it might take longer than you expect.
4. Do all your cuts first before hanging the paper.
5. Realize with the pattern wallpaper you need to line up the prints, more exact cutting and more paper for the repeat.

It might be easier on a straight wall, I found the corners in the cabinet hard.  I think this product is great for a feature wall, lining drawers or smaller projects.

What do you think?  Will you try it?  Can’t wait to hear!