How to Hang Prepasted Wallpaper in a Closet
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How to hang prepasted wallpaper in a guest bedroom closet. An easy project to do in less than 2 hours.
It’s been a while since you’ve seen the new tiny powder room and closet but we’ve finally made enough progress to share with you.
I’ll get to the powder room progress another day (lots going on there).
Today we’re talking about the new closet and how to hang prepasted wallpaper.
If you remember, way back in July I shared the new bedroom closet build.
We actually built it in an empty corner of the guest bedroom to replace the closet that was turned into a powder room.
Remember, we have a small home so we needed to add a closet back for extra storage (not to mention for resale purposes).
We’ve had a ton of challenges with this space from the get-go. First challenge is working in such a tight space.
It makes every project more difficult, and time consuming.
The next challenge is that the walls are plaster and nothing is square or level.
It may be small, but building the closet was not easy.
It’s just the way it is with older homes.
Once we finished building the closet, I filled all the holes and painted the walls.
After painting the walls I started throwing around the idea of hanging wallpaper.
I’ve never been particularly fond of wallpaper, and we’ve never actually hung it in any of the homes we’ve lived in, but I wanted to try something different in this tiny space.
Deciding I wanted to use wallpaper was easy.
Actually finding one that I loved was a whole other ball game.
I looked at a ton of samples, and it took me weeks to decide, but I finally settled on one I loved (Oiseaux in dark charcoal from Spoonflower).
I went into this project like I always do, with a clear picture of what I wanted and a husband who is always on board. (Ok, maybe not always but he usually comes around).
This time was different though. He didn’t want me to use wallpaper, actually he hated the idea, and he poo-pooed every sample I showed him.
Obviously he was no help, so I picked this out without his blessing and ordered it.
Is it hard to put wallpaper up?
Not really but it’s much easier to hang if there’s two people.
In my case I had to do a bit of groveling to get the hubs to help me out.
Of course he did it, he has never refused, but he hated every minute.
Ask him, he’ll even tell you so himself.
Wallpapering tips
I won’t go through a step-by-step but I will tell you a few things that we did that made the job easier.
Like I said, we have never hung wallpaper before so we had no experience to look back on.
We just read the instructions that came with the wallpaper and did it, with a few modifications.
The very first thing we did was to work with a small sample piece of our pre-pasted paper.
The instructions said to use a roller or sponge but we didn’t like how it spread out so I used a squirt bottle.
I sprayed down our small sample piece and booked it for the time instructed. It came out perfectly.
Once our test was done and we were ready to start the process, we grabbed a big piece of wood from the basement, which gave us enough space to spread each sheet out so we could wet it down thoroughly.
After I thoroughly wet the sheet of wallpaper, we booked it for 10 minutes and then hung it on the wall.
You want to make sure your walls are smooth because every bump will show.
Also, if you paint your walls first, make sure you’ve given them plenty of time to dry.
We used 4 strips of wallpaper and it took us 90 minutes from start to finish.
Compared to the other projects we’ve done in this space, it was pretty easy. The change is dramatic, too.
It’s just the pop I was hoping for. Of course there will be a door on the closet so you won’t see it unless you open it.
We also added electric in this space for a light (you can find the one I bought, here).
Most older homes don’t have lights in the closets so I wanted to be sure we added one in here.
It probably isn’t totally necessary, since it’s such a small space, but it wasn’t a big deal to add it while we were building.
This weekend we’ll finish the quarter round, add shelving and a rod.
It’s a small space, for sure, but I should be able to store some of my shoes and hanging clothes. A small closet is definitely better than no closet.
My final thoughts on wallpaper(?)
I love it in this space but I won’t be doing anymore rooms in the near future. I change my mind about my decor often and if I had wallpaper in a space that I had to look at every day, I would tire of it.
Also…wallpaper is expensive, ya’ll!
That was part of my issue with picking the right one out. I would find one I loved and it would be way out of my price range. As it was, I paid $240 for this small space.
What???? I know, I know…
As for the hubs…he still doesn’t like it and I’ve stopped trying to convince him. You can’t win ’em all.
What about you…would you hang wallpaper in your home?
Check out the finished bedroom closet (with a DIY barn door)
And more ideas for wallpaper in a closet
I absolutely love this. It adds so much personality and the paper you chose is fantastic. I actually think that wallpaper works best when used in small places and the closet is so perfect and fun. Great Job!
Thanks Lisa, I appreciate it. I’m so glad that we chose to do this small space with wallpaper. I think it was the perfect touch. Doing the whole room would have been too overwhelming for me.
I am old enough to have had plenty of wallpaper in my first few houses. I have hung it many times, too, and found it wasn’t that hard, especially if you have good quality paper. I am considering it now for my powder room, but the prices are considerably higher than they were15-20 years ago!
I have always thought that wallpaper was good for small spaces because it is more resilient to scuffs than paint. Bathrooms, for example. Children’s bedrooms are another example. I remember having a border at chair rail height in my now 26 year old’s toddler room with navy blue paint below it. The combination was effective in keeping his room looking good for those rambunctious years.
I love your closet, and the paper you chose! I’m impressed you got done in 90 minutes.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience with wallpaper. This was all new to me so it was a learning experience. I think the thing that surprised me most was how expensive it was. I could get a gallon of paint and do a whole for for $50-$60, whereas wallpaper would cost a small fortune. 😉 I’m glad we tried it in this small space though. It’s just the touch I was looking for.
I appreciate you stopping by to see our new space. 🙂
Beautiful choice! I am a huge fan of wallpaper…just not a fan of removing it, so I haven’t used any in this house…but boy yours is pretty!
Awww, thanks so much Kim. I’m loving it! The removal aspect of it definitely worried me but, now that it’s up and I love how it looks, I’ve blocked that from my mind (until it comes time to remove it of course). 😉
Your wallpaper choice is perfect! I have wallpapered every house I have lived in as an adult. There is alway an entire room, my favorite, my five year old daughter’s bedroom that had tiny pink hearts on a white background. I have done front entrance walls, kitchen walls and accent walls in living rooms. Your closet was calling for that to be done to it! Great job.
Wow Laura, that’s awesome! It sounds like you have a lot of love for wallpaper.
I’ve never really paid a lot of attention to wallpaper before but doing this project has changed my perspective. Now that it’s done, I agree with you, this space was calling for it (although the hubs would probably disagree with me). 😉
Thanks for sharing and for your comment. Happy weekend!
Just wonderful. Love it. The closet is a standout. I do like wallpaper, but don’t have any. Hubby owns a commercial painting company, so I can make changes so easily and cheaply, he sends me one of his people, or two if it’s a bigger job. We did wallpaper a wall years ago in our first house in the 70’s and it was pretty. Then there was that stenciling craze in the 90’s LOL. Thats painted out now. Good job as always.
Thanks Jillian, I’m loving it too (surprisingly).
I have always painted my own rooms, which I love doing, but it would be nice to have someone come in and do it for me (just once). Dare to dream 😉
I did some stenciling too when my girls were still small. I remember doing blocks on one of my daughter’s walls and it took me forever. Eeek! Glad that craze is over. 😉
Thanks for visiting Jillian. Hope you have a great weekend!
I LOVE your wallpaper! Great job, it looks beautiful! I love in an older home, and have wallpaper in just two rooms (bedrooms) and the upstairs hallway, and I love it. I have not grown tired of it…so far! Can’t wait to see the finished bathroom, it looks lovely!
Thanks so much Susan! I have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised that I love it so much.
We went on a tour of homes earlier this year, in one of our city’s oldest neighborhoods, and there was so many beautiful rooms with wallpaper that I loved. So I think that you are right that it looks great in older homes.
I appreciate your visit. Have a great weekend!
I love it! That is a great choice. I love wallpaper. I have it in 3 places in my home and have not tired of it after many years. I know some people do tire of it, though. I can’t wait to see your finished space. It will be great!
That’s great that you enjoy your wallpaper, Julie! I’m just afraid, for me, that I would want to change it after a while and that’s not good. 😉 I’m excited about my new space though and find myself walking in to look at it. It’s a nice change from plain paint.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comment. Happy weekend!
Love the wallpaper and yes, I have wallpaper in my home in small spaces. I especially am fond of the new removable wallpaper – no water, no paste and you can re position as you are hanging it. It’s pricey, but as you said, for small areas. Since that will be your closet, no matter that hubby doesn’t like it. It will make you smile every time you open the door. Some things we have to take for ourselves. Good job and I can’t wait to see the powder room. So far it looks absolutely wonderful.
Thank you, Pat! I am really thrilled with my new little space.
Never having used wallpaper before I was really surprised at the prices. I’m glad that we went with removable though because it was really easy to put up.
I appreciate you stopping by. Hope you have a great weekend!
Kristi, I love the wallpaper you chose and you guys did a great job hanging it too!
Thanks so much Kaycee! I was nervous that I was going to hate it but I really love the pop and pattern it adds.