I have a hang-up about hanging wallpaper.
When we moved into our house in 2004, most rooms were wallpapered. Ghastly wallpaper, like one bedroom had navy background with dark forest green leaves. Looked like colorful mud on the wall. One bathroom had thousands of ivy leaf vines on white paper. It hurt our eyes and was distracting in the mirror when you’re trying to focus on your face in the morning. Oh I could go on … most wallpaper was promptly removed. It took lots of time and sweat equity, and then great expense when we failed to remove paper that was super-glued to the walls and we hired help.
I will not be hanging wallpaper again.
But there are some inspiring wallpapers out there. Some are huge bold prints that I might like in a smaller dose but not all over a room or big wall:
Some beautiful wallpapers are pricier:
There’s a lot of pretty vintage wallpapers but limited quantities of them, like this 1950s wallpaper from Hannahs Treasures Etsy store:
So what if you want to use a wallpaper that’s very bold, expensive or limited in quantity? Or you rent?
Why not treat wallpaper like a large painting or print, and frame it? Here are some examples of framed wallpaper …
From Canadian House and Home, these framed wallpaper panels in a landing add a lot of impact behind a console table:
The large frame around this de Gournay wallpaper “grounds” it and adds extra visual interest. By Laura Vinroot Poole via Charlotte Home+Garden:
… and Domino:
Here framed wallpaper anchors a bed. This might be from Elle Décor but don’t quote me on that:
This is an innovative use of wallpaper, by Woodson & Rummerfield in Christina Aguilera’s home:
If you like the idea of curved corners like this in molding, here’s a place to get it for a decent price.
Shared at Houzz by Maison21, this is a perfect alignment of framed wallpaper to highlight this table, lamps and benches:
Here, wallpaper framed with molding gives a sconce more presence on the wall, from NEWmouldings.com:
I love how wallpaper is used to make a little “room” within a larger room here by Jessica Lagrange Interiors:
Here’s another scene, like the one above, of wallpaper treated as framed art, by Schuyler Samperton:
Wallpaper can also be the headboard, as shown here via Castorama:
From Better Homes & Gardens, this dining room shows how framed wallpaper can be layered over another pattern on the walls for extra drama:
Another example from BHG, this wallpaper is perfectly chosen for the sofa and accessories. If you get bored of the wallpaper, or you change the room, you could easily switch the wallpaper when it’s framed:
Here’s another example of a large piece of wallpaper behind a sofa. It’s Cole and Son Cow Parsley wallpaper featured in Country Home:
I love, love, love how this wallpaper is framed with this table and layered with this picture frame. In Julie Charbonneau’s Montreal Home featured by Canadian House & Home:
Here wallpaper segments are framed under a chair rail along a staircase, by Centsational Girl:
Finally, if you don’t want anything attached to the wall – perhaps you are renting – you can frame wallpaper and lean it against the wall. From Apartment Therapy:
If you are like me and not interested in pasting wallpaper to your walls, would you be willing to frame it? I admit I might be interested now.
Well, I love these ideas. So many great wallpapers, but too bold for an entire room or even a wall. Framed, however, and they are both an artistic flare and an architectural statement. I kept trying to find the one I liked best, but they kept getting better and better…I’m a big fan of botanical and oriental prints, so you know many of them caught my eye. Thanks for such a creative article, warmed me up!
That’s great to hear! I like pattern but not too much or too big on walls, so this is a great way to try some wallpapers you like.
I love it! Really pretty options. I have some wallpaper from Anthropologie that’s waiting to be framed. Do you have any suggestions on what surface material to use?
I think many of these wallpapers could be temporarily applied to the wall, perhaps with a gentle double-sided tape, to keep them smooth, and then cut architectural molding to size and tack it to the wall around the wallpaper. That keeps the cost more economical than using large picture frames.
Or, you could assemble a frame with the molding, then staple or tape the wallpaper to the frame, and then hang the frame on the wall.
Those are the main ways I could think of that would allow you to hang larger pieces of wallpaper economically and not permanently to the wall.
If anyone else has ideas, let us know here!
What a clever idea, I love this. I might do this in my apartment here, since I cannot change much. I want (lust after) that green leather couch, too.
Yes this is great idea for renters. And the before and after with that green couch is amazing – it looks fine before, but it looks great after! What vision to do that. The link for those photos shows a whole room made over like that.