Category: Walls

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.