Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles interior designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma. DesignCoach™ can help you find the solution.
This week on the DesignCoach: The Joy of Old Wallpaper
Q. : We need you to settle an argument. My girlfriend and I just moved into an apartment and we disagree on what to do with the wallpaper currently covering all four walls in the dining room. Both of us like the idea of wallpaper, just not this paper. Even our grandmothers would not like this wallpaper. I say we need to tackle the big project of taking down the existing paper, however that is done, and either paint or replace the paper with something we like. My girlfriend says we should not bother. Rather, we should paint over the existing pattern and then apply new paper or paint. We can’t find resolve the question from current magazines and we need help. We can’t live with this paper much longer.
A. : And an answer you shall have. As usual someone is right and someone is wrong. And in this case the winner will be tackling the task of stripping down the old paper and preparing the clean wall for either paint or a marvelously chic new paper. While the “down and dirty” idea of just painting over existing paper is tempting; trust me, it’s full of problems not the least of which are: 1. colors from the underlying paper bleeding through the new paint and “ghosting” images all over your room, 2. the old paper, made weak by the weight of at least two coats of paint (three if you’ve done the job well), will bubble and start to pull away from the wall bringing with it the new layers of paint and/or paper you have applied.
Cut to the chase; you are miles ahead of the game to take down the old paper. If it’s a vinyl product these often come down with little more than a scraper, if you are patient and careful. Older “paper” wall coverings are more of a challenge and require either a chemical product applied to the surface which breaks down the old glue thus allowing you to scrape to your hearts content or a commercial steamer unit which loosens the existing glue releasing the old paper. While both can sound “easy”, the truth is it is rarely an easy project. But it’s completely do-able (I’ve stripped many a wall and lived to tell the tales). Just have patience and as with any project you are tackling yourself; have fun.
Let us know if we can help with your design dilemma. Send us your questions.
