This week’s Reader Dilemma topic is one I expect a lot of you will be able to relate to because it’s often a “love it or hate it” situation. Can you say “wallpaper!”?
Wallpaper often seems to inspire dilemmas – finding the right wallpaper, hanging it, repairing it if it becomes ripped or stained, and removing it. And today, the dilemma of how to live with wallpaper when it’s someone else’s style and you may not remove it!
Photo bhg.com
The Dilemma
“Hi!
I am about to move into a rented house and they have quite a lot of wallpaper that is not to my taste, yet very expensive. They don’t want me to paint over it. Is there a way of covering it temporarily for the duration of the tenancy? I would really just like plain walls….
Any creative ideas? Many thanks for your help.” Yours, Carol
The Solutions
Hi Carol:
My suggestions for you are two-fold:
1. Arrange your furniture as you’d like to live with it and then look around the room at the wallpaper. Perhaps you have bookcases that have covered most of the wallpaper or large pieces of art that will help block it? If not, is that something you can add to the room and take with you when you leave? Vertical furniture might block enough of the wallpaper pattern so it doesn’t stand out so much and is more livable when not so visible.
2. For walls where the wallpaper just can’t be hidden by vertical furniture or art you might consider fabric as a camouflage. Hang narrow curtain rods at the top of the wall or even on the ceiling, depending on the architecture, and also at the top of the baseboard or attach the rod to the baseboard. Then create fabric panels with a rod pocket at the top and the bottom. You can gently shirr the fabric panels on the rod if you’re using a light weight fabric or just hang them flat with a heavier fabric that doesn’t let the wallpaper pattern show through. You can also hang curtains so gently folding fabric covers your walls. When installing the fabric you must be careful, however, not to cover any heating vents, air intake vents, electrical outlets (that you want to use) or emergency exits. I hope this input is helpful.
What Ideas Can You Share
I know some you Your Decorating Hotline readers have faced this same or similar dilemma with wallpaper or a wall finish you did not like but could not change. So what did you do? Did you learn to live with it? Did you ignore it? Did you manage to cover it somehow?
Share your ideas and experiences with Carol by clicking on the Comment link at the end of this post. (Note: if you’re reading this post via a subscription email simply click on the Your Decorating Header on the email and it will take you directly to the post on our website so you may use the comment link – neat trick, eh?)
I’d love to hear what you decide to do, Carol, or better yet, see photos!
Thanks for reading Your Decorating Hotline.
P.S.
This reader’s dilemma was submitted at a time when Your Decorating Hotline answered individual decorating problems free via email. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to do so, but we are happy to serve your decorating needs through an individual paid consultation that is more comprehensive and personal than the free e-mail advice. Your Decorating Hotline offers consultations on color, a single dilemma of your choice or a “full meal deal” that considers all aspects of a single room’s decor. To learn more about the variety of services we offer please click here.
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