The Studio Wallpaper Mural Installation Is Underway!
I only got about halfway done with installing the wallpaper mural on the main wall of the studio yesterday, but I’m so excited about how it’s looking! And it was totally worth the extra time, effort, and money to switch out this wallpaper from the smaller, darker design to this larger, brighter design.
I considered waiting to show you until all of the wallpaper was installed and the window trim was reinstalled, but then I realized that it’s going to be a while before that happens. For reasons I won’t explain right now, I’ve decided to finish installing the wallpaper, then install the cabinets, then make the countertop, and THEN re-install the window trim. I’ll explain that later, but all of that to say that if I were to wait until the window trim is finished before showing you, it would be quite a wait.
So I’ll go ahead and show you the incomplete installation of the mural just so that you can see the progress, see the new design, and be excited about it with me. 😀 Here’s a peek at how it looks as of this morning.
Doesn’t that look so good! I absolutely love it! It was totally worth it to redo this wall!
So to review, I created this design myself, and then had to jump through a few hoops in order to have it printed by Spoonflower. Since it’s a two-part design (meaning that one repeat of the design spans two widths of wallpaper)…
…rather than a standard wallpaper (where one repeat of the design spans one width of wallpaper)…
…the design, printing, and installation process was a little different from standard Spoonflower wallpaper.
As I explained before, Spoonflower’s system isn’t really set up to print murals. They print standard wallpaper only, and they print their wallpaper so that the seams overlap by about 3/4 inch. And they do that by taking 3/4-inch of the design on the left side of the wallpaper, and printing it on the right side of the wallpaper.
But I didn’t need or want that on the edge of the pieces because, again, this is a two-piece mural. So that extra 3/4-inch of design that automatically prints on the right edge doesn’t match up with anything. That meant that before I could install anything, I had to trim away the little white strip on the left side of each piece, as well as trim away the white strip and the excess print on the right side of each piece.
Once that was done, installation was a breeze. I bought the pre-pasted wallpaper (which is SO much easier to install than peel and stick), and you can refer back to this post for further details on how it’s installed. It’s so easy! And as soon as I got that first piece up, and could see those huge flowers, I got so excited!
I started in the middle of the wall because I wanted to be sure that the large pink and dark purple flowers hit close to the middle of the wall. I didn’t care about any of the other flowers as long as those two were front and center.
I think by the time I went to bed, I had five pieces installed. I think that means I have three left. I had hoped to get them all done last night, but I just ran out of steam and wanted to go to bed.
But look. See how I can stand on the other side of the room now, and they still look like flowers? None of them turn into dark blobs of color from a distance. I can stand all the way at the back doors, and they still look like colorful flowers.
Whereas before, not so much. With the standard wallpaper and smaller design, from the other side of the room, some of the flowers looked like blobs. And the design looked much busier because there were so many repeats.
Now, the design looks less busy because there are fewer repeats, larger flowers, and brighter colors.
This room isn’t easy to work in since I’m having to work around so much, but I think once I can get the cabinets installed, I’ll have some breathing room in here and it won’t feel as cramped and chaotic. And I’ll actually be able to put things into cabinets and drawers rather than having everything piled in boxes, or on the desk, or on the work tables. I’m so close to being able to install cabinets!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
![The Current State Of My Studio (The Reason For My Procrastination) [VIDEO]](https://www.addicted2decorating.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/video-thumbail-1.jpg)
Love it!!!💗💗
Wow! Very impressive!
Looking awesome!
Perfect.
The wallpaper is beautiful. Makes me smile.
‘Glad that you got your mojo back !
Striking! I love it!
Wow! Your sense of color is amazing!
I’ve never put up wallpaper, so forgive me if this is ignorant, but you installed wallpaper on bare, and also painted, drywall. Will that variance affect the drywall in any way? (Btw, I’m 70, and planning to put up wallpaper: don’t ever think you’re too old!)
The part on bare drywall will be below countertop level and behind cabinets on the finished wall. On the parts that will show, I primed and painted the new drywall before hanging the wallpaper. I didn’t have any more of the light blue color, so I just used white paint. But none of the parts that will show are installed over bare drywall or drywall mud. I would suggest only ever installing wallpaper over painted drywall.
I doubt you are too worried about the removal anyway, but a freshly primed and painted wall that wasn’t cured will probably peel off with the paper when it comes down. Not a huge deal, but be forewarned that it could happen. And I will add I LOVE THE NEW PAPER!!!!
I don’t know about peel and stick wallpaper but wallpaper that is prepasted or installed with wallpaper paste is much easier to remove from walls that have been primed and painted – more than a builder’s single coat of paint – and less likely to pull off the paper on drywall.
This is so amazing! I loved the old wall paper, but you’re right. The new mural is soo much better!
Now that is looking wonderful! What a difference your changes have made to the overall look! Those cabinets are going to look SO beautiful on that paper. I think you will be so pleased as things come together. It’s getting very exciting.
I have to admit I wasn’t sure how a larger print would look but after seeing it I love it. It looks more natural and really brightens up the space.
I really like the larger print.
Ha! You’re not so crazy after all, lol. Crazy like a fox, right? Your vision was spot on, once again your decorator’s eye proves true. So pleased to see your vision and hard work coming to fruition. It’s really looking beautiful! What did you decide about bringing the wallpaper design to the back entry foyer?
Looks great!
I “liked” the wallpaper at first, thinking that is a Kristi paper but I couldn’t live with those bold colors. Seeing it on the wall OMGee, I am so in love with this paper, I did a double take seeing it on the wall. I like all the followers of your blog love your DIY skills and how hard you work, thank you for sharing your talent and skills.
If you did a double take, I gasped out loud with pleasure when I saw the partially installed new wallpaper. So beautiful. And thank you for sharing its journey with us. We learned so much from your approach.
Kristi,
I just now figured out why you didn’t want your first mural. I have been following all you have explained about changing the mural wallpaper. Now I do see that the larger flowers look better and brighter……and there isn’t a repeat to take the eye away from the entire mural. The repeat is what I wasn’t thinking about and seeing before. Gosh, me being an 80 year old woman, takes me longer to figure things out. Good thinking and changing Kristi on the mural.
It looks so awesome!!!
You are amazing!
it looks beautiful. More importantly, you have got your excitement back, and that is also beautiful
WOW!! I thought I liked it before but this is soooooooo beautiful.
So pretty! I will be like spring even on a dreary winter day. I also love that the hanging lamps pull the green from the wallpaper. You always perserve. The drywall was done quicker than getting a quote! Lol. You continue to inspire!
Sheila F.
You will never want to leave this beautiful room when you finish it.
Looks SO AMAZING!!!
But what is with the stacks of chairs in the studio? You are adding more clutter you need to work around. LOL
She hosts a bible study in her home. No where else to put chairs I’d guess.
Night and day difference. Just beautiful, Kristi! Happy you got your mojo back too! 😁
Squeeeee!!
Absolutely stunning!
Oh Yes! I don’t know how you come up with these ideas but now that you have explained how the mural is versus the previous wallpaper, it seems obvious that this is the right solution. It looks marvelous.
Finally, now I see it! You were so right it was so much busier before and the colors were not right, at least in the big purple flowers. So, well done you!
Is the drywall primed? It doesn’t look like it to me and I thought it had to be to have wall paper on it. But I’m not versed in this stuff so I’m sure it’s done correctly. Anyhow, good decision.
I primed and painted the new areas that will be countertop level and above. I didn’t bother with the areas that will be hidden behind cabinets. But I didn’t have any of the blue paint left, so I just used white paint instead. Since the blue is so light, and the paper is pretty thick, I felt pretty confident that the difference in the blue and white wouldn’t show through the paper.
I LOVE it!
I so admire your tenacity in fixing the things that don’t look right to your eye! I thought the old wallpaper was beautiful but omg the new one is stunnnnnnning!
I LOVE THIS!!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Makes me feel happy, I don’t think it’s possible to get depressed in that room. So pretty!
Kristi, you are getting there. And, inspiring all of us along the way.
Hugs, mona
When I get googly eyes over wallpaper I find myself thinking exactly the same thing. The print is “too small” so doing this is genius!
It’s STUNNING!!! 💕💕
The new paper looks great. Bigger is definitely better!
Kristi, it’s looking great! The larger print was definitely the way to go. And everything will fall into place, but needs to get done in a specific order. It’s like trying to explain to my hubby, that I can’t get the shrubs, and other plants, put into the ground until I get the dry creek bed done. There’s a process, but it all works out. And I just know your studio will look amazing.
Once again…you were right! Beautiful!!
You are so right, the flowers look like flowers rather than color blobs. Who knew? This is a good lesson if I ever talk my husband into wallpaper again. It used to bug me to see certain blobs stand out but I never why. Good job 👏
Looks amazing!! Love the pattern so much!!
It looks amazing! Even better than I imagined!
It looks great. So much better than the smaller flowers that turned into blobs! I’m so glad you kept the same pattern. Now if you just had a place for the green paint. Okay, okay enough about the green paint. You were going to tell me the color, name, number, company for that green paint??? Please.