White and Gray removable wallpaper and white linen drapes from West Elm.

How to Use Peel and Stick Wallpaper

Is your budget tight but you have grand taste? If you want chic on a shoestring decorating then you’re in the right spot! I’m sharing my design office transformation! We have an upstairs office that the previous owners used as the homework room for their teenage girls.

I fell in love with the “treehouse” feel of it. It has dark wood pitched ceilings, an insane amount of built in cabinetry and more storage than any girl needs!

What I didn’t love was the paint and trim colors and how heavy it felt mixed to the cabinetry. I wanted white and gray wallpaper, but I wanted it on a budget.

I discovered NuWallpaper WallPops wallpaper. It’s a removable peel and stick wallpaper. You heard me – removable wallpaper. What? Too good to be true?

That means you can throw off that question burning in the back of your mind which is does peel and stick wallpaper damage walls. Well, let’s take a look.

How to Apply Peel and Stick Wallpaper

Now before you run out on a buying frenzy there are some things you NEED to know about this project.

It’s so important that we go through peel and stick wallpaper pros and cons before sinking your money into it.

It’s not a hard task, but there are some things to be aware of when you think about how to apply peel and stick wallpaper.

One of the main things I want to know, as I rarely get something perfect on the first try, is how to fix peel and stick wallpaper.

Blue & Gray Shops

Curated products for timeless home decor & beauty for women.

Home Office Without Wallpaper

office with dark wood ceiling and yellow walls and brown trim

Home Office With Wallpaper

peel and stick wallpaper in dark office with dark wood built ins and library ladder

Whoa! Would you then believe me that I did all of this myself with just removable peel and stick wallpaper, new trim paint and a trip to Homegoods and Target? I spent maybe $750 total (that includes the console – but not the lighting fixtures) and what a gigantic transformation!

I so pumped to show you, from a fellow DIY’er, how to apply peel and stick wallpaper in your home!

chic on a shoestring decorating

I admit, at first I was skeptical of removable wallpaper. I’ve used it for murals in my kids room before, but it always felt a bit cheap looking. My house is covered with gorgeous designer wallpaper that was professionally hung. I worried that if I did “stickers” it would not at all keep up with the aesthetic of my home. Wrong. So wrong. The finished look was an example of chic on a shoestring decorating if I’ve ever seen one!

NuWallpaper WallPops wallpaper sent me some white and gray wallpaper rolls to experiment with. I told them I needed to try the product myself and like it or I wouldn’t share this with you all. I really wanted to know for myself what the peel and stick wallpaper pros and cons were. Well, I didn’t just like it, I loved it. I think the white and gray wallpaper pattern is so pretty, feminine and refreshing!

How Do you Prepare Walls for Peel and Stick Wallpaper?

Before starting, I painted all trim and doors in white using Sherwin-Williams Divine White for the trim, which is what my entire house is done in (get all my interior paint colors here). This helped brighten the space. It’s crazy how much a little paint can do!

Getting the technique down will take a little bit of practice, so if you’re more comfortable starting in a part of the room that’s not noticeable, do that. Once I got the technique down, I was off to the races. These are some of the tips I recommend using when hanging the NuWallpaper WallPops wallpaper.

If your still nervous, don’t worry! It’s really easy to learn how to fix peel and stick wallpaper if you make a mistake.

My Tips for Applying Peel and Stick Wallpaper — Seriously, Do These!

Step One
Wipe down all of the walls with a slightly damp rag and let them dry.
Starburst gold mirror with gray reusable wallpaper.
Step Two
Start at a center focal point of your wall and hang your first piece there. As you hang more, you will move out on either side of this primary focal point you start with.
Step Three
Begin at the top pulling removable wallpaper down slowly. Use tension as backing paper is pulled off. Only work with around 8-12″ of exposed paper at a time for the easiest maneuvering.
Removable Wallpaper in upstairs office with gray and white marble decor.
Step Four
Use hands to smooth out all of the bubbles.
Decorative blue plate and gold console table.
Step Five
At the bottom by the baseboard, leave a bit hanging off. Scissor cut the excess just below the baseboard (down by carpet) but use a razor blade to trim all top and bottom areas for a smooth line across moldings and doorframes.
Decorating on a budget. Neutral gray and white linen drapes in home office.

How Long Does Peel and Stick Wallpaper Last? My Answer My Surprise You!

The main reason I loved this removable floral peel and stick wallpaper is it’s beautiful but incredibly forgiving. If it creases or sticks to itself and you pull it open, it still looks great. I didn’t find that it creased much at all, and if it did it wasn’t that noticeable.

Yes, there was about an hour learning curve. Once I made a few “whoopsies” I was off to the races and my mistakes didn’t show.

As I update this post, it’s been over six months and the removable peel and stick wallpaper hasn’t come down at all except for one place (a tiny, tiny corner) and I think that’s because when I hung it I had already “whoopsied” too many times and it lost it’s full strength stickiness. But hey, like I said, it’s not professionally hung wallpaper!

 

Can You Put Peel and Stick Wallpaper on Textured Walls?

Now. Is the white and gray wallpaper flawlessly hung? Uh….no. Can you see errors I made? Absolutely. So don’t look too hard! If you are a perfectionist then this isn’t for you – hire someone and use real wallpaper. But if you want a gorgeous look for less and want to do it yourself then I can’t recommend this product enough. This gives you a fantastic bang for your buck!

I need to warn you about using peel and stick wallpaper on textured walls. If that’s you, then this probably won’t work or look as good. I have smooth walls. They have the tiniest bit of texture, but they are typical walls. To be safe, I sanded them ever so slightly but nothing really major. I spent 20 minutes at most in this big room sanding.

Wall pops wallpaper dandelion wallpaper hung with personal art and a gold starburst mirror and hydrangea floral arrangement on a white console table
Removable peel and stick wallpaper door. Home office painted in divine white paint by sherwin williams with removable peel and stick wallpaper

To finish the look, I added some inexpensive white linen drapes from West Elm, a console I found at Homegoods (pretty one here), a few frames, new pillow and voila! I’m working on getting some new sconces for the wall now but other than that, I’m happy with how the room turned out – and I’m happy that it didn’t cost that much money! So is my husband!

I recommend giving removable peel and stick wallpaper a try. It would look fabulous on an accent wall, guest bedroom, entryway, etc. The only place I wouldn’t put it is a full bathroom because the steam would likely not be happy with stickers! But two thumbs up for NuWallpaper WallPops wallpaper!

SaveSave

SaveSave

Blue & Gray Shops

Visit this edited collection of home and holiday decor accents for timeless decor.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Signature

6 Comments

  1. Hi Kelly

    I love your office makeover. I was curious if on the peel and stick you had any trouble making the seams smooth where they meet? I am concerned that they will separate. My husband is looking at a rustic plank look for his office area.

    Thank you for your time
    Mary

    1. Hi Mary! No, no trouble with that at all. The only issue with this type of paper I find is that 1) it won’t work on textured walls and 2) aligning it takes some practice. I found it to be forgiving though with the “whoopsies” and I’m someone who can overlook places where I messed up. If you aren’t able to overlook those areas, then this isn’t for you. But I’ve had zero issues with the seams coming undone. It’s still on there as smoothly as the day I put it on! Let me know how it goes!

      1. Thank you so much Kelly for answering. We both can live with a few imperfections (been married 49 years – lol). My husband is very excited that the seams hold up.

        Have a great evening
        Mary

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *