*In collaboration with Photowall.
It is no secret that I have a thing for wallpaper accent walls. I’m actually a wallpaper convert. If you look at my old house there was no wallpaper on sight. I find that quite strange now but at the time it just didn’t appeal to me. Fast forward two years and I couldn’t be more excited about wallpaper, although (still) in somewhat smaller doses may I say. I am getting a bit bolder (give me time) and perhaps one day you will see an entire room covered head to toe in my favorite wallcovering.
I’ve really enjoyed revamping my daughter’s bedroom in the recent months. It is looking a bit more grown up, but still young and fun. Painting the walls has made a huge difference already. I opted for one dark feature wall and the rest of the walls were painted off-white. Thankfully my daughter and I have a very similar taste when it comes to interiors, so decision-making couldn’t have been easier. And because rules are for breaking, I wanted to not only have one but two feature walls in this room. This is a big room so it can easily take both. One is painted and the other one is wallpapered to make sure they don’t compete with each other. I found the most beautiful wall mural to go on the main wall from a Swedish wall art company, Photowall. All the products are produced and custom-made in Sweden and they ship worldwide. Photowall have the most impressive selection of wall murals, canvas, prints, and posters I’ve seen. And since all products are digitally printed you can have any image you want!
THE DESIGN
I think we picked the prettiest design from the whole collection, but I might be a bit biased. I wanted something elegant but playful which is why we chose the cradled in clouds wallpaper in pastel. I mean, how pretty is this? Even the triple bunk bed doesn’t take away from its beauty. In fact, they go quite nicely together, no? I’ve been designing the room together with my daughter and the cloud pattern immediately captured our hearts. I always feel that it’s a bit safer to stick to abstract wallpaper too, especially if you don’t want it to date. The cloud motif adds calmness and serenity to the room helping you sleep better (or that’s what I’m hoping at least). It’s such a stylish pattern and I think it would work just as nicely in a living room, dining room, cloakroom, hallway, so anywhere really! It’s a great choice for grown-ups as well and that’s the other reason why we picked it. It’s not too kiddy or serious, but just right for a pre-teen room.
ORDERING THE PAPER
I love how easy the Photowall website is to navigate. Picking your dream wallpaper couldn’t be easier with so many different categories available. I selected ‘abstract’ wall murals and ‘cradled in clouds’ was pretty much the first one on the list. I opted for the premium wallpaper as I wanted something super durable. We are decorating a kid’s room after all. This is the first time we’ve installed wipeable and washable wallpaper, so I was excited to see what it’s like. The premium wallpaper is ideal for children’s rooms or wet rooms. Despite it having a layer of plastic, it looks just as good as regular wallpaper. It is also PVC-free (non-toxic) which was important to me. The delivery took about 3 days and my wallpaper arrived in 3 rolls, in fully sustainable cardboard boxes. I made sure to order 15% extra for coverage to allow room for errors and damage. We got through most of it, so I am really glad that I did.
PREPPING THE WALL
In order to get the best finish you should carefully prep your wall before wallpapering. In our case, this meant removing the old wallpaper and lining paper. Unfortunately part of the old lining paper ripped when the wallpaper was removed so the whole wall had to be redone. The walls in our 1920s house were so bad underneath that the only options were lining paper or replastering (lining paper being the more economical option out of the two). We used heavy-duty lining paper under the premium wallpaper as it will provide a smoother and better surface than a thinner one.
APPLICATION
I hired a professional decorator to hang up the wallpaper. There is no way I’d attempt to wallpaper myself without zero experience. If you are planning on doing it yourself I’d advise getting a friend involved. It will be much easier to prep the wall and to line the paper properly. You can find some great tips here! All Photowall wall murals come with an adhesive that is ready to mix. Our decorator preferred to use his own which he was more familiar with. Since this is a premium paper it is quite thick and heavier than regular wallpaper. But on the plus side, it’s actually easier to put up (according to our decorator). If you are using lining paper underneath, like we did, make sure to leave a week or so before you hang up the wallpaper. You need to allow time for the lining paper to dry first when using the premium (or any vinyl) wallpaper, otherwise, it can trap moisture in between the two. With normal wallpaper, 24 hours should be enough.
DURABILITY & QUALITY
Durability should be a top priority when choosing wallpaper for children’s rooms. Kid’s rooms get more wear and tear, although thankfully older kids are a bit more careful. I would still pick a premium wallpaper over a regular one if it’s available. There are other ways to make wallpaper more durable; like applying clear varnish to it to protect it but it will require a bit more work. We haven’t had our wallpaper long enough to really comment on the durability but based on the material I would expect it to last until my daughter’s adulthood. The quality of the paper also impressed me. You can only see close up that it’s a digital print but from a distance, it could easily be handpainted. Most importantly the cloud pattern looks stunning on a scratch-resistant premium paper that can be scratched without losing the colors or having marks. It is the perfect wallpaper for a children’s room or any high-traffic area if you ask me!
Now tell me, what are your thoughts on wallpaper in kids’ rooms?
