After years of dragging my feet, I finally did it. I found a wallpaper I actually liked and decided to pull the trigger on revamping our guest bathroom. Goal: To feel like I'm a little critter living on the inside of a log in a forest.
My original bathroom isn't bad. I like the simplicity, but it's all so white and sterile. I do like our white hexagonal tiles and our marble countertops. But I want a bold, vibrant pattern, because it's such a little room. I've always loved dark florals, so I decided to go for that. Here's the original:
It's a very tight space with very little natural light, so going with a dark floral paper is definitely a bit of a toss up. But with the help of my friend Dan, who was in the market for wallpaper and wanted to use my bathroom as a guinea pig, I figured removable paper couldn't hurt. If it looks bad, I can just take it down.
So I found a pattern I loved on this great Etsy wallpaper store that specializes in removable wallpaper, Muse Wall Studio.
First, we laid out all four rolls to make sure the pattern matched up.
Like I said, woodland log.
Then, we just had to go for it. Starting from the top corner, going from right to left (against the instructions, but I figured I'd do the most visible area first in case my final cutting down was a failure) I slowly and very carefully began to peel off the sticky backing and using a hard edge window washer, methodically wiping out any air bubbles.
Using painter's tape to roughly figure out the lineup of pattern, it was actually very simple. If I messed up, I simply had to pull it back up and restick.
What to do about the towel rack?
Dan removed the towel bar and we very carefully used an X-acto blade to cut holes around the screw posts. Then voila, stuck the rack back on: seamless!
I can't get a good angle, but here's the finished product. We only did one accent wall so as not to overwhelm.
Here's the before again...
And here's the after!
I love the results!
One of my favorite things is that when you look at the (soon to be changed) mirror, you see a sea of forest pattern behind you, essentially giving you a visual rectangle of wallpaper on the opposite wall.
Would I use temporary wallpaper again? Absolutely. But this one is sticking around (no pun intended) for a few years while I get my pretend-i'm-a-squirrel-in-a-log-drinking-tea-out-of-a-mushroom-cap kicks.
In the meantime, I will continue transforming our guest bathroom. Next step: revamp that mirror and the vanity. More soon.
