Frequently asked Questions and More!
Do you do small projects?
YES! I prefer small projects for homeowners. Please don't send me the full tender package for a skyscraper.
How much does wallpaper installation typically cost?
My installation cost is greatly influenced by the paper you choose. If you have a project that will stand out in my portfolio, you'll get a great price. My price for installing wallpaper in a powder room is about $750. My usual price for a feature wall is $500 because that’s my minimum.
How much does wallpaper cost?
Wallpaperdirect.com and Finestwallpaper.com are good places to start.
I compare all wallpaper to these three brands:
https://sandbergwallpaper.com/
https://www.sanderson.design/wallpaper
These manufacturers hold a Royal Warrant and they print most of their paper by gravure (ink on metal rollers).
How much wallpaper do I need?
For regular wallpaper on a wall of regular height, each bolt will yield three drops.
One 11-yard roll of 20.5” wide wallpaper will cover 60.5” on an 8 or 9 foot high wall, and depending on the pattern repeat sometimes 60.5” on a 10 foot wall.
One 9-yard roll of 27” wide wallpaper will cover 81” on an 8 or 9 foot high wall.
Online wallpaper calculators generally work quite well. I like to plan my seams before I arrive so I almost always make a drawing and I'd be happy to make one for you.
A powder room would take about 4 or 5 double rolls. This powder room and the ceiling were done with just two double rolls. https://www.instagram.com/p/DUOrotOEtJV/
Inexpensive papers:
Many papers on wallpaperdirect.com are inexpensive. One brand that I like is called Albany Selects. It's real wallpaper printed by gravure, so you can see the textrue of the ink on the paper. But this paper is on the old-fashioned ground (not nonwoven) so it's very delicate and a bit tedious to install, and would be more difficult to remove. But for $49 per doulble roll, how can you go wrong?
Paintable wallpapers like Anaglypta are inexpensive because they're just embossed paper.
Vintage wallpapers can be found on Ebay or Marketplace for great prices.
The Graham & Brown papers at Home Depot seem to be the same quality as their regular offerings, but with different designs.
Is wallpaper suitable for bathrooms?
It sort of depends on the humidity. Vinyl wallpapers would be a good choice here. Wallpaper that isn't vinyl can be coated with Polyvine acrylic clear, Dulux Diamond water-based varnish, Fellars Liquid Laminate or matte water-based varnish.
If I wallpaper all four walls, won't it be too overwhelming?
That's the idea! You want impact; you want to walk in the room and be immersed in the print. Trust me, there are very few patterns that will make your eyes hurt. In a powder room, you get the impact of the print in your whole field of view for the cost of 2 or 3 rolls instead of six or seven.
Wallpaper to avoid:
Peel & stick Spoonflower, York & their many subsidiaries
I would also avoid digitally printed wallpapers that are sold by the panel only because they're overpriced; just compare the cost to the Royal Warrant brands.
How to prepare walls for wallpaper:
If your place isn't under construction, you're ready! I'll help you move furniture if you want. And then I'll do the rest.
For new builds, here's the Wallcoverings Association guide to surface prep. It's all just common sense, but builders skip the most important part: "use a quality primer" on the new drywall. I'll handle the last step: the wallpaper primer. What this guide doesn't mention is that the ambient temperature should also be below 22 Celsius because most papers expand when they get wet and then they slightly shrink when they dry. For this reason the optimal surface for traditional wallpaper is a pulp liner paper because it helps wick the paste into the wall and keep the seams in place. And it also makes the paper appear a bit smoother.
Can you remove wallpaper?
Yes! Wallpaper removes more easily than you'd expect. Arranging for removability is a very good idea because removable wallpaper is also repairable wallpaper. High-quality papers and contract wallcoverings can be removed in full sheets, without water.
Removability somewhat depends on the base primer but even if the underlying surface hasn't been ideally prepared, wallpaper is still not impossible to remove. Call me, I'll do it!
The only time, wallpaper isn't removable, is when it's been stuck directly to unprimed drywall. The second worst scenario is wallpaper applied directly onto PVA primer.
To remove wallpaper:
Start at the top. Use a lot of water. Some papers could benefit from perforation. Here's a short video I made showing how to remove wallpaper https://www.instagram.com/p/CzOzndKxZj0/
Types of wallcoverings
Traditional wallpaper
Most comes in what we call a double roll. The most common sizes for double rolls are 20.5" x 11 yards and 27" by 9 yards. When ordering, specify the dimensions to avoid confusion. Some paper is sold by the single roll but shipped as a double roll so it's important to be clear about the dimensions.
Traditional wallpaper is block printed, gravure printed, screen printed, flocked and printed digitally.
Peel and Stick:
It's a DIY product and I don't love installing it. You've probably already got the tools you need to hang peel and stick... if patience is a tool.
Contract Wallcoverings
Contract wallcoverings are commonly 30 yards per bolt and 54" wide and installed by overlapping and double cutting. These materials are commonly found in hotel corridors because they're very strong and very repairable. Also seamless. Canadian mural maker Fine & Dandy prints on a 20 oz and 13 oz and can be installed to look seamless.
Type II is the most common it's 20oz per yard. There are also type I and type III which are lighter and heavier, respectively.
One bolt of type II vinyl costs about $1000 and will cover about 45 feet of an 8' high corridor.
Custom printed wallpaper
I would recommend John Mark for custom printing because I've hung a few of their papers in a speakeasy here called Bagheera. Recently, the founder John Mark Watson was awarded the Freeman of the City of London title.
Specialty Wallcoverings
Grasscloth, Fabrics, Cork, Weaves
Grasscloth is made in China, Korea and Japan
Fun fact! Sometimes you'll find bugs woven into the panel.
These products are usually 36" wide by 8 yards and cost approximately $100 per yard. These materials can be found in showrooms open only to the trades. If you're interested in these types of wallcoverings, I can arrange for you to visit some of the local showrooms.
Hand painted murals
Very expensive. Always require a pulp liner. These are usually hand painted in China.
https://graciestudio.com/ - Hand painted in China
https://iksel.com/ - Hand painted in India & digitally printed in London
https://griffinandwong.com/ - Hand painted in China
https://degournay.com/ - Hand painted in China
https://fromental.com/ - Hand painted in China
It seems that these companies only share videos of their studios and not their production facilities.
Price to install: $500 per panel
It's worth mentioning that it would be easy to commission your own hand-painted murals from a local artist.
Liner paper:
Some brands like Farrow & Ball and those expensive hand painted murals always insist on a pulp liner paper.
Non-woven liner paper is also called bridging liner and is for helping really bad walls. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about liner paper.
Notable wallpaper brands
https://www.zuber.fr/ - Zuber is an impressive company. They still use original woodblocks engraved between 1797 and 1830 to print their scenics. They are the oldest surviving wallpaper manufacturer.
https://www.flavorpaper.com/ - Very wild papers!
https://www.adelphipaperhangings.com/ - They gild some of their papers with gold leaf
https://www.atelierdoffard.com/
https://www.allysonmcdermott.com/ - Recreates historical wallpapers
https://cwstockwell.com/ - The original banana leaf wallpaper that was designed for the Beverly Hills Hotel by Don Loper in 1942. He was on the I love Lucy show. You can see this paper in Vancouver, Ahn & Chi and in a secondary colorway at TWK Cafe on Commerical Drive.
Videos of wallpaper factories
In these videos you can see traditional wallpaper printing methods. Gravure, silkscreened, block printing
Zuber - https://www.zuber.fr/fr/video - My favourite part of this video, which appears to be filmed in the 90s, is when they go into the catacombs with a flashlight to look for the blocks, and blow off the dust like characters in a Spielberg movie.
Atelier d'Offard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOXFDCridYo
Farrow & Ball - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6UXfNAjagY
British Pathé 1963 wallpaper video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ycigOdc7FU
Flavor paper - Jon Sherman tells the history of Flavor Paper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxqhpVY1j94
Adelphi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WXxni8pV70
Allyson Mcdermott - shows how flocked wallpaper is made - https://vimeo.com/364294532?fl=pl&fe=sh
Other tips and inspiration
Don't forget to order samples
Wallpaper goes on last, so there's no need to rush it!
For extra impact, match the trim paint to the paper
Ceilings are the new feature walls
Hollandlac Brilliant 98 - I am fascinated by this paint. It has 98% reflectivity and it really pops. The prep takes ages and only a few painters can do it. Here's one who does a lot of it: https://www.instagram.com/finchcustompainting
Consider gilding the ceiling or borders with 23k gold metal leaf or even imitation gold leaf
https://www.wconline.com/articles/95055-an-introduction-to-architectural-gilding
https://bl.ag/introducing-the-basics-of-architectural-gilding/