DIY wallpaper project

I wanted to brighten up a chimney wall that’s in my kitchen/dining area. So I decided to try my hand for the first time at wallpapering.

It’s not that easy…first of all it wasn’t sticking  enough so I re-pasted the wall (some papers you paste the paper, others you paste the wall).  Then there was the effort of smoothing out any wrinkles or bubbles. And before that was the measuring and marking on the wall to make sure it would hang straight. Oh, and removing the picture hook that the clock was hanging on and replacing it afterwards.

Anyway, here’s the before and after (complete with minpin):

 

The wallpaper is byEijffinger, which is a Dutch brand and quite expensive. But I bought a half-roll from an interiors shop that was closing down…it’s well worth checking out shops that are moving in case you can score bargains! Overall I’m pleased; the yellow-green echoes the colour of other walls in the dining area, even though the chimney breast is more coffee-coloured. And it has certainly injected a pop of vibrancy to the area!

I think next time I’ll pay a professional paper hanger though…especially when doing whole walls.  My skull wallpaper has just arrived (remember this post about gothic wallpaper)? so it’s next on the hit list. I’ll be sure to post the results. Have you ever tried your hand at wallpapering?

Moroccan Palm Room

I’ve been busily decorating my new house, and one of the rooms I’m pretty happy with is my atrium or sunroom. I’ve  given it an Indian/Moroccan twist, courtesy of the carved wooden screen and lanterns, and thrown in lots of palms for an exotic eastern feel.

This first shot shows you the view from the lounge as I’m sitting down…showing how high the celings are and how much glass and light there is! The walls in the sunroom I will wallpaper or stencil in a moroccan design, and the walls in the living room are shortly going to be painted charcoal/black for impact. The timber floors may also be stained dark, but we are living with them for a while to see how they will look with other dark surfaces around them. Anyway, on with the show…

And now for the little vignette of eastern objects (the large lantern I bought at Freedom Furniture, but at reduced price due to no glass insert).  I added pops of lime green for vibrancy – inside the lantern I just placed scrunched up table napkins! The little table the objects sit upon, I carried away from the Mitchell Road Antiques Centre, when it had its last day before closing – totally free. Gotta love a bargain.

 

Usually the bifold doors are closed, but they can open up to unify the space (although why the owner decided to have a sunken room, I’ll never know!)

I do need to get more interesting pots for the palms…and better flooring.

Another shot shows just a little bit of the loungeroom…but it’s not done yet, so more details will just have to wait! But again the high ceilings and multitude of glass are in view here:

 

So that was my Moroccan palm room. There are a LOT of DIY projects in store for me around the house…and I hope you won’t mind me sharing the results.