Hanging Wallpaper

Hanging Wallpaper--


Wallpaper is making a comeback.  Is that a good thing?

Some of the rooms in my grandmother's house had wallpaper.  I remember running my hands over it.  There were designs that were raised and felt like velvet.  It was heavy and dark.

A few years or decades later wallpaper manufacturers decided to lighten the look a bit.  I spent hours pouring over wallpaper books.  All the different textures, designs, colors.  We were herded into apples and cherries for the kitchen with maybe a few vines flowing around the fruit.  In the bathroom we were given fewer choices.  There were specific designs for every room.  But, the heavy brocade was gone.

At one point in wallpaper history the glue had to be applied with a brush.  What a chore.  Later came the prepasted.  Much easier to hang.  Of course one needed a bathtub handy for those long strips to soak.  There was a bit of dripping from the bathroom to the designated wall, but that was simply part of the process.

We had very slanted ceilings in an upstairs bedroom.  I decided wallpaper would be lovely on those slanted ceilings.  My husband had a few misgiving about gravity but was persuaded to apply it.  Everything was going so well.  The first strip was up and looking lovely.  It added such warmth to the room.  Such character.  Then he began applying the second strip.  Now, he is a very patient man.  But his patience began to wane when the first strip decided to fall down on his head.  There he stood with wallpaper covering him.  It was probably not the time to laugh, but there was nothing I could do about the sounds that escaped my body and exploded into the room.

With great self control he laid the second strip down and reapplied the first strip.  We waited.  And waited.  It seemed to stick.  He proceeded with the second strip.  I wish I could say that falling, wet wallpaper happened only once.  Sadly, it didn't.  However, he continued until it was almost cemented to the ceiling.  Even though it wasn't exactly straight, I knew enough to stay quiet.  Years later we removed it.  And laughed about the hanging party.

Stripes became popular.  One day I decided that I would wallpaper the hallway by myself.  I had friends who did it all the time.  Everytime we got together, they bragged about the latest wallpaper hanging. One would describe the lovely wallpaper she had put up in the bedroom. The seams were hardly visible.  Another would talk about her dining room.  Well, I wanted to join that party.  I selected the paper, took it home, measured the height of the wall, cut the paper and put it in the tub to soak.  What is the correct term for that?  Who cares.

After the designated time of soaking, I removed it from the tub.  Where to begin hanging it?  Looking at the hall wall, I decided to start in the middle.  Seemed like the best place to me.  So, I hung the first strip.  Quite proud of myself, I cut the second strip and laid it in the tub to soak.  Then my phone rang.

Wouldn't you know?  It was one of those wallpaper hanging friends.  After a bit of conversation, she asked what I was doing.  I told her I was hanging wallpaper.  There was a long pause in the conversation.  I thought the line might have gone dead.  She then asked me all about my technique.  Did I cut it correctly?  Did I soak it in water?  Did I start at a corner?

A corner?  Why should I start at a corner?   I said no, I had not started at a corner.  She asked where, exactly, I had hung the first strip.  I said in the middle of the wall.  There was a small gasp followed by the command to wait until she arrived at my house.  I was just a little offended.  Why was she coming to my house?

In a few minutes she arrived.  Hurrying upstairs, she looked at the lovely strip I had hung, started to laugh and hugged me.  Then she started to clean up my mess.  In a couple of hours she hung all the paper in that small hall.

One might think it was a ploy to get her to my house to hang it for me.  One would be wrong!  I really did think I could do that.  Honestly, I don't remember reading anything about starting at the corner instead of the middle of a wall.  But, I know now.  Yes, I do.

So--wallpaper is making a comeback.  But not in this house.  We will use paint to create the magic.  And I can start anywhere I want on any wall.