Holy Flamingos, I NEED this Wallpaper

I love this Cole & Sons flamingo wallpaper in EVERY.SINGLE.COLOR.  How do we convince the men in our lives that this is ok?  Because I can already hear Mr. H+F vetoing pink flamingos!

 

Blue, French Gray, Gold, Pink

 

Who wallpapers the inside of their RV door in such fabulous-ness?  I need to meet this person.  We are surely best friends.  

 

...And now I'm off to spend the rest of the day thinking about pink flamingos.

Can you use contact paper as wallpaper?

I got an email from a reader, Erin recently asking this very question.  You know I love me some contact paper so I'm intrigued by the idea. Erin's been around the web and back looking for examples of walls successfully "papered" using contact paper as a low cost alternative to wall paper. 

What's prompting such an idea?   A huge score of black and white toile contact paper at her local Dollar Store.  At $1 she quickly picked up 20 rolls. 

Toile Contact Paper available via eBay

Now we know she could do something like this.

Or even this...

But could she do THIS!?

Lauren's Breakfast Nook via Pure Home Style

Erin's hoping to combine it with some wainscotting so at the very least, the contact paper would be installed up high and away from curious, peel-happy little fingers. 

My experience with putting contact paper on dry wall is that it will stay up very well after you spend some time smoothing it down and working out any air bubbles.  My first reaction was to tell her to test a piece but I'm certain it will work for at least a few months so that doesn't exactly help her.  But long term (as in years) I'm just not sure.  

So I told Erin I'd put the call out to all you creative and fearless readers.  Has anyone done anything like this?  Any words or advice or caution for Erin?  If this works....OH THE POSSIBILITIES!! 

5 Ways to Update a Nursery without Painting it

My friend Rebecca is expecting her second child - a baby girl! - later this summer. I'm so excited for her and secretly/not so secretly jealous that she gets to indulge in all the cute, ruffly pink goodness that is preparing for a little lady.  She's facing the all too common challenge that many second time moms deal with - transitioning the existing nursery from its current not-so-girly state AND simultaneously getting soon-to-be older brother's big boy room set up.  That's a lot to handle for anyone but especially for a hormone fueled pregnant woman!

So here's the challenge - transform a baby boy's nursery into a baby girl's nursery WITHOUT changing the furniture OR wall color.  Yup, with a to-do list a mile long, she and her husband have decided painting the nursery is just not going to happen.  Rebecca wants the room to look different of course.  She doesn't want to walk in an feel like she's in her son's old nursery.  She wants to personalize it for the arrival of her daughter! 

Certainly things like new curtains, accessories and lighting can completely transform a room but when it comes to playing down an existing wall color, I think the best course of action is to create something else to focus on.  Something so bold and interesting that you don't even care what color the walls are.  They become the supporting cast of the room's overall look. 

Here are 5 ways to minimize a room's wall color:

 

I would recommend something that works with the green but has some other, more feminine colors as well.  You can mount wallpaper on foam core and trim it with some inexpensive molding to create an instant focal point.  It's like a huge piece of art really.  

 

  

 

 

 

Speaking of art...

What color are the walls in this room?  Who cares?  You're to drawn in by the vibrant colors on that enormous piece of art to pay any attention to the wall color!  A large piece of art makes a statement...you can't NOT look at it. 

  

 

 Re-positionable and removable decals are a great way to change the look of a room.  They are super appropriate for a nursery which is perhaps the most temporary room in a home.  They come in a ton of playful designs and colors.  Some all over designs can even look like wallpaper.  Google "repositionable wall decals" and you'll get a plethora of options.  Etsy has some great options as well. 

 

 

 

I'm using the term "art" loosely here.  Create a bold collection of something big to focus your attention on.  

 

It doesn't get much more neutral than tan walls but this nursery is still sweet and girly as can be with the infusion of pink in this framed ABC art wall.  A can of spray paint could quickly unify any collection of orphan frames (y'know the ones you've had stacked at the back of your closet for years!)  A few sheets of pretty scrapbook paper + some of your favorite fonts and you're on your way.

A meandering trail of paper flowers would instantly add some femininity to the room.  I love the idea of doing a bunch in various shades of pink or purple, both of which would look fantastic and preppy when paired the existing green walls. 

 

 

Don't want to focus on the walls?  Draw your eye upward with something so interesting, you won't even care what's going on with the walls!  I particularly love this solution for a nursery because babies spend so much time on their backs.  A creative ceiling treatment can act as one enormous mobile!

I  recognize that this last photo is completely cheating in the "no paint" category but since I'm on a total pink ceiling kick I HAD to include it.  I can't stop thinking about Rebecca's green walls with a pink striped ceiling.  So Lily Pulitzer girly and preppy! 

Blik Wall Graphics

I'm very excited about this new (to me) discovery of a wallpaper and stencil alternative.  Blik is a line of self-adhesive wall decals.  After discovering them via Pinterest (what did we all do before Pinterest?), I've been completely consumed with the idea of using these peel and stick designs somewhere in my home.  They're sort of like Mykea but for your walls.  (You know Mykea right?  That's a whole other post but you need to know about them.)

And for the design commitment-phobics out there these decals are 100% REMOVABLE.  I posted about Tempaper which also promises re-positionable wall design here.  But I'm really loving the Blik designs much more.  Not only are there a ton of them, they are all gorgeous thanks to their collaborations with some amazing artists like Keith Haring, SCAD, Amy Ruppel and even Threadless (the tshirt company!)

Here's just a few of the designs that caught my eye.  So many great options for nursery and playrooms but I also like a lot of the "older" designs too (hello!?  that headboard!?)

 

I'm dying to know...has anyone used these?  Are they really as easy as they sound?  If so, this is a strong contender for personalizing Knox's playroom...I just need to pick one!  I'm really loving the koi fish above, this awesome castle graphic and these balloons which you can customize the color of.

What do you know about Tempaper?

I had never heard of it but after poking around their site for a while, it looks quite promising! Self adhesive, re-positionable, temporary wallpaper. Um...yes please. Renters and commitment-phobic design enthusiasts everywhere rejoice! {yes, the latter applies to me}






Prices range from $75-$85 a roll. Check out all their designs here and the demo video on how to install here. Looks easy enough...though I envision myself endlessly scraping old credit cards over the wall to rid it of air bubbles. Small price to pay for prettiness I say!

Currently obsessing over this wall mural

Does anyone have any idea where I can find this wallpaper or anything that would allow me to recreate the look? I know it's the famous Great Wave off Kanagawa image by Hokusai but I can't seem to find anything that would allow me to blow it up to this scale.

Rollerwall

Have you heard of this product? Because if you have and you haven't told me, I'm afraid we can't be friends anymore.


I desperately want this to work as easily as they make it look in the how to video but I suspect it would be a little harder (or maybe I'm still just jaded after my stencil disaster?) Getting an even coat of paint on the roller would be challenge #1. But the biggest thing I can't wrap my brain around is how you line up the design with each pass. Am I missing something here? That seems like it would be really hard.

They don't have the most amazing selection of patterns but I could definitely make a few of these work.

pattern #2397

pattern #2701

I think this one would look awesome in a tone on tone (glossy over flat) application.

pattern #2832


quills

Kinda like this wall by Markham Roberts but he hand painted all of those quills. Duh...of course he did.

via Domino

pattern #4132

Individual pattern rollers are $59 and the applicator is another $19.95. Right around the same cost of some of the larger stencils I've seen but in theory w0uld be oodles easier. In theory.

I'm dying to know if anyone out there has tried this product or something similar. It appears Liquid Wall Decor (which I don't think has launched yet but here's their Facebook page) with be another option but with more variety in their patterns.