That Darn Wallpaper!!!!!!!

It all started when I was painting the molding in my dining room (soon to be office).  All the molding in my home was dark walnut and I prefer white.  One of the first projects was painting the entire house, including all the molding.  While working in the office, I innocently enough starting peeling back a corner of the 70's flower wallpaper only to find that it had been hung improperly and the face sheet of the wallboard came off with the paper. 

Results of removing the wallpaper

I researched on the web and tried every recommendation for removing wallpaper with no luck.  Covered in fabric softener and totally depressed I stumbled upon a possible solution... spackle the walls to make them look rustic, hence hiding the imperfections caused by removing the old wallpaper.  The technique couldn't be more easy and I've now used it in two other rooms of my house as well as the ceiling of one of my bathrooms.  You simply take spackle or joint compound (cheaper) and spread all over the walls with a putty knife making sure to leave it rough. You actually want the texture on the walls. You aren't trying to cover the entire wall but to cover any problem areas to make them blend in with the rest of the room.  You don't want to make it look consistent but like it happened over time.   You are trying for an old plaster look so the walls will look aged.  You can make as much or as little texture as you want.  I used about a 4" metal spackle knife.  Tried a few different sizes and plastic but this one seemed best for my purposes.

Section of wall with wet compound

For this project I elected to use the type of drywall mud that goes on pink but dries white. Helps you to see the texture but not necessary for the technique.  After doing two walls like this I decided to try putting the spackle right over the wallpaper and it worked wonderfully. This will only work if the wallpaper is really on the wall well or the moisture from the spackle could cause the wallpaper to pull away from the wallboard.  In my case, this was not going to happen so I didn't even strip two of the four walls and you can't notice any difference.

Wall after joint compound is dry

After all the compound is dry you simply paint.  Since the mud will absorb paint, you can prime and then paint but I normally do two coats of paint anyway, so I just painted.  If you have lots of texture you may want to use a longer napped roller but it wasn't necessary for this project.  

Close-up of finished wall

Finished product

This technique was most successful in addressing the ceiling in my kids bathroom.  I had redone it once when I first moved in but the ceiling continued to peel until I replaced the ceiling fan with a better unit.  The thought of scraping and sanding, re-priming and painting a second time was daunting so instead I just spackled.  Only one section of the ceiling was bad but I spread the joint compound all over and now it looks like it was meant to be rough. Perfect solution to a bad situation.  

Finished bathroom with compound technique on walls and ceiling

Wish I had a before picture - everything about this bathroom screamed UGLY!  The only thing left untouched was the toilet and the flooring.  New lighting, mirrors, countertop/sink, fixtures and all fairly affordable.  I repainted the existing cabinet which saved quite a bit of money.  The big splurge in here was having the shower redone by Miracle Method.  Both showers in my home were in horrible condition and they did a fabulous job in resurfacing them and giving them new life.

Next project is my half-bath which has poorly installed grass-cloth-like wallpaper that is starting to show its wear.  Given my track record in this house, I'm already assuming it isn't going to easily come off the walls. May be pulling out my spackle bucket again.  Wish me luck!

Wallpaper in half bath

 

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