Decorating advice---The wallpaper is down----now what???

[JessetheCowgirl]

We just pulled all of the ugly pink/blue floral wallpaper down from our Master Bath. So, now what???

There is no texture on the walls--just drywall, and not totally smooth.

Should I texture it myself?

Has anyone done this???

I also saw something called paper illusions where you rip paper and wet it, then stick it up. It looks textured/glazed.

Any other ideas????

 

[monkeyboy]

Hay
Flowers
Old records
Cardboard

 

[Jeafl]

Faux finishing works great on walls that are not totally smooth. If you plan on doing it yourself, and have never done it before, I'd stay away from the Venetian plaster technique. It's rather difficult and has quite a few steps. I think bagging or ragging is VERY easy, and very forgiving if you make mistakes. Sponging is slightly more difficult but still easy enough to do.

I've never tried paper illusions, so I''m not sure exactly how it works. You can also get paintable wallpaper. It's plain white with a textured design that you just paint over whatever color you like. Stores like Home Depot carry it.

If all else fails, lightly sand and prime the walls then just paint a solid color.

If you want instructions for any of the faux finishes, let me know.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Originally posted by monkeyboy
Hay
Flowers
Old records
Cardboard

A trading spaces fan, I see

 

[Galahad]

We just pulled all of the ugly pink/blue floral wallpaper down from our Master Bath.

Wallpaper is evil!

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Originally posted by Jeafl
Faux finishing works great on walls that are not totally smooth. If you plan on doing it yourself, and have never done it before, I'd stay away from the Venetian plaster technique. It's rather difficult and has quite a few steps. I think bagging or ragging is VERY easy, and very forgiving if you make mistakes. Sponging is slightly more difficult but still easy enough to do.

I've never tried paper illusions, so I''m not sure exactly how it works. You can also get paintable wallpaper. It's plain white with a textured design that you just paint over whatever color you like. Stores like Home Depot carry it.

If all else fails, lightly sand and prime the walls then just paint a solid color.

If you want instructions for any of the faux finishes, let me know.

I love the Venetian plaster, but I am scared to try it myself.

Here in TX all new homes have lightly textured walls--sprayed on. So do you mean I can just paint directly on the dry wall without applying a texture first? Would I prime it at least? And I understand the bagging/ragging concept, but don't really know how to decide on a base coat/top coat.

We had an estimate of $1000 to have a pro do the "venetian plaster" thing (it is a BIG bath with HIGH ceilings), but I don't want to spend that much $$$$. We plan on moving within the next 3 years as we have outgrown this house.

Basically, I want it to be cheap (since we're moving), fast, easy, and look nice.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Originally posted by Galahad
Wallpaper is evil!

I totally agree. I have vowed to NEVER EVER wallpaper any wall in any house we EVER live in. (I didn't do this one--it was up already).

 

[Galahad]

Originally posted by JessetheCowgirl
I totally agree. I have vowed to NEVER EVER wallpaper any wall in any house we EVER live in. (I didn't do this one--it was up already).

We bought our house about a year an 1/2 ago. We are gradually doing our remodeling. Working on removing kitchen wallpaper that I swear the put on with super glue. Plain old paint for us. No Hilde treatments here.

 

[janette]

I sprayed texture on my kitchen walls after removing the wallpaper but I wasn't real happy with the result.

In the upstairs bath I just finished the surface and made it as flat as I could and then used a sponge painting on it. Used dark purple as the base and then sponged 2 lighter shades. It turned out fine and the uneven spots don't show up at all.

I also have a master bath like that that I'm dreading doing someday, may never do it since it's pretty much last on the list but I would do the same there. Just get it as flat as I can and do some type of faux finish. I'd go with something flatter than venetian or heavy textures. I'm not sure how the heavy texture would hold up with the humidity.

 

[Jeafl]

Originally posted by JessetheCowgirl
I love the Venetian plaster, but I am scared to try it myself.

Here in TX all new homes have lightly textured walls--sprayed on. So do you mean I can just paint directly on the dry wall without applying a texture first? Would I prime it at least? And I understand the bagging/ragging concept, but don't really know how to decide on a base coat/top coat.

I'm a huge advocate of priming any wall before you paint it. The paint goes on easier, and you usually use less, especially in a new house. If your walls are drywall (sheetrock) it is always a good idea to prime first since new drywall seems to absorb the paint.

When you decide on colors for bagging/ragging/sponging, it is always easier if you pick colors in the same family. You can do dark over light or light over dark, but it looks best to keep them in the same tone. The easist way to do this is to pick your colors all off the same color strip in the paint department. A good rule of thumb though is to go no more than 2 shades darker (or lighter) for your accent color. If you go too far apart on the spectrum (i.e. the darkest one and the lightest one on the strip) it tends to look splotchy and not blend. I hope this makes sense to you, (it sounds confusing to me and I know what I'm talking about!).

I've done 2 completely different colors on a faux finish a couple of times, but it is much more painstaking to get it right. I've seen a lot of people end up with a "polka dotted" result if it's not done right.

If you decide to faux it yourself, it's easiest to use foil pie plates to hold your paint. Always have a plate of your basecoat alongside of your accent color. If you find that you ragged on too much in one area, you can always rag on a little of the basecoat over it to even it out.

If you have any other questions let me know.

 

[leanne2255]

The paintable wallpaper works wonderfully. I also just ripped off some old paper from one of my walls and the wall was not as smooth as I would have liked it. We put up the paintable paper and painted it the same color as the rest of the walls, and it looks like a faux finish.

 

[diznygirl]

You could also try suede paint. It has it's own slight texture. It might be a bit more than regular paint, but tons cheaper than venetian plaster. And it might be a look that would actually be a selling point later on.....

Good luck!

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Thank you all for the ideas!!! I'll keep you posted.

DH wants this done YESTERDAY==as you can imagine a bathroom full of stripped wallpaper/splotchy drywall is quite unattractive