Hi guys! We recently moved into our new home, which is a custom designed coastal farmhouse that Matt and I owner built (I talked about our design in a prior blog post if you want more info). When we decided to move in (yes, we have a C.O. and have closed our home mortgage) our intent was to do most of the finishes and trim work ourselves. I can be really indecisive about paint colors and trim looks so I’m not in a big rush to make all those decisions. In fact, I am usually better at making choices once I’ve lived in it for a bit. Choosing finishes is one of my favorite parts of the home building process!

In our design we have a downstairs en suite that is across the house from our master and it is where we plan to keep both girls (current ages 2.5 years and 2 months) for a few years. The newborn will actually sleep in our room until she is one but her stuff will be stored in their bedroom. Currently, the bedroom walls are bare and just have white primer on them. I haven’t decided on the finishes exactly but I have a general idea of what we might do.

The girls have a bathroom attached to their room and it is about 60 sf with a single vanity, commode, and walk in curb-less shower. We chose all white cabinetry and varying white tiles with mixed metal accents. The cabinet hardware, mirror, and light fixtures are gold/brass and the shower fixtures are chrome. I wanted something on the walls that would grow with them for a few years and the gold hardware on the cabinetry it is a focal point in the room. Instead of just going with basic pink paint (I feel like I’ve seen a lot of pink and gold bathrooms lately) I wanted something fresh. For me, these gold polka dots bring a fun, girly vibe that isn’t too juvenile. Plus, it maintains the neutral color palette leaving me the ability to add color with decor items that can be easily changed. This peel and stick wallpaper is available at Target and has lots of positive reviews.

Please note that if you really want to test your marriage, hanging wallpaper together is a quick way to do it! 🤣 LOL. Just kidding, we had a lot of fun figuring this out together.

Panoramic image of the completed bathroom

Without further ado, here are our Top 10 Tips for hanging this peel and stick paper:

(1) Unless all drywall is exactly straight (including any corners or ceilings that you will run into) then you will want to use a level (we used both a regular level and a laser level). Keep in mind that most drywall jobs are not 100% precise, so we don’t recommend using your wall and ceiling lines as guides. Side note: We have smooth walls and ceilings with no texture on them.

(2) Keep in mind that if you hang one corner slightly higher than the other the paper will hang diagonally (and it won’t necessarily be apparent until you get closer to the bottom of the wall).

(3) Expect that it won’t be exactly perfect but decide what tiny mishaps you can live with that might not be noticeable.

(4) On a flat wall work from top to bottom peeling back only about 3 inches at a time and smooth out with your hands before moving down.

(5) Don’t fully seal the top (just push it on enough to keep it in place) until you get the whole piece on the wall and it’s where you want it. (Also, don’t pull on the paper too much, we found that if we tried to pull it to one side to make it match it would actually stretch the paper and ruin our measurements.)

(6) Use a flat tool to push the edges down and push out bubbles when the paper is in place (but don’t push too hard because it can leave marks).

(7) If your room corners aren’t perfectly square, use a razor knife (exacto knife, etc) to slice it down the corner and start a new strip instead of trying to fold the wallpaper into the corner.

(8) When you get to outlets, fixtures, etc use the razor blade to make a small cut then go bigger as needed.

(9) It’s less noticeable to have a small overlap of the seams than a gap between paper lines.

(10) IMO the most important thing is to make sure you know exactly where that paper is going to land at the bottom. Have it marked and check it thrice. Seriously, if we would have done this to begin with we wouldn’t have trashed two full rolls upfront.

(From Matt) PRO TIP: Use a laser level to mark where the paper lines should be all the way down the wall prior to hanging it. If you get the first piece straight you can use the edge to guide the rest of the strips.

If you would like to see more photos and videos of the process and end result please visit my Instagram @summer_onthecoast and open the story highlights labeled “Polka Dot Bathroom.” Thank you for following along with our shenanigans!

Christmas Blessings,