Deceiving Wallpaper in Better Homes & Gardens Magazine

Better Homes & Gardens is good about featuring wallpaper in its stories. I’m tickled to see the bedroom dressed in toile, in the photo on the left side of this page.

The paper in the middle, though, the so-called “removable” paper (by Chasing Paper), is an unfortunate choice, IMO. This is one of the new-fangled “peel-and-stick” papers that manufacturers have written a lot of glowing things about – most of which fall short of promises.

The paper is not ‘easy’ to install. It’s so difficult that I and most of my colleagues won’t work with it.

The paper is not ‘easy’ to remove. And it will take much of your wall paint along with it, requiring repairs to get the wall smooth and intact again.

Doggone It – It’s P&S

That first pattern is darned cute! It’s called Puppy Pile, and is from Chasing Paper. Unfortunately, like most of their products, it is a peel & stick material, which is extremely difficult to work with. It comes in 2′ x 4′ panels, which are some pretty odd dimensions, if you are trying to paper a wall.

I don’t work with P&S materials, and most of my colleagues won’t either. If you love the look, there are surely other companies making a similar design, printed on traditional wallpaper stock.

The second photo shows a fun design used as a backdrop to beds in a cabin guest room. This pattern would be overwhelming on all four walls, but in the bed alcove, it is snug and inviting. Sorry, I don’t know the manufacturer.

Both these photos were found in Better Homes & Gardens magazine, a current issue.

Art Deco Wallpaper in Magazine

The July 2019 issue of Better Homes & Gardens magazine has this page, highlighting a return to the Art Deco style in decorating. They show four different patterns that reflect this, and list the manufacturers.

A few words of aviso … Just because you see it in a magazine or read it on-line, doesn’t necessarily make it a good thing.

The first paper on the left is by Chasing Paper. This company makes the deceptively-described “removable wallpaper,” a new trend that is unfortunately luring many homeowners down the wish-I-had-never-heard-of-it path.

This “peel and stick” material is extremely difficult to work with. I mean, it’s hard enough to get Contact Paper smoothly onto your kitchen cabinet shelves … Imagine trying to wrestle a strip 2′ wide by 9′ long onto a wall, around a window, behind a toilet, and trim it around a pedestal sink. It is also not “removable.” … Oh, it will come off, all right. But it will take chunks of your paint and maybe drywall along with it.

One of my colleagues recently posted on our private Wallcovering Installers Association Facebook page of his experience with this particular brand, and he was very unhappy. I won’t hang peel & stick, and most of my friends won’t, either.

On to the next pattern above, the blue and white half-circle blocks. This is by Hygge & West. H & W has adorable patterns. But, bless their hearts, they have not put research into substrates, inks, compatibility, etc. My experience with their papers is that the ink swells when it gets wet with paste and then curls back, resulting in a tiny “pouch” in every spot where the ink crosses a seam. Do a search here to see my previous posts on that brand and their seams.

So many companies make lovely paper. I wish that H & W would network with them and find a better paper and ink combination for their products.

The last pattern in the photo is by Tempaper. Another company making peel & stick stuff … Enough said.

Back to the photo … the purple fan design in the middle of the page. Finally a hit! This is made by Bradbury & Bradbury, a company that specializes in vintage designs, especially Victorian and Art Nouveau. They have a wide variety of other styles, too, and are branching out even more in recent years, to include ’20’s, Atomic Age, and other eras.

Bradbury makes lovely paper. It’s a higher-end brand, and it requires some special trimming and pasting techniques. So it may not be DIY friendly – but it sure is beautiful. In fact, I have some hanging in my own master bathroom. 🙂 https://wallpaperlady.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/new-wallpaper-in-the-wallpaper-ladys-bathroom/