apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i like this example, and depending on the situation, it's far preferable to the mess that could be beneath.

I thinks this is a great idea and it looks awesome.

As someone who is knee deep in ripping out 40 yr old wallpaper that has been painted over, I curse anyone who would do that to future generations to a lifetime of tedium.

This looks like anaglypta, which is a thick, heavily embossed wallpaper that is meant to be painted. It can be very beautiful. Check out some of the patterns that are available: http://www.wallpapers-uk.com/AnaglyptaLanding.asp

That's a very different thing from just painting over ordinary wallpaper because you couldn't be bothered to remove it, which is admittedly a PITA depending on how long it's been up. But once wallpaper's been painted, it's downright impossible to get rid of. Those quickie house-fluff shows for unsellables make me ill whenever they paint over the wallpaper (can you tell I'm struggling with painted over wallpaper myself? Nightmare!)

LOVE

I love the way this particular example looks- I'm incredulous that it's actually paint! Looks very neatly done. If my landlord had done this we would have ended up with drips and bumps and odd transparent sections...

painting over wallpaper makes it come down (because it wets the wallpaper and messes with the glue)... at least accoding to hgtv. i've never tried it.

Sometimes this heavy wallpaper can be peeled off leaving a smooth base ready to paint, like lining paper. I can't really see it as an example of 'hot' or 'not'.

I think people paint over the wallpaper because it's a big chore to remove, not because the end result is chic.

I WISH that painted-over wallpaper fell off the wall. Would certainly have made my life much easier.

Agree with Lisa (Montreal) and mntwmyn.

Not hot.
Reminds me of being a kid in the 70s

This is lovely; great way to add subtle texture to a space.

CRINGE! I live in Germany where textured paper under paint is very common (sort of like you have a wet paper towel, let it dry and then smooth it out as much as possible). It literally makes me cringe every time I see it in our apartment. Good thing we're moving in a few days to a blissfully paper free apartment!

Anaglyptic wallpaper is MEANT to be painted over.

I wouldn't rip it out - it's very heavy, fairly expensive, and it is often used to cover problematic walls such as cracked plaster.

To highlight the embossed pattern, you could even brush on the paint lightly, then wipe off w/ a rag, leaving the paint in the cracks resulting in an antiqued effect.

BTW - The real issue I see in that room is that gawdawful light fixture: Get thee to Lamps Plus and get a real light fixture for that bathroom!

Yes, this looks like wallpaper that's intended to be painted (although from the texture, it seems that this particular example might not even be painted at all). But when you paint over normal wallpaper, you get big ugly buckling walls like the ones in the apartment I thankfully didn't buy.

Related question: we have a textured, "popcorn" ceiling throughout the entire first floor of our house. We hate it. Any idea how I can get rid of it?

Likey likey, subtle and not subtle at the same time. The look reminds me of reviving aged lamps and chandeliers with a fresh coat of paint, placing old motifs into a new context.

A house I used to live in had wallpaper that was basically super glued on! We attempted to take it off and I wish I would have just painted over it because we took off part of the wall trying to strip it. I say if the people who put it up were idiots and super glued it then paint over it.

As the owner of an old house I know what can be hidden under those wallpapers. Be wary of pulling it down unless you are prepared to deal with the aftermath. You haven't lived til you've dealt with load-bearing wall paper.

"we have a textured, "popcorn" ceiling throughout the entire first floor of our house. We hate it. Any idea how I can get rid of it?"

Depends on the age of the house and how involved you want to get.

If your house was built before the mid-70's, your ceiling probably has asbestos in it, and would need to be professionally removed - There are tests that can be done to determine this via professional laboratories. Otherwise, just paint or sheetrock over it.

If it's a newer home w/out asbestos, it could be scraped from the ceiling, but this is a very messy process involving covering the floor w/ tarps, wetting the ceiling, scraping and removing the crud - Then you're dealing with patching the holes and gouges in the sheetrock since the texturing is often done rather than covering screwholes, taping joints, etc.

Yes! Hot.

I agree with Madrid22:

Our living and dining rooms have painted textured wallpaper (that in another month or two I will repaint). Removing the wallpaper = gutting. The wallpaper is basically holding the plaster smooth and tight, but to remove the wallpaper would also free most of the plaster from the underlying laths. No thank you.

While replacing the outlet plate, I saw the true horror of the unpainted wallpaper. The look of painted wallpaper isn't my first choice, but compared to all of our options, it is by far the best choice.

I would love to hear advice on how to best paint over textured walls to get a clean, even finish. Thanks.

"Load-bearing wallpaper"
LOL

"I would love to hear advice on how to best paint over textured walls to get a clean, even finish."

Paint alone won't do it.

You'd need to prime over the existing paint, apply a skim coat of plaster/wall compound over the entire wall, sand smooth, then prime and paint.

we put the textured wallpaper in out 1/2 bathroom because we needed to add some texture to balance up the stone tiles splashguard we had there. And the space is tiny. Wallpaper was cheaper and easier to do than stucco or smth similar. And it's paintable.

Unless it is anaglypta, please don't do it!!!

We currently live in a rental (not our choice), and our bedroom features striped vinyl wallpaper that has been painted over -- hideous. Bugs me every time we go to bed (almost as much as the bed, but that is another story).

They do it all the time on British design shows -- especially when they are preparing a place to be sold. It's cheap, and the next person pays a heavy price for it (MUCH more difficult to remove the paper after it has been painted).

In response to the popcorn ceiling question - Home Depot sells a tool (in the paint section) that's specifically designed to remove that type of finish. You attach a plastic grocery sack to it. The popcorn is scraped off and falls into the bag. At least that's what it's supposed to do. Still makes a mess but it helps a little.

Well, I wouldn't say "Love it" is strictly how I feel, just closer than the other options.

Also, as it's probably hiding a nightmare underneath, then it could be a quite good solution.

Could be a bit of a pain to paint though, getting the paint into all the pits and grooves. Could be even harder if it has shinier finish to it.

My main problem is that I tend to pick at textured paper, so, for me personally, it would have to go.

Agreed. I like the example.

Emily

I think this example looks nice, but never paint over regular wallpaper! Our current apartment originally had wallpaper and the landlord at some point had decided to just paint over all of it. Now it's bubbling up in places near the radiators and peeling on some places where it meets the wall. I guess they thought they'd never live here, and since it's just an income property it doesn't matter. Blah.

used to live in germany, home of bumpy painted wallpaper. fabulous example of how warm and blanket like it makes the room. great job.

The house I had a few years back came with very dingy, damaged textured wallpaper. Since I was renting, I asked if I could paint it. I ended up with this apple green over a fern pattern that, now, I realise was rather hideous. But the textured wallpaper was fantastic for covering the damaged fake wood panelling so when I bought the house and redid that room, I put up new textured wallpaper that didn't have an identifiable pattern. I painted it mocha and the room suddenly became warm and a very nice space. Applying the wall paper sucked and it drank A LOT of paint, but it sure was a cheap and easy way to make a very ugly room look good fast.

i was too cheap to splurge for tiles during my kitchen reno and ended up using textured wallpaper for my backsplash instead. (i think it was $12/roll from lowes--which felt like a real steal at the time!)

i painted the wallpaper dark brown with a heavy-duty kitchen/bath paint, and i couldn't love it more! kind of has the same feel as vintage tin ceiling tiles, and it's held up fantastically over the course of the past few years.

I like the painted textured wallpaper. It is hiding a real mess, no doubt, so don't remove it unless you want a major job on your hands. Been there, done that.

P.S. Paint does not "remove" wallpaper. If your wallpaper is actually "paper," you will need to seal it with an oil-based primer before painting it, or it will lift and bubble. Then you can go at it with any latex paint. As mentioned already, some wallpapers are paintable, in which case, sealing it with oil won't be necessary.

What rainybeth said about sealing wallpaper with oil-base paint. It's the water in latex paint that is absorbed through the paper and softens the paste so that it loses its grip. Oil paint makes the paper more or less waterproof.

Some other points:

Walls that are papered without having been properly primed with wallpaper sizing (more like liquid starch than paint) will not give up the paper easily at all. Unsized drywall will come off with the paper. Wallpaper applied over sizing comes off in big strips.

Any wallpaper removal is easier with a steamer. They rent for under $30/day which is enough time to do one room. If you have more than two rooms, it's cheaper to buy a steamer ($60 at Lowe's or Home Depot, or check ebay or craigslist for used ones). Just be sure to wash the paste residue off with clean water and a big sponge as you go. If it dries, you have to start all over again with the steamer.

Whenever removing wallpaper, make sure the paste is saturated with water before you start sponging it off. It'll be slimy when saturated and will wipe off easily with lots of water and a few swipes. If not saturated, it'll be sticky and will need a lot of scrubbing before it comes off. Save your energy and saturate it first.

Painted paper can be steamed off if you score it first with a Paper Tiger scoring tool. It's still a lot of work but it can be done.

European wood chip paper is the worst. It was very popular in the 70s. We had a Danish house for a year and several rooms had that stuff. What a pain, even with the steamer!