Vintage Wallpaper Art

Wallpaper is making a huge comeback. But if you don't want to commit to the real deal, you can frame it! It's a great way to fill a gap in your gallery wall. For me, this was a sentimental project.

My grandparents had the same furniture, funky floral carpet, busy wallpaper, wood paneling, etc. for decades. The kitchen, for example, was covered in this colorful wallpaper in 1968 and remained that way until the house was sold in 2015...

When my mom found a few extra pieces of the wallpaper tucked behind a bookshelf, I called dibs. I loved the pattern and thought it'd be fun to frame someday. Now that I have a home of own with plenty of walls to cover, I was excited to finally do this.

I laid out two pieces to see what patterns I could salvage and what size frames they'd fit into. I was able to get one 11x11, one 8x10 and two 5x7s. I ordered the matted frames from IKEA because the ones I originally had in mind were too pricey for my liking (IKEA 11x11 for $14.99 vs Crate and Barrel 11x11 for $49.95).

I carefully cut out each section and flattened them using wallpaper glue (shout-out to my mom for the idea!). They were curled and wrinkled from 50 years of hibernation. The glue helped soften the paper so I could flatten out the kinks with a plastic scraper. When they dried, they were more stiff and flat making them much easier to frame. The 11x11 piece just barely fit width-wise so I had to glue it to poster board.

My designated decor hanger/husband helped hang them in the little hallway from the kitchen to the front room where the half bath is. It used to be a chocolate brown color so we painted it a subtle gray-ish white called Frost by BEHR.

I love the blend of vintage and modern. Most of all, I love bringing part of my grandparents' house back to life in my own house (we even live in same town). Although this 50-year-old pattern is ingrained in my brain, it's a simple reminder of many happy memories.