Decorating with an exit strategy – Enjoy your investments Part 4. (Grandma’s Wallpaper)
Let’s get this out in the open right off the bat. I am a painter and I am not the biggest fan of wallpaper. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, hanging wallpaper is expensive. You have to pay someone to prep the walls, and you have to pay someone to hang the paper. Fewer people hang paper these days and the people who still do it charge a high premium for it.
Secondly, the paper itself is expensive. When you look at wallpaper samples, the only patterns you like will be the ones that are the most expensive. Sure, they make inexpensive wallpaper, but it looks like crap. They are having a sale on “Paisley wall paper” as I write this post. The only ones buying cheap wallpaper are the people trying cover the ratty looking walls in their 3-decker. There is one more reason I am not a fan of wallpaper, and perhaps this is the most important.
Wallpaper is incredibly personal and unbelievably outdated. There is zero chance that anyone buying your house will like your wallpaper. As a matter of fact, they will only think one thing when they see your wallpaper. They will think “My grandmother would think this wallpaper is kick-ass, but it has got to go”. Quite honestly, they may be right.
If you are completely sold on buying wallpaper, paying the high premium for it, and going with a style that fits you indefinitely, then just know this feeling will change. Eventually, whether your kids force you too or you have moved on to the next fad, wallpaper removal can be a major hassle to deal with. There are ways and methods that help make this process easy(Will be on our Do It Yourself page), but it’s inevitable that you will damage your walls some way or another.
Here is the catch. There isn’t any. In my 30 years of residential painting experience, I feel like it is my duty to give back to the community. If you have any further questions, please email me at steve.hubley@hubleypainting.com, or fill out a form on the contact us page.
