Off-the-Wall Wallpaper Projects
Decorative wallpapers can add beauty to your home in a variety of ways. Sure, you can paper a wall with them. But have you considered the other surfaces in your home that would look marvelous covered in fun, elegant, or soothing wallpaper? Here are a few of our favorite off-the-wall wallpaper ideas.
Wallpaper the Ceiling
Papered ceilings can make a room look busy, it’s true. But they can also make a marvelous visual statement. They lift your eyes upward and make a room look taller and grander. Such a ceiling can make a little jewel box powder room look sensational.
Wallpaper can also be a good option if you have a peaked ceiling. Do you have a top-floor room with angled walls that meet at the top to form a peak? Such angles often start fairly low on the wall. Papering the short vertical section at the bottom and leaving the upper part unpapered creates strange proportions. Wallpaper evens out odd proportions. And papering diagonal walls is easier than papering a flat ceiling.
Papering a flat ceiling (especially with a light fixture) is more challenging than covering a vertical surface. Gravity and height make it harder to place the paper overhead, keep it steady, and get all the air bubbles out. To paper a ceiling you’ll want an assistant and a four-legged ladder to hold you safely in place.
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Paper Inside Bookcases and Cabinetry
Do you have a bank of bookshelves or cabinets? Paper the back wall to add wonderful color and contrast. Are the cabinets’ contents visually busy? If you have glass-front cabinets full of dishes and cups, or bookcases filled with hundreds of books, consider using a subtle pattern. For shelves with lots of open space and displays of items that aren’t too tiny, you can use a bolder pattern without fighting with the shelves’ contents for attention.
Collections of monochromatic or solid-colored objects pop when displayed against a patterned backdrop. Storing large serving pieces in plain sight this way becomes a design asset. An array of large white pitchers, bowls, and platters against a colorful backdrop turns them from dishes into decor.
The backs of cabinets are good places to use peel-and-stick wallpaper. You can reposition it until you get it just right. It’s easy to remove without leaving residue, too. So if you tire of it later, it’s a snap to change. It’s also great if you want to create a wallpapered accent wall, nook, or cabinet area in a rental property. Just pull it right up when it’s time to move out.
Personalize a Folding Screen
Folding screens have become more popular in homes since the pandemic hit in 2020. They let us create private zones in the rooms we use as workspaces. Screens also hide messes or private areas on video calls. We can use them to make a room look tidy even when we need to dedicate a corner to boxes, toys, or exercise equipment.
Sometimes folding screens are well made but only available in colors or patterns we don’t like. Wallpaper can fix that. If you have one that’s shabby but still has life in it, you could upholster it with fabric instead, it’s true. However, that takes time, effort, and special materials. If the screen has separate frames around each panel, it’s easier to cover with wallpaper.
A folding screen is a great place for a bold wallpaper. It’s limited to a small space, and you can move it around easily. You can add drama to part of a room without filling the whole space with a bold print. If you get tired of the print, just move it elsewhere. Or paper two sides of a screen in different patterns, then flip it to change the mood instantly.
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Looking for wallpaper pattern inspiration? Check out the At Home with Style article Bold Floral Wallpaper to read about current wallpaper trends, see a wide array of examples, and find out how designers are using these exciting new wallcoverings.
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Paper Kitchen Appliances
Some designers think this is an off-the-wall move. It can be tricky, but I’ve seen designers successfully wallpaper the fronts of refrigerators. When I was a kid, our most stylish neighbor’s fridge was papered in a large black and white houndstooth pattern. What a stunning conversation piece!
A papered fridge does provide what style expert Tim Gunn calls “a lot of look.” So if you do it, do it well. Make sure paper is cut crisply and well affixed to the surface so edges don’t peel. If there’s a curve to your fridge front, paper may buckle and gap. I recommend papering only perfectly flat fridges. This is easiest on a paneled refrigerator (one fronted with panels that match the kitchen’s cabinetry). Just place the wallpaper behind or within the trim around the door’s edge.
If you cover appliances, choose a wallpaper with a waterproof finish. Fridges get regularly splashed and smudged. Water and movement can lead to peeling at the edges, so make sure to glue edges down well. Fix peeling areas quickly, before they tear or curl. Some people like to cover fridges with adhesive vinyl drawer lining material, such as Con-Tact paper. I don’t recommend it for high-activity areas. This material peels quickly and wrinkles easily.
Elevate Cabinetry with Paper
Boring or shabby cabinetry looks much more exciting when covered in wallpaper. If you want to try this, practice in a room that doesn’t get much attention. Try the cabinets in your laundry room, utility room, or basement. Papering cabinets you use all the time is risky, since cabinetry gets splashed with food, drink, dishwater, etc. Moisture in bathrooms can also make paper peel up from cabinets more quickly. But it looks so good when done well, you may decide to invest in some waterproof wallpaper and give it a go.
Cover a Lampshade
You can buy lampshades made to be covered—they often come with their own templates. With these, it’s easy to cut a length of wallpaper to exactly the right shape and size. Kits are also available, or you can follow online directions and create, cover, or replace the paper on most lampshades. Wallpaper is excellent for lampshades because it’s thicker and stiffer than a lot of decorative craft papers. It’s often water-resistant, too, so it keeps its shape and texture well. Using a large-scale wallpaper can overwhelm a small shade. Small to medium accent patterns are often a better choice.
Etsy shop FruFruTulip (based in Lewes in Sussex, England) sells a wide range of delightful and reasonably priced lampshades covered in vintage midcentury modern (MCM) fabrics. If you love the MCM aesthetic, I recommend a look at their fun shop. You can try covering your own lampshades in fabric, but it can be much trickier than using wallpaper.
Paper Drawer Fronts
A dated chest of drawers can look fresh and exciting if you cover the front drawer panels with wallpaper. For example, look at the vintage chest shown at the top of this article. Once shabby and worn out, this lovely heirloom has been elegantly refurbished with vibrant paint and papered drawer fronts by The Dove’s Tail in Falls Church, VA.
Some dressers have drawer fronts with wooden molding around the edges and recessed central panels. These are ideal for wallpaper inserts, and are easier to paper than flat-front drawers. Just paint or refinish the piece completely first. Cut the paper to fit and make sure the edges are perfectly straight. (Using an X-Acto knife works better than scissors.) Then glue the paper down in the recessed areas. Edges won’t get worn with regular use.
You can also glue wallpaper to the front of a fully flat drawer panel. If you do, make sure not to open the drawers from the edges with fingers. Use drawer pulls to open the drawers instead, or the paper’s edges may curl up or rip with use. Avoid handling the paper more than necessary while you hang it, since lotion, dirt, wallpaper paste, and hands’ natural oils can stain or change the texture of paper permanently.
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Send your off-the-wall decorating ideas to laura@athomewithstyle.com. We’d love to see them!
At top:
This expertly refurbished chest by The Dove’s Tail shows just how stunning a piece of furniture with wallpaper-embellished drawers can be. Insta: @thedovestail
