I'll be of zippo help but I am really excited about this project, moonkat!

You have such great taste -- I always look for your user id.

Good luck!

Wow rmkitchen, thank you! I admit I'm floored by your comment - but basking in it!

I was sort of resigned to thinking that my 'taste' was so eclectic & not-the-norm that I just had to accept that not many here appreciated it! (which is still probably true lol)

I just finished installing the Graham & Browne paintable bead board wallpaper beneath the chair rail all through out our bedroom and bathrooms. I used their paste and just cut each piece straight off the roll, making sure that each edge piece matched up with the one already on the wall. In other words, if you inverted one piece, it would not match the bead spacing of the one next to it. I did not try to cut along the bead line - except where the paper edged up to window or door trim. Once installed correctly, the edges are barely noticeable, and it looks just like wood bead board panels do. I think you would have much more chance for error or unmatched edges if you tried to cut each piece along the bead line and then match it with another cut piece, not to mention the waste of paper with each cut.

Here's a photo as it looks installed, but not painted, yet.

{{!gwi}}

Thanks so much nanny - exactly the info I was looking for :).

It looks GREAT in the photo - sounds like you are happy with the results, too, yes?

Did you think it was easy to install? I've done a fair amount of wallpaper on walls in the (somewhat distant) past, but I've never tackled a ceiling before! Luckily, it's a low ceiling.

Oh, the pictures I've seen of your home are just wonderful. What I've seen tells many stories about the places you've been, the things you've seen, and that you've brought it back with you. I love the way you have things displayed -- nothing precious, totally organic and you. (I'm thinking of those two fabulous pieces of art in your office.) You are funky bohemian, clearly a fascinating, brilliant person. I would KILL to sit next to you at a dinner party! Plus you like cats ....

You've an admirer in the rocky mountains! (me)

Oh Moonkat, I'm so glad you asked. My beadboard wallpaper from the same folks is on order and I'm hoping it arrives soon. Do you have any help for getting it to stick on the ceiling? Someone was just recently writing about doing that. It looked great, did you see it? But she said she had four people to help hold it up there till it decided to stick. Please be sure to take before and after pics! I'm sure it will look great.

Nanny2a, that looks great! It deffinitely looks like the real deal.

It's good to know before starting that every strip has to go the same direction (as if there were a nap) to make the edges come out right. Glad you mentioned that.

But wait... is this not prepasted? I've installed a lot of wallpaper but it was all prepasted. I even have some wallpaper paste in the garage (bought for something and not used), but if it's not prepasted, do you soak it in water and book it? Or what do you do? I don't even know how that works... much less where I'm going to lay it out.

So, does it need painting if you're going to paint it white and it's already white?

Oceanna, you explained perfectly what I was "trying" to explain....about going in one direction, (as if there was a nap). As a sewer, I should have thought of that expression, but couldn't.....haha!

The paper I ordered and received is NOT prepasted. Graham and Browne sells an adhesive powder that they recommend be used with this paper, and not having used unpasted wallpaper before, I decided to use their adhesive. I have hung a lot of wallpaper in the past, but this was the first time I used anything that wasn't already pre-pasted.

Their adhesive was only about $4-6, which I thought was very reasonable. The package of powder mixes with cold water and made roughly 6+ quarts of adhesive, more than enough to hang three double rolls of vinyl. I used it full strength, and would recommend that for hanging paper on the ceiling, as this is heavy vinyl paper and very stiff. You DO NOT soak it in water before application, but you do book it for 5 minutes before applying to your surface. This makes it quite a clean, dry process to install.

I put a plastic sheet over my bed, and pasted and booked each piece right on that sheet. My pieces were all only 36" long, though, making this possible. With full length pieces, you might be better off to set up sawhorses and a board, or borrow a long table from somewhere.

It was relatively easy to work with, but it is heavy and you would definitely need extra hands to hang it properly on the ceiling. You have to be careful not to press the paper too hard, or nick it with any sharp object, as it will indent where you press or tear easily once it's softened with the adhesive.

It was fully secure within 24 hours and I found no spots anywhere that needed additional glue...:-). That white in the photo is the color it is when unpainted, and it looks fine that way, but I think would look even more authentic with a paint applied. That's this weeks project. I wanted to give the paper a couple weeks to fully cure before painting. I am totally pleased with how it looks, and just ordered another roll to put up in my tiny laundry room that adjoins my bathroom.

I had looked at the paintable wallpaper at Lowe's, and found the paper from Graham & Browne to look just like the bead board I have in my kitchen and foyer bath. The paper at Lowes had a smaller, narrower stripe pattern to it and was approximately the same cost as G&B's.
Heidi

nanny2a - Wow, that looks great. What color are you going to paint it? It looks good the way it is.

Laurie

I can't wait to see this project progress. Please do post photographs as you're able. It's going to look fantastic.

I am in love with that wallpaper! Where can I use it???

rmkitchen - I could feel my face flush as I read your post! Gosh, *I* would like to sit next to the person you described lol! I'll just accept your incredibly wonderful words, and say I'll have dinner with you any time, as long as we can do it at your to die for table, sitting on the chairs you've done that I love so much! I figure that anyone who's done a dining room like that is surely the sort of boldly creative person I would LOVE to hang with! So we can just bask in our little mutual admiration society! :D

oceanna I got the prepasted - I figure that the ceiling will present enough challenges on its own, I wanted the paper itself to be as no-brainer as possible. And yes it was the gorgeous old farmhouse pics that inspired me to do this - I was hoping she would weigh in here (I get the farmhouse screen names mixed up, but I know who you are talking about)

nanny your descriptions are so helpful, thanks!

Last night I pasted up the little sample sheet they sent - just to play with it & see how well it covered the most uneven spots I have. Working with the little tiny bit was a piece of cake - maybe if I just visualize that level of ease to a 15' long strip? hah! Clearly, though, I need to do a LOT of scraping & filling & sanding on the roughest spots - I've already put SO much work into smoothing this ceiling out - really, it's beyond help, which is why I'm so excited about this wallpaper find!

oceanna the instructions are wonderfully clear; if you're doing walls I really think it will be easy. And I would definitely paint it.

The hardest part for me is the the area over the stairway. I said I had low ceilings, & I do - on most of the room. Interesting how easily I can gloss over the most difficult parts! I'll have to rig up some multiple-ladder scaffolding for the stairwell part, and yes, I will definitely be calling friends over for this! Will take as many in-progress pics as I can. I'll have sheets & tarps everywhere, & will probably book it on the kitchen floor next door to this room. I need to dig out my old wallpaper supplies & make sure everything is still usable!

kswl I'm already looking at other spots around the house where I might be able to use this! So far, on GW, I've seen it used on ceilings, wainscoting walls, & kitchen islands. Although it might take too much of a beating, I'm thinking about trying it on the interior back of my office bookshelf - maybe even inside my kitchen cupboards with glass doors?

We'll see how well this one goes, first :)

My husband and I wallpapered the ceiling of our 1914 bungalow with a paintable embossed "tin ceiling" pattern. It was prepasted paper and it did take a bit of work, but the two of us managed (it was DH's first wallpaper experience ;-) We had 10' ceiling, so it took two tall ladders. I was worried about it falling on our heads as we installed it, but it stuck really well. We started on one end of the room and "leap frogged" around each other down to the end. The nice thing about a ceiling is that there are barely any obstacles (no doors or windows to cut around), so it went fairly quickly. After it dried, we filled any gaps or unsightly seams with paintable caulk and then painted and glazed the ceiling. It looked great and got lots of compliments. Best wishes on your project!

Sarah

More good info - thanks Sarah :)

Here are a couple of examples of the sort of mess I need to clean up:

Looking back towards the stairway:

It was fully secure within 24 hours

Haha -- a vision just flashed through my head of poor dear Moonkat and three of her friends standing on chairs holding up the ceiling for 24 hours. I shouldn't laugh, eh? ;-)

Thanks for the info of how you did it. I will use the paste I have if it doesn't come pasted. I did just look up where I bought it on amazon.com, though, and it says prepasted, and it's Graham and Brown. Hmmm.

Fortunately, I'm only doing wainscoting, not a ceiling. I feel for you, Moonkat, but I'm sure your project will turn out beautiful and worth it. Thanks about the clear directions.

Moonkat, I have a Dewalt orbital sander and it is the coolest sander I've ever had. It's not heavy, and it's easy to use. It sucks up most of the dust into a bag (except on the freshly mudded wall which is the messiest job to sand EVER, ick). And the pads just velcro on so are so easy to change! If you don't have one, you might look into it. I just LOVE mine. Ceiling work is hard on your arms, shoulders and neck. You don't need a heavy sander. Take it easy and just do a little at a time, as there's no rush, right? Don't hurt yourself. That's what I keep telling myself on my current job though I can't wait for it to be done! Please be especially careful over the stairs.

I'm not getting any progress pics. :( I charged my camera battery and now I can't get the lens to come out at all. I need to take it back to the store so they can tell me if it's broken or if I'm having a short between the ear phones.

Let me ask you all... you've seen lots of pics of my home now... I'm getting those stair walls very smooth and flat now. So it dawns on me that I could go one of two ways. I could do those little moulding squares on the wall like this:

Or, I could do the beadboard wallpaper there on my stairs.

Because I have a split entry, this is the first thing you will see when you step into my house. Is the beadboard a bit informal for that area? Would the little squares be better considering the formality of my furniture?

I have ordered the beadboard wallpaper but there are other places I can use it in the house. I do love it, but there is a part of me that considers it not too formal, maybe a little more country? Am I wrong about that?

Moonkat,

I am just finishing up a kitchen with the beadboard wallpaper.(in fact taking a wee break here!)
I've done alot of wallpapering with my aunt who was a professional installer. Will you be running the length's parallel or perpendicular to the tongue and groove?

My suggestion would be if the tongue and groove has any sort of gap where a seam could not lay flat and adhere, it may curl at the seams. Also this paper is a bit weak at the bead where the paper is thinner, not horrible, but be aware that it does have a slight tendency to rip a bit there. All in all it is good to work with,and easy to lay out. It slips into place easily too making it nice to shift here or there. Whenever I work with pre-pasted I usually use a vinyl adhesive as well, except I paint the surface to be papered with the glue and dip my paper in a water bath like normal and then apply. Way less messy and I've never had a problem with my paper not sticking.

Good luck, can't wait to see it. It'll look fabulous!

never_ending more good tips, thanks! Gosh, I love this forum! :D I'll definitely be running the lengths parallel to the t&g. I'll smooth it out as much as possible, but perhaps I'll measure to see where the edges will land, & try to make sure that doesn't happen in an existing groove, thanks for that!

I'm wondering, since I'll likely have so much filler, if I should prime before wallpapering? Any advice on that? Oh, & I'm now a huge fan of MH Ready Patch, thanks to the recommendation of the farmhouse wallpaper woman (must find out her correct screen name!) That stuff is easier to work with, in every aspect, than any spackle/patch product I've ever used before!

oceanna - hush woman! I might be dreaming, but I've told my friends that 4 hours should be plenty lol! As far as your staircase, I'm most definitely not one of the knowledgeable folks here about era-correct decor, but it seems to me that the more formal flat panels would work better with your decor than the bead board - I thought that was what you were going to do - did you change course? And bear in mind that I LOVE bead board! But definitely listen to others on that front before me!

Moonkat, you were right. Only I did this style:

I bought chair rail and 3" and 5" strips of masonite. I measured and marked for the chair rail. I sanded the walls below the rail. I put up the rail. I put up the 3" board under that. I put up the 5" board above the side stringers and baseboard. I put up the uprights. All of these had to be carefully measured, and have their edges sanded. I had to run up and down stairs at least three times for every darned board I put up. Then I caulked. Then I primed it all. Then I painted it all. That took me about 3.5 days of hard work, several codeine pills and a chiropractor visit, and I only completed the upper staircase (thank heavens).

Then my son saw it. He zeroed right in on everything that had bothered me about the job. The edges of the masonite had a bit of a swollen look about them, and the edges were a bit fuzzy. Sanding them made it worse, not better. A couple of places where I had sanded it on its face, it caught the light and looked like a huge flaw. The masonite bent with the wall too much, so if the wall caved in too much and I'd never noticed it before, with the masonite clinging to the curve, it advertised it to everyone.

He was right. So using a hammer and flat screw driver, I removed every single board. This tore the heck out of the wall (Liquid Nails = bad stuff). Now I have been filling in all the gouges in the wall with wall mud, and sanding it. Sanding it is the Worst Job Ever. I now have fine dust all over everything I own, and it's all going to have to be cleaned by me. And my hands are dryer than the Sahara. Not to mention what that stuff feels like in your hair, or how fun it is to wear a shower cap, glasses and a gas mask, with one hand on the sander, and the other on the shop vac hose, while trying not to fall down the stairs.

One wall is pretty much good enough I could do the little boxes on it. The other wall that got torn up is still a work in progress. But both of them, plus the lower staircase walls, are good enough for the beadboard wallpaper right now with no further work.

Frankly, I've thought about setting a match to the whole thing. Well, not really, but primal scream therapy has been very near at hand.

The moral of the story is DO NOT USE MASONITE in wainscoting. Or maybe the moral of the story is to either be rich or have bad taste?

So I guess I'm trying to figure out if I can get away with just beadboard wallpaper on the whole shebang, or if I have to finish mudding/sanding the long upper wall, then do the same with all the lower walls. And I guess you're confirming my fears and agreeing with my better judgement, not with the little girl in me that would much rather just get this over with and watch TV.

Please, to those who have used it, how well does it cover up flaws in the walls? IOW, how perfect do the walls have to be before applying it?

OMG (((oceanna))) - I read about the edges of the masonite, but somehow I missed all the work & trauma around it - Gack I'm so sorry!

I just spent 1/2 hour filling & smoothing a corner of my ceiling - I'm thinking this will be a piece of cake now that I've read what you just went through!

A cautionary word, though - when I put up the little patch of sample wallpaper over some of my rough, uneven boards, it became clear that I would need to smooth it out a lot in order for the wallpaper to look good. Mind you, I'm not looking for perfection here; I'm just looking for 1000% better than it is, & even some hills & valleys & weird little protrusions in the wallpaper will still deliver 1000% improvement, I think.

So I don't know how rough your wall is (it isn't as bad as my ceiling pics above, is it?), but it should be somewhat smooth for the WP to look its best. You can always do what I did - take a small portion of it & paste it up temporarily on the worst of your wall & see how it looks.

Whatever you do, I'm sure it will give you great satisfaction when it's all over, but above all, please take care of yourself in the process! Nothing in home decor is worth doing permanent damage to your body over!

And oh, the stories we will have to tell (and laugh about some day)..... ;-D

We cross-posted - I remember farmhousebound (I finally looked her name up lol) saying that the WP worked fine over indentations, but that protrusions showed up. I think the WP will hide a lot (I'm counting on it) but in my case I have whole boards that are 1/8" plus different than the neighboring board, plus indents, plus protrusions, so I definitely need to do some prep work. You might not need to do nearly as much.

I am thinking of putting this in the back of a wall unit I am about to paint and trim out. I also thought of it for some of the kitchen walls, but there it would be exposed to grandchildren and their chairs near it. Does this stuff hold up, I am trying to imagine the raised area, is it just creased? I cant get it at Lowes off the shelf its only special order here now, they stopped carrying it in stock. (I suppose I should look at a sample book for a feel for its durability.) Just wondering how it holds up to things leaning up against it. I am wondering if I should just go with the real thing on the walls.

Moonkat, your memory and mine jibe on the coverage/bumps. I just wondered if anyone else had a different experience. I think my walls are ready for the wallpaper, but for the other they need to be completely perfectly flat and smooth and that's a lot more work. I'm just having trouble talking myself into doing a whole lot more super filthy hard work now. I so hate this dust all over everything.

Thanks, just aches and pains, not permanent damage. You know how it can be. I fell over my trash can in the dark tonight, trying to break a board over the edge to get all the trash in. The board snapped and down I went. What a klutz! Not hurt, just embarrassed.

You be careful too, please, up on ladders and all. I think your ceiling is going to look wonderful and you are going to be so happy. I'm glad your prep time isn't heavy, and I think/hope you're right about the application time. With friends, I'll bet it will go quickly. I can't wait to see it!

Pollyanna, we're being advised don't get the Lowe's. Get the Graham & Browne, as it's better. You can get it from them, or from amazon.com.

Although it doubles the amount of work involved, you just might want to put up a liner paper over any uneven or rough surface. Years ago I had removed wallpaper in my old house. Of course, this wallpaper had been put up over unprimed walls and essentially became part of the wallboard. Before I had any plastering skills - and before there were such places as Home Depot and Lowes, I had found out about liner paper from my local wallpaper store (yes, there were such places!). It basically is a non-woven fabric much like sewing interfacing, if you're familiar with that. It's put up on the wall just like wallpaper, but because of its firmness, it can cover over divots. It's also often used to cover over plank walls or panelling, or even over cinder block walls.
Helene

Helene, did you then paint over the liner paper? I had thought about that but decided the seams would show -- didn't yours?

I showed pics to my son and asked him what I should do and he said "the easy choice, of course." That's the beadboard. I asked if he thought that would look okay and he said yes he thought it would look fine.

Thing is, you don't see my furniture and the stair walls at the same time, but you do see the stair walls as soon as you open the door. So would the boxes really make a much better impression on, say, a perspective buyer down the line, than the beadboard would?

Moonkat, how's it going? Still prepping? When is the big day when your pals come over to help you get the paper up?

BTW, how long did it take from ordering to when you got the paper?

oceanna I just logged on to THANK YOU for advising the random orbital sander! I've been researching them, & decided it was going to make my DIY life SO much easier (I already have a belt sander & an orbital sander, which I NEVER use because I hate them). I'm nearly done with the filling (used almost 2 QUARTS of spackle on this small ceiling area) & I just spent 20 minutes using my new Porter Cable RO sander - I love love love it! I can only do a few minutes a time over my head, but it still is speeding up the sanding process by, oh...500%?

I'm kind of fast tracking because the buds are coming over Saturday morn, so I hope to be able to prime by tomorrow morning. That's a lot of sanding this evening!

I ordered the WP on the 18th (Sunday), Monday was MLK day, & it arrived on tuesday - so about a week.

oceanna - The photo you posted looks like you can buy a kit for the wainscoting. Is that what you did or were you just copying the picture? I'm not very handy, so can you tell me where you found that ad?

Laurie

Oceanna, I wallpapered over the liner paper - sorry I wasn't clear about that. My walls were in such a terrible state and my plastering skills were nil at that time. The liner paper smoothed out the wall so that the wallpaper went over a smooth wall. You just need to make sure that the seams don't fall in the same places. Some people actually put the liner paper running across the wall - horizontally - instead of vertically. You can't see the seams from the liner paper.

Helene

Moonkat, wow, it looks like you're making just great headway. I hope you're not overdoing it as I know overhead work is hard on you, especially on the neck. Ouch! If you have one of those seed-filled u-shaped neck pillows, you can put it in the microwave (for 1-2 mins, no more) just before bed and fall asleep with it wrapped around your neck. Yum. I do that every night all winter long.

I'm so happy you got a sander you really like. The right tools make a huge difference to getting the job done -- or even wanting to.

Hmmm... I ordered on the 26th, and the due date is "January 30, 2009 - February 4, 2009." I ordered through amazon.com but it's coming from the same place yours did. I am eager to see it - lol.

~~

Laurie, yes you can buy a kit (from http://www.elitetrimworks.com/home.php) but I was just doing my own thing and sort of copying the photo. I have a chop saw and I really like it, though I'm super careful with it because it could take off a finger in a blink.

~~

Helene, oh you did wallpaper over it. I am hoping after my mudding and sanding that my walls will be fine under the wallpaper. But I don't think they're good enough to do that other kind of panelling with the little boxes, at least not yet. The longer wall got super torn up from removing those boards. I like the idea of doing it horizontally. that could save time, too. I'll keep it in mind.

~~

Well, everyone, I am trying to decide if I can make the walls look good enough with the beadboard wallpaper, since the other way is so much work and I'm wearing out. What do you think? If you had a split entry, would you do beadboard panelling on the walls? Or opt for something more formal at your entry?

If I ever do this again I'll look into the liner paper.

9:00 & I'm SO done for the night! I'm well over half way through with the sanding, have done a bit more patching, & I'm questioning whether I'll be ready for WP'ing by Sat. am. :(

I'm sure I can have it painted by tomorrow evening - just hoping that's enough curing time for the primer.

I'm excited about this! Just hope it turns out well. If it does, it will be the first time since I bought this house that this ceiling will actually look good. And then....can't wait to tackle the stairway!

Friday evening, the body is sore, the house is a dusty mess, but the ceiling is patched, sanded, primed & ready to paper!

So the WP party is still on for tomorrow morning - wish me luck!

Wow ... moonkat99, oceanna, if i could bring you each an Amaretto over ice with a pitcher of filtered water and a small dish of chocolate truffles, i so would.

Great work, you two. If you can still raise your arms, give yourselves a pat on the back.

I wish you lots of luck and fun with your friends!

Your friends here will be thinking of you and eagerly awaiting word (and picture!). But we understand your arms might not be feeling up to it for a few days. I am so excited for you!

A picture is worth 1000 words :)

Before:

After:

I can't WAIT to get it painted! But I know I need to let it cure for....a little while ;-) Patience, patience....

I'll do a thread with a pictorial & info about the process when I have the pics organized.

For now, I'll just say that I'm thrilled with the results!!!

WOW WOW WOW! That is crazy incredible. I just showed it to my partner and he asked: "so where's the wallpaper?"

Congratulations! How are you feeling (physically)?

Thank you for posting the pictures -- I'll be following your thread(s).

WOW, it looks fantastic, Moonkat! Bravo for you! How long did it take to get it all up once you and your friends went to work today? I'll bet you are achy tired, but very, very happy with the results. Looks like a brand new room, doesn't it? Hope you can have a warm bath with candles and soft music and a good night's sleep.

Estreya, that sounds yummy, bless your sweet heart. :)

I hope someone can help me with this issue....I have those horrible melamine cabinets that can't be painted and I can't afford to replace them. So I was wondering how it would look to cover them with this beadboard wallpaper - might it look like actual wood? Since I haven't seen the wallpaper in 'person', wasn't sure about this idea...what do you think? any other advice in applying it? etc....thanx!

Original-
Wallpaper can go over melamine, but you will need to either prime first or use a vinyl adhesive wallpaper glue to make sure it sticks. The concern I would have would be your edges. You would want some sort of moulding to secure them and keep them from fraying especially on high use items like cabinets. I've had some luck painting melamine using a hi-gloss primer and a satin poly over the top for protection, it may be worth a shot before investing in the paper. You could paint the frame and add beadboard inset to the doors. You may also want to start a new thread just on your cabinets to get some different opinions.

NE