I think that using a similar ground color will result in a tried-to-match-and-missed look. That bugs me. If you used a different ground and a similar color for the printed design, it could work. F&B's new color Mizzle is very close to GW, but I don't know if they have any colorways that include Mizzle yet.

Just a question/comment. I recently read that wallpaper paste does not work well over walls painted in latex paint. Does anyone know if this is true? My only experience with wallpaper was when I grew up in an old (1800s) house with horse hair plaster/lath walls. They had always had wallpaper on them and when I was younger ('70s, '80s) my parents continued to change out the wallpaper at times. (Now all the walls are painted.) The bare plaster walls were a very different surface from latex paint. Do you need to specially prepare the walls to accept paste and paper? Will you prime that one wall you want to paper?

Amysrq- that was my concern given that my paint is not a F&B paint. I have ordered some sample swatches but am not sure if it's going to work. I was actually thinking that the light blue is a match to the gray wisp. The swatches that I ordered may not work if it is more of the mizzle color.

lizzie nh-I'm not sure whether a primer is needed or not. I am planning on checking with Farrow and Ball about that if I select a paper that will work.
That is a good point.

I think the wall will need to be primed and sized underneath to take paper if it has been painted with latex.

Just a question/comment. I recently read that wallpaper paste does not work well over walls painted in latex paint.

Are you hoping to skip the step of using wallpaper primer/sizing? If so, that's a bad idea. The paste will soak into the wall unevenly. The paper can bubble or even fail to adhere. If it sticks, it really sticks and will destroy the drywall when you remove it.

Be sure that the latex paint has cured if painted recently. If the wall is high gloss, a light sanding wouldn't hurt. In any case, patch and clean the wall. Apply wallpaper sizing. It's sometimes called wallpaper primer, but it's different that the primer that goes under paint. Some sizing is white; some is relatively clear. If the wall color and the ground of the paper are extremely different (like a red wall and light blue ground) be sure to use sizing that covers the wall color so it doesn't show through the paper. A heavy vinyl product used in commercial work might hide a dark color, but an actual paper may not.

There's no need to avoid unpasted papers. I actually prefer to apply the paste myself. Untrimmed paper is a different matter. Don't go there unless you have a good bit of experience hanging paper - plus a steady hand for cutting.

Thanks palimpsest and yogacat. The walls were painted about a year ago. I will be hiring someone to hang the wallpaper and will make sure that they use sizing. This is a job I want to leave to someone with expertise in that area. With the price of the paper, I can't afford to mess it up!

Which paper(s) are you considering from F&B?

Yoga cat - I'm actually not planning on putting up wallpaper at all, but I was just reading an article about the resurgence of wallpaper, and it briefly mentioned the issue of hanging it over latex painted walls. So, I'm just raising this issue, because it might be relevant and I would also like to know more about it.

I have ordered samples in the peony, rosslyn, and ringwold patterns. I love old fashioned floral patterns mostly. Hope to find something that will look nice with my gray wisp wall color. If you have any suggestions, I would be so appreciative.

I am getting somewhere between Light Blue and Blue Grey #91 on my monitor, for the Gray Wisp.

You may have more success in using the pattern color to match the Grey Wisp than the ground color, if you don't want to repaint.

FWIW,I've been hanging wallpaper for more than 30 years. Most of the hundreds of rooms I've done, have had latex paint. I have never encountered any problem that I would have connected to the latex paint.
Actually the only time I've ever had a problem with the paint under the paper, was in one house. I thoroughly sealed the walls of three rooms in that house before I papered. A few months later, the paper started popping off of the walls, taking the sealer and original paint with it.

I have never seen anything like it. After considerable research, I concluded that the original coat of paint was probably applied to new walls while they were covered with dust. This would not be surprising since most builders spray on the original paint.

I suppose it's possible the paint itself was defective or so cheap as to be useless.

I'd love to hear more about the article that claims latex can cause a problem. I've never heard that before.

I don't remember where I read it... probably a link to a link to a link, but I'm now wondering if the problem is mainly with glossy latex walls....? It does seem like the vast majority of people today would have latex paint on their walls, and most people probably just slap up wallpaper if they decide to use it, and don't end up with problems.

Palimpsest--hope that you see this. On the F&B website, under the peony pattern, is BP 2314 that I am wondering about. When it shows the colour schemes for this particular pattern, light blue and blue gray are shown. Does that mean that those colors can be used along with that particular paper? The reason being is that neither are an exact match to the background color. I love the peony pattern and would love to find one that will work if at all possible. Thanks so much.

I think you might do better trying to match the pattern of the peony with the grey rather than the ground.

I don't really understand the color recommendations at the bottom of the page, I think they are just chosen as potential coordinates.

I recently did a stencil with a "wallpaper" effect on accent walls in our master bedroom. I did not go behind the bed because that has the headboard and I knew I'd put up art or pictures on that wall and it would get too busy. I actually did the accent walls on the 2 side walls for that reason...... This left the headboard wall and the wall our bed looks at with plain paint because our tv is straight ahead on a plain background. I did not want it to be visually busy as we looked at the tv.....
YMMV

Thanks Palimpsest. I hope that I can find a floral with the gray color in the pattern. Have ordered several samples and will wait to see how they work.

I went to the F&B website to look at the patterns you're considering, and now I want wallpaper behind my bed, too! So beautiful!

I hope one of them works. They make really nice, unique papers.