A Playroom Update with Removable Wallpaper.

We have reached a stage in home ownership where a lot of the big problem areas have been tackled. For example our home office used to be a hair salon and our bedroom had a kitchenette in it — we’re talking for real problem areas. There are still lots of tiny projects left to do, and the annoying thing about tiny projects is they’re SO easy to ignore. My friends at Chasing Paper asked if I wanted to try out some of their removable wallpaper from the Darcy Miller collection and I jumped at the chance to finish one of those tiny projects I’ve been putting off for ages in Jane’s playroom.The playroom is right off of our back entryway and shares a half wall with our kitchen. It’s a nice flow of space because it keeps things open and bright, and I love that I can see Jane playing while I’m working in the kitchen. There is a gigantic two-panel pocket door that closes off the room, though we never ever use it because it was … well, ugly. I’ve had a laundry list of ideas for fixing up the door so it could be something more functional and playful, and when I saw the Chasing Paper x Darcy Miller removable wallpaper my inspiration struck! The whole collection is just straight up whimsical, and I fell in love with the frame decals in Darcy Miller’s signature doodle style after seeing them in her studio tour.
I am sort of notorious for not wanting to do the prep work house projects (and by notorious I mean, my husband makes fun of me for this!). I haaaate priming and sanding and all of that nonsense because I’m always so impatient to get to the finished result. But, I took the Chasing Paper directions to heart and wanted to ensure my walls were perfectly prepped before I started my sticking! I primed, painted, painted again, and then waited (not so patiently) for everything to be really dry before cleaning and tackling the decal installation. I’ve only had one other experience with removable wallpaper; I used the Target brand wallpaper and hung it inside our linen closet. I can say after using these decals that if I were to do it again, I would hands-down use the Chasing Paper wallpaper next time because the quality was so much better.  The cheaper brands were a little bit harder to install because of the texture of the wallpaper, it had a plastic-y sheen to it, and very not much flexibility. The Chasing Paper version was much easier to peel and adjust, and overall the texture and design of it looks much more high quality. I started installing the decals from the center and then worked my way out to the edges. I was really precise with the first few pieces, using a level to straighten each piece. Once I had a few in place, I started to wing it and play around with the placement of each frame. If you’re nervous about trying to install removable wallpaper, decals like these are a great way start. The smaller pieces were very manageable to handle, adjust and adhere. The actual installation of the decals only took me about two hours.  I installed it during nap time and when Jane woke up I brought her in for the big reveal, and she said “WOW Mom, that’s a GREAT surprise!” Success! My long-term plan for the wall is to use washi tape to pin up some of Jane’s artwork inside the frames, and I painted the back of the door with chalkboard paint for another fun touch. I love how it looks right now and I’m so glad I finally tackled this project!

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Please note: Chasing Paper gifted me the wallpaper decals used in this project. Thank you for supporting brands that support this site.