BEST BRAND OF WALLPAPER

[BrinyDawg]

Hello,

my mom passed away a few years ago and I decided to finish off her dollhouse project (lol... 'finish').  She already had some wallpaper installed and others ready to be installed.   Some of the installed wallpaper is horribly discolored, brownish, fading and just plain awful.  Others are fine.   Of the uninstalled wallpaper, some of it is already faded at the edges, although the items were never in the sun.   There are other papers in mint condition.  I don't want to replace the wallpaper with something that is going to fade and discolor again but there are no brand names on any of the papers I have.  There are no dollhouse shops near me which forces me to buy online, where I cannot assess the true quality of the paper.  I'm wondering what the best brand is so I dont have this problem again.  I prefer a heavier wallpaper rather then the regular paper weight as it is easier for me to install.  Thank you for any advice!  Kris

[havanaholly]

I'm not much help, the only dollhouse wallpaper I've ever used is by Mingraphics, which I've gotten at HBS and occasionally at Hobby Lobby.  I have also used 1:1 wallpaper in solids and tiny prints, scrapbooking papers, printies, gift wrap, wine bottle gift bags, Mylar and fabric in a small print or an interesting texture.

While you're shopping around do find time to post us an intro in the Newcomers' Forum.

[KathieB]

Kris, the discolored paper is the result of naturally occurring chemicals in the wood leaching into the paper. Apparently your mother did not put a coat of primer on the wall before papering. A coat of regular latex house paint works as a primer/sealer as does Kilz, gesso, etc. I would suggest removing all of the ugly paper and priming all of the walls before you put anything on them.

As for the paper, if you prefer heavier stock, I'd recommend scrapbooking paper. If there is a pattern you really want to use but it is on thinner paper, you could glue it to a light cardstock before putting it on the wall, I'd discard the paper that has faded at the edges. I'll leave it to others to suggest brands/sources for quality paper as my knowledge there is limited. 

[My Miniature Madness]

Hi Kris - welcome to the forum! Sounds like a wonderful way to honor your mom, and have fun, too!

I find Brodnax to be the heaviest paper and has the most matte finish. Itsy Biysy Mini papers are a good weight, but have a shiny finish that some find detracts from the look. Easily resolved with a quick spray coat of matte sealer like Patricia Nimocks. Minigraphics is also nice, less shiny but thinner. All usually come in 11 x 17 sheets, and it's good to have three sheets handy when doing most rooms (to match patterns and have some left for accidents).

A reputable seller that I have used and carries all three brands with a wide variety of them is Dollhouses and More on eBay. Her shipping is a flat $3.95 so that is nice when ordering a lot of paper.

Scrapbooking paper can also be good. I recommend a good spray seal on it, too, as the paper quality and absorption can vary widely. Most sheets are only 12" x 12" so pattern matching and seams are something to consider there.

As for the adhesives, some here on the forum recommend regular wallpaper paste or gel. I have no experience there. I have used Wallpaper Mucilage, Grandmother Stover's and Mod Podge. I find the easiest one to work with is the Wallpaper Mucilage - it is easy to spread and achieve a good consistency. The Grandmother Stover's is very thick and can be harder to spread while holding the paper in place. 

Definitely apply primer or gesso. The finished product is only as good as what it's covering. Making templates with regular printer paper then using the pattern to have your paper sized ahead of time is a tremendous help. These ares a good videos for beginners :  https://www.youtube.com/user/joannesminis/search?query=wallpaper

Hope this helps get you moving in the right direction,

Jodi

[BrinyDawg]

Thanks for all the help everyone!  I've learned that you REALLY need to think about the order in which you install things and, currently, my big holdup has been ordering replacement wallpaper.  

I had NO IDEA about sealing the wood in some way before wallpapering and, Jodi... GREAT INFO!   I really needed that!

[miniaddicted]

I've stripped wallpaper I put on, shortly after putting it on, when I didn't like it. Its easy to do if you have primed the wall - so definitely prime the walls if you can. 

Brodnax is a great paper, and its taller than most, 11 1/2 to 12" tall, and for some houses, you need that. Note that spraying the paper with a sealer is recommended by Brodnax as well - I learned that lesson the hard way!.

Itsy Bitsy Mini - her papers are heavy now too, in fact, probably heavier than Brodnax. At first, I loved her papers due to the heavy weight, and I learned on this too - spray with sealer before applying paper. In the case of Itsy Bitsy Mini - there is a shine on some, and sometimes the color on the paper looks inconsistent - how its printed I guess. On some paper patterns its more noticeable. See my Kitchen paper - you will notice darker vertical "lines" - I'm hoping that all my cabinets will cover most of that. But in the case of the bird toile in a bedroom - this one turned out fabulous. 

Itsy Bitsy has tons of papers, including some faux ones - stone, plaster, etc - that work well, but only in an area you don't have to visibly match, like if the wall is wider than the paper width. If you keep the matches to corners, you are good on those. I was thrilled with a faux finish in the kitchen below...but had to try to match due to width of wall...that wasn't nice so I stripped it off. 

Two sites I use to look at papers - each has the above 2 brands as well as others. 

Miniature Cottage
http://miniaturecottage.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15

Miniature Designs

http://miniaturedesigns.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12&zenid=28204170068f7a4bc61d85a5cdbd9162

 

[WyckedWood]

I'm not a wallpaper expert by any means but if I were using it I'd be tempted to use spray adhesive to apply it. Just seems less messy. 

[Guest]

I've tried spray adhesive for wallpaper and it was a total failure. But that could be operator error.. lol 

It just wasn't strong enough to hold the thick cardstock I was using on. It lifted almost immediately. I probably didn't use enough but I didn't want to get the paper too wet and ripple it or run the print.

I apply wallpaper mucilage to the wall, and then put the paper on. This works best for me because I have two thumbs and trying to get paste on the paper and then position the paper on the wall without getting the paste on everything that surrounds said wall is impossible.  

Experiment with what works for you. Worst case scenario you can rip it off and start again. 

[shannonc60]

I used spray adhesive in my school days and it was all an abject failure - it had all come unstuck after about 4-5 years. I spread a thin even layer of tacky glue on the wall then stick on the paper. It's worked the best of any of the methods I've tried, but Sam is right, try different things and use what works for you.

[WyckedWood]

Good to know about the spray adhesive, applying the glue to the wall instead of the paper...genius lol. It's been years since I've done wallpaper, I've never had any lift but I can't remember how I did it. 

[shannonc60]

Forgot to add that I use a clean dry cloth to rub over the paper surface to smooth it out for a few minutes, paying particular attention to the edges.

[KathieB]

8 minutes ago, shannonc60 said:

I use a clean dry cloth to rub over the paper surface to smooth it out

A piece of old T-shirt folded into a pad works well for this.

[havanaholly]

I actually dampen the old T-shirt for this, since that way it wipes up the occasional oozes of wallpaper paste.

[Sable]

I use an old credit card to smooth it out and I've used up my quota of dampened paper towels to wipe up excess drywall paste.

[minikelli]

Sable and I apparently use the same trick of using an old credit or gift card, I find those easiest for me to get back into tight corners with and make sure my paper is stuck down good.

[havanaholly]

I used to use an old credit card until I hit a bit of oozing paste and removed not only bubbles but the surface of the design as well.  I have a wee wooden brayer for wallpaper borders that I now use for edges.

[Elsbeth]

I have tried a lot of papers, and I like the paper by Jean Broadnax. The paper is a decent weight, the colors are excellent and I never see those lines I have seen with some of the complicated ItsyBitsy patterns. I like ItsyBitsy's selection but you have to be careful when selecting a pattern - be sure to see a large sample of the paper because some patterns are more crowded and smaller than you think.

I almost always end up using the Broadnax papers and they look great. Good luck!

 

[Elsbeth]

Oh and I like scrapbook paper, too - I haven't used it a lot, but when I did, it worked well. A lot of scrap book patterns have wonderful weathered edges that look good in a house that you want to look "aged".

[Elsbeth]

On 10/8/2017, 9:50:46, miniaddicted said:

See my Kitchen paper - you will notice darker vertical "lines"

 

Yes! I have seen ItsyBitsy paper with that line effect - I have also seen it when I used a laser printer on my own to print out wallpaper. Funny thing - for me it happens with reds/oranges when the pattern is lighter in the background. I think it is an ink nozzle issue. Because the same printer, same day, printed out a beautiful warm yellow pattern with tiny detailed green birds and red berries and vines - just perfectly. So I suspect the Red (or M in CMYK) is the problem. How interesting. Honestly, if I were a mini-wallpaper seller I wouldn't sell paper with lines on it. 

I love how your walls look. I can see the lines, but I'm betting close up (photos in the kitchen) it will not be noticeable. And the cabinets will help. And i LOVE that toile pattern in the other room!