The Best Peel and Stick Wallpaper for an Apartment

Peel-and-stick wallpaper is a great way to add personality to your apartment without making any permanent changes. It’s easy to apply, remove, and replace, so you can switch up your look whenever you want.

My recent collaboration with Love vs Design was to transform my daughter’s rental apartment with peel-and-stick wallpaper. 

She and her best friend Spencer live in an old Chicago 3-flat that is just oozing with charm. They have hardwood floors, build cabinetry, bay windows, 9 feet ceilings with a rounded cove detail. There is beautiful molding everywhere. 

However, the walls are not smooth, and using peel-and-stick wallpaper is a great way to cover up the wall issues along with adding a pop of color to their space.

They also have the best landlord in the world who will allow them to do what they like with the space.

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Why Choose Peel and Stick Wallpaper

Peel-and-stick wallpaper is a great option for renters as unlike traditional wallpaper it can be removed when you decide to leave. You don’t want to do something that will ultimately forfeit your security deposit.

You also don’t have to spend a whole lot of money to add your personal style. By creating an accent wall in a living room or wallpapering the entire room in a small space, you can add your own vibe to your rental apartment. 

In our case, you walk into the dining room in their apartment and it was plain walls in ivory with white trim. The idea of creating drama and visual interest in this entire space was something that I wanted to see. As an interior designer, I had a vision. That being said the girls also had their own ideas about the look and style of their apartment.

The one compromise that they made was painting the coved ceiling from the top of the wallpaper to the molding that went around the room. They weren’t sure about that but I knew that if we painted it a bold color, it would draw your eye to the unnoticed detail of these cool ceilings. 

The good news is that they agreed that while it was a bold move, it really works.

Love vs Design Wallpaper

Why I love this peel-and-stick wallpaper company

I stumbled upon Love vs Design Wallpaper a few years ago and fell in love. The main reason is that you can choose your own color scheme for all of the wallpaper designs. 

They have everything from small-scale patterns to large-scale patterns. You can find everything from kid’s prints, geometric prints, classic prints, botanical prints, and even vertical stripes. They even have tile prints that would work as an ideal solution for a kitchen backsplash or shiplap paper that could give you that farmhouse feel in any room in your rental. 

You can choose bold colors or lighter colors depending on your personal style. 

I used their wallpaper in my laundry room remodel that we did last year and I love it. It’s definitely a high-quality wallpaper and in my opinion the best removable wallpaper.

Choosing the Right Design

Another reason we are crazy about love vs design is that you can also order wallpaper samples. It’s a great way to see what the paper looks like in your room.

In our case, the girls choose 6 different wallpaper samples. A few they eliminated right away. 

The one that I really liked was a very colorful pattern that I felt would make a real statement when you walked into the apartment. They however choose a large-scale pattern that was just one color.

Consider the Room

I was concerned about their choice because they have two doors, two openings, a corner cabinet, and two windows in the space which chop up the walls. I wasn’t sure how that pattern was going to lay out. Thankfully my fears were unfounded as it looks amazing! 

These are things you definitely need to consider when choosing the right wallpaper for a space. 

You also need to consider the use of the room. 

Bedroom wallpaper ideas might be something that is calming or relaxing as opposed to vivid prints

If you live in a modern high-rise apartment and you are papering a feature wall in your living room, you might opt for a bold pattern with bold colors. 

Do you live in a small space? Then you might want something that feels more light and airy. 

You will also want to consider wall decor. If you have a gallery wall of art or photos that you want to incorporate into the space, you’ll want to consider the wallpaper that will either be the perfect backdrop or complement the wall decor if the wallpaper is on an adjacent wall.

Match Your Personal Style

As I mentioned before I had a vision for the space but it’s not my home that I have to live in. You want to match your personal style to the wallpaper you chose or you will either be unhappy or tire of it fast. 

What is your style?

Boy, that’s a lot of styles and I have at least three or four in my home 🙂 Either that or I fall under “Eclectic”.

No matter what your style, there is wallpaper for you.

Think about Color Scheme

Because love vs design gives you the option to custom color your wallpaper, you can find your style and then match it to your color palette.  

In the case of Emma and Spencer, while their style is leaning toward mid-century modern, they didn’t really have a defined color scheme. The living room which is right off of the dining room has all-neutral furniture with a jute area rug. 

Their kitchen is also beige walls and wood cabinets so no real defined color.

Now that they have chosen a bold pattern with a blue color, they can work that color into the adjoining rooms. 

Some people may already have color happening in their home so you would then choose a color scheme that will work with the rest of your home. 

In my opinion, good interior design would have at least one consistent color that runs through the rooms in your home.

Measuring for Wallpaper

Many wallpapers have a repeat which refers to the way the paper aligns when it is being installed. A large repeat will create, in some cases, significant cut-offs or waste of paper. 

The beauty of love vs. design is they have a very handy tool that calculates how much square footage you need for your room. They also create your sheets in numerical order so that your repeats match up. We had a four-panel repeat. We installed piece #1 then #2, then #3, and then #4, and then repeated that around the room. We started in an inconspicuous corner that will eventually have window treatments as the first and the last pieces did not line up. 

Installation Tips

Before you install the paper you need to prep your walls. The suggestions from Love vs. Design are:

Prepping your walls will ensure your wallpaper adheres well and doesn’t form bubbles. Patch any holes and sand down any bumps. Clean the wall with 70% isopropyl alcohol mixed with 30% water. Let the wall dry, and then repeat up to 3 times

If you painted recently, let the paint dry for 30 days to prevent bubbles or peeling. We do not recommend installing over matte paint or high VOC paint. To test unknown paint, install one panel and wait two weeks before finishing your installation.

The Love vs Design website has an awesome video to show you exactly how to hang your wallpaper. It took us a couple of panels to figure out the best way to get the air bubbles out while staying level but eventually, we got it down.  We took turns hanging and cutting the top and bottom with an X-acto knife. We also used small scissors for cutting around intricate molding and trim. 

Other Wallpaper Options

Love vs Design offers two different types of wallpaper; smooth and woven. The smooth paper is great for kitchens, children’s bedrooms, and bathroom installation. We choose their smooth paper as the walls in an older apartment aren’t completely smooth surfaces like a new apartment. The smooth wallpaper was suggested as offering better adhesion for a slightly textured wall. 

I have not had any experience with their woven wallpaper but when I am planning out my next wallpaper DIY project, I will be ordering that option as a sample to see how I like it.

Conclusion

This wallpaper project was fun to do and we planned on it being a two-weekend job but we finished the wallpaper on a Saturday and the painting on Sunday. It was a fun DIY and now both the girls have the experience of how to wallpaper when they either move to another apartment or their own homes. 

Once everything was up and put back together, the girls had some of their friends over to enjoy their updated space. 

There are still a few more things that they plan to do. 

• Window treatment to frame the two windows in the bay window area
• A new area rug for the dining room. They need one that is the right colors and size for the space
• Incorporating the color of the dining room into the other rooms in the apartment. 

I hope you enjoyed watching the girls transform their rental apartment with peel-and-stick wallpaper.

Peace and Love,

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Season 9 – Episode 1

I have a chat with my girls about all the updates at this small house. We even chat a bit about the process of putting up the wallpaper in Emma’s apartment.

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