Freshened Up Foyer with Wallpaper Part 1

Hey hey! If you all followed along with the kitchen built-in project on Instagram you may recall that I mentioned that I was planning on moving on to the foyer for my next project and then up the stairway to the second-floor landing after that.  Well this week, I did get started on the foyer and was able to make great progress with some wallpaper and paint!

When I went to checkout at Home Depot with the wallpaper paste the woman asked, “Are you putting wallpaper up or taking it down?” I said putting it up, she said “Oh wow, you’re the only one I’ve seen putting wallpaper up these days,” I wanted to say lady you have no idea, wallpaper is big in design again! Instead I just chuckled and smiled.

So I wanted to make a bit of an impact in our foyer.  It’s already seen a few half-hearted updates since we’ve moved here, but nothing to make it truly feel special, and in my opinion wallpaper was exactly what it needed.

Before

Wallpaper

I purchased this wallpaper from Amazon.  I loved the neutral color palette and the fact that it was a nod to all the trees on our lot.  It just felt right.  It’s a beautiful paper and it comes in multiple colors as well.

This was my first time installing unpasted wallpaper.  And while I definitely had a learning curve, it wasn’t that bad—still I don’t know if I will voluntarily add it anywhere else in the near future.😆

I used this paste, and this smoother/utility knife kit, and rolled the paste on with a foam roller.  I also began using a paint brush to get the paste in the corners better.

Once that wallpaper was done I added some trim to the top of the Board & Batten, I was going to add some to the battens as well but decided against it, as I felt it would feel to formal, I like my home to feel a bit more casual and this toile wallpaper is just tipping the scale for me.

Once all the wallpaper was installed, I needed to decided on paint. I had a vision for the paint to coordinate with the wallpaper but my daughter and several folks in my IG community voted to keep the board and batten white.  But I’m learning over this project mostly, that I need to stick with my gut on some things, so I did, and used Behr Smoked Tan for the doors and the board and batten and I love the result.

Some comments and FAQ’s since I shared on Instagram:

• You should consider painting the radiator cover
  • I actually have a plan for that, this is still a work in progress
• Your light fixture looks too small now
  • I don’t think it looks too small, also I can’t go larger because I wouldn’t be able to open the door. I considered changing the light fixture, but I think I might just rub ‘n buff it to give it a gold tone so the contrast isn’t so stark.
• You should paint the ceiling.
  • I’m adding ceiling trim, and I also considered painting the ceiling, but I’m not sure I’ up for the task although I know it would look really nice.
• Is the floor original or was it painted?
  • The floor is original, but painted black.

Still to Do:

• Add second coat of paint (and paint behind radiator)
• Build new or reconfigure radiator cover
• touch up closet door hinges and light fixture
• add crown trim
• add decor

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