stardust☾

When I first moved into my new apartment I knew that I wanted to add color to my walls. Just one problem: I (like most milennials) live in an apartment. I'd used wall decals before with great success, but after spending hours searching, the ones I liked the most were either a) super expensive or b) tiny. I knew that I wanted my apartment to have a Jungalow style: jungle meets beachy modern bungalow. All of the inspiration photos I found on pinterest (check my home decor board out) had something in common: super cool vintage-esque wallpaper. 

After looking all over, I found some beautiful prints on etsy that would have ended up costing around $150-$200, which was definitely out of my budget. I stumbled upon Tempaper while googling, and they had an entire section devoted to jungle style! I absolutely loved the "Tropical" wallpaper, and ended up snagging two of the larger size rolls from target for $40 each. You can also get it from amazon for $24, depending on the size you need.

Here's a step by step process of how I set up my accent wall!

1. Measure

Before you even order the wallpaper you'll have to get a tape measure and measure the area of your wall. Time for some high school math folks! You'll want to measure the distance from the floor to the ceiling (the height), and from the start and end of where you want to put the wallpaper (width). To get the area, you multiply those two numbers together. Now you have the square footage (or inches) of how much wallpaper you need. Write these numbers down somewhere because you'll need them for the next part.

2. Cut

Once the wallpaper has arrived, find that length measurement again and measure out one panel, leaving an extra inch or two on the bottom. You can mark the end with pencil, and then cut a line across. They recommend using a razor blade instead of scissors because it can make uneven cuts. When you move on to the next panel, most likely you'll notice that the pattern is off now if you just start from where you left off. Instead, you'll need to position the next panel so that the pattern matches up. I ended up having to cut off the top 4-5 inches each time in order to get the panels to line up.

You'll have to repeat this process however many times until the panels add up to the width you're looking for. Most likely the width is going to be a little over, which is fine.

I kept my panels organized by writing top + what number panel it was. Panel 1 was going all the way in the corner, panel 2 to the left of it, and so on. This helped me make sure that the patterns were lining up correctly.

3. Assemble!

This is the hardest part. Pick one side of your wall to start on. I'd suggest whichever side has a corner (if both end in a corner, pick either one). You'll want to get a step ladder or sturdy chair and bring it over to the wall. If you haven't just moved in/had your apartment cleaned recently, you should wipe down your wall with a cleaning solution to get any dust off.

Next, take your starting panel and bring it up with you on the chair. Peel the corner of whichever side is closest to the end of the wall you're starting at. For example, peel the top right corner if you're starting all the way to the right. Start removing more and more of the backing until you have about 6 inches across. Next, place it on the wall, leaving about an inch folded up against the ceiling. This part is super important so that it all looks uniform at the end. Once the panel is sticking, start peeling more and press the adhesive part against the wall again. Keep doing this until the panel is completely stuck to the wall. Don't press down too firmly until you're sure it's in the right place. If its not, just gently peel it back and re-apply it. The magic of temporary wall paper!

Repeat x how many panels you have. Here's what it looked like when I did it:

4. Polish

After all the panels are on the wall, I went over them with a plastic scraper thingy I got from a spackle kit. 

This helps get any airbubbles out that have been trapped.

Now you'll want to go over the top and bottom of the walls with a razor blade to cut off the excess paper.

I found it easiest to do this if I held the paper a little taut. 

5. That's it!

In all it took me about an hour to cut & install the wallpaper, and I did it by myself. If you had a helper you could easily do it in half the time. Here's how the wall ended up looking!