3 Tips for Stubborn Wallpaper removal

Wallpaper, you either love it or hate it. I am sharing 3 Tips for Stubborn Wallpaper removal using a putty knife, water, sponge, and a little time.

I probably should have listened to the ‘whisper’ of my husband’s voice in my head as I was hanging this wallpaper a year ago. “Don’t do it, you will just be taking it down when you are tired of it”. I must admit, he was partially correct about taking it down, just not the tired of it. Little did I know that I would be removing the wallpaper that I hung in the kitchen area a year later because it was lifting at the seams. This.Can’t.Be.Happening! Hanging the paper wasn’t hard it was my tall walls that made it a bit more challenging than most jobs.

I have hung wallpaper in my office, the hallway ( although this was peel and stick which I love), and in Lily’s room which I recently removed when we made over her bedroom here. I had absolutely no issues putting up or taking down any of these wallpapers. This time I wasn’t so lucky…but don’t tell my husband I said that. I could easily blame it on everything else going wrong in 2020 but I’ll settle for the quality of the paper, although this paper wasn’t cheap.

So after months of looking at lifted seams, I decided enough was enough and started to take the paper off the wall. Not sure why I thought wallpaper that lifted at the seams would come off my wall easily…. because it didn’t. I want to share 3 tips that I used to get the stubborn wallpaper off the wall in case this ever happens to you.

Gently wet the paper

Although I have a steamer I decided to just fill a spray bottle with warm water and spray on the residual paper remaining on the wall. You don’t need to over saturate just lightly mist the paper and let it sit for a few minutes.

Scrape the residual paper

Use a scraper ( or putty knife) to gently remove excess paper. Since this was a metal scraper I was careful not to harm my walls. Start at the edge and softly lift the paper with your tool. The paper should come right off. If it doesn’t, spray with water again and let it sit for a few additional minutes.

Wipe your wall down

The last step is to take a rag or sponge and completely wipe your walls down. This will get any trace of wallpaper adhesive and small pieces of paper off your wall. This step is key if you plan on painting your wall afterward.

Since I am painting this entire room (why of course), I filled in any nail holes that were hiding under the wallpaper. I am painting the entire kitchen and family room, Agreeable Gray, at 25% formula. It’s the perfect neutral for my ever-changing mind.

Prior to hanging the wallpaper (which is one reason I did), the walls were white and they just blended in with the ceiling. I wanted some contrast but not a lot of color. I like the warmth that this color brings to the space and how it works with the stone, beams, and wood floors.