September 21, 2011

Kitchen Remodel: The Perfect Wallpaper

The theme and colors for my kitchen center around two Amish built cabinets. Dan and I found them at Shady Maple Smorgasbord gift shop, while we were in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for our son's wedding two years ago.

Two of our kitchen cabinets. These will eventually be stained.
Click for a little bigger. 

A rustic, country theme was an easy choice anyway, and the natural greens and browns fit it well.

The walls in my kitchen are horizontal oak tongue & groove, of which we plan to keep as much possible. Some of it though, has to be taken down, such as the walls where we installed the new back door, and the new window. Rather than try to put the T&G back, (which is individual boards rather than panels), we're opting for something quicker and relatively inexpensive, drywall.

To me, drywall means a smooth surface, and a smooth surface means wallpaper! I know a lot of folks hate wallpapering, but I love it, as you learned if you read last year's bathroom remodel posts. While Dan was working on the window, I checked out several wallpaper sample books from Lowe's, and found the perfect wallpaper.

Cabinet door & matching wallpaper.
Click for a little bigger view.

The background color and stars coordinate with the "Fish Tales Told Here" sign, the vines of course fit the theme, the green in the leaves matches, and there are little dark red berries on both. Perfect! But pricey, [sigh]. In the past I've always found wallpaper at the thrift shops for around $2 a roll. This one is about $36 a single roll and of course it only comes in double rolls. A double roll cover 56 square feet and I estimate I need about 59 square feet! Gonna have to give this some serious thought. Unfortunately I've fallen in love with it and nothing else compares. Lowe's offers 30% off on this particular collection of special order wallpapers, but I'll have to look around the internet to see if I can find it cheaper. Either way, I'm gonna have to check my piggy bank!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I adore those cabinets Leigh! And I agree, that is gorgeous wallpaper. I hope you are able to find it for the right price. Horrible really, what they charge for stuff these days.

Dani said...

Leigh - the cupboards are devine :)

Looking at the cupboards, if Dan has to make a wooden border (like round the picture on the cupboard door), would that reduce your wallpaper requirement enough that 56 square feet will do?

Just a (lateral) thought :)

Leigh said...

Stephanie, thanks! I just love the cabinets. Actually, we've been gathering an assortment of odd but interesting cabinets. The challenge will be whether or not I can pull them all together! But, when you find a thing you like at a good price, what else is there to do but go for it!

Dani, the wallpaper is actually going on different walls. :( Still, you've got me wondering if there isn't an alternative for at least part of the walls I'm going to cover. I've also considered that since I'm going to install a molded laminate countertop, I don't need a tiled backsplash. I'm thinking instead, to wallpaper the area under the wall cabinets. I would save on the expense of tile, and could justify having to buy two rolls! That may be the most economical solution after all. :)

Mama Pea said...

I, too, love the look of wallpaper . . . although I have none of it in the house right now.

Your selection is P-E-R-F-E-C-T! Even if you can't find a better price on it elsewhere, remember you aren't going to "get tired" of it and it will be a one-time expenditure. It is so perfect! (Did I say that before?) Go for it!!

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

Ha, Shady Maple! I forgot all about that place. The cabinets are very nice. I didnt know they had furniture in the gift shops.

Benita said...

Very pretty paper. Not too busy and it goes so well with the cabinet. 3 sq ft short, eh? Rats!

trump said...

I heard something about Amish built cabinets and i came right over!. Its tough finding wall paper that's tasteful, but i think in your case you have done it. Well done and all my own furniture in my home is all country. Richard

Nina said...

Sometimes finding the perfect item as in the wallpaper, is worth the extra expense. A different product would likely leave you feeling unhappy about it in the end and if you wait too long, the sale may be over or worse yet, the wallpaper is no longer available. Even if the extra wallpaper isn't used, it's useful to have a bit of spare paper to repair damaged bits, here and there.

Trixi said...

I love it. Can't wait to see it when it's done!

Sherri B. said...

I have been thinking a lot about wallpaper lately and looking at your choice makes me want it more, it has a clean, sweet look and goes so well with your special Amish cabinets.

Woolly Bits said...

wallpaper in the kitchen? that would be a total no-go over here. apart from the fact that the old stone walls are totally uneven - the steam in my relatively small kitchen would mess it up so quickly that I'd have to put up new stuff every 2-3 years:(( I have to admit that I prefer my white-washed walls - we have so much stuff hanging on every wall (not only in the kitchen) that we don't see much of the walls behind it anyway:)) though I find the prices of some wallpapers rather laughable - I recently saw some for well over 70 euro a roll - who is paying those prices??? I hope you'll find the right solution for your kitchen - I think if I had the space for it, I'd rather go for a single colour background with stencilling in some special places... I prefer handmade all the way, I guess:))
reading other comments I was surprised to see that wallpaper counts as one-time expenditure - you're not 98 yet, won't you need new stuff some years later??? esp. in the kitchen?

Susan said...

That wallpaper is perfect! You've got to look at it all (the remodeling) as an investment. Like Mama Pea said, it's worth it if it is something you love, is good quality, and is something you won't get tired of looking at.

Evelyn said...

lovely paper - looks like something you could paint yourself too. ;)

Renee Nefe said...

I'm not a fan of wallpaper, but as they go, that's a very pretty paper. I hope you're able to find it cheaper...that would be the ultimate.

CaliforniaGrammy said...

It IS the perfect wallpaper. I'm sure you'll figure a way to justify the expense by saving in another area of the total job. You only live once, and like my folks told me years ago "You can't take it with you!"

Leigh said...

Mama Pea, your words are music to my ears, LOL

Jane, later I looked at their online store, but didn't find any of the furniture we saw when we were there. Maybe that means it isn't a regular feature. Dan did find another small 3 door cabinet on one of his trips up that way. He woodburned the doors. I think it will go well with what we've got.

Benita, rats indeed! Still, I'm considering using it in a few other spots in the kitchen, so maybe it will justify the cost in the long run.

Richard, I agree with that. I scoured dozens of books and only found a few possibilities that I felt were tasteful. My only regret about the Amish cabinets is that we don't live closer so as to buy a few more!

Nina, the nice thing is that Dan repeatedly tells me, "It's your kitchen. You can have it anyway you want." Of course he's trusting I won't go hog wild on expenses, LOL. You're right about extra for repairs too.

Mrs. Trixi, thanks! I'm excited, but know I have to be patient as it will take awhile. Cabinets of course are last, and there are so many things to do before we can get there!

Sherri, I love wallpaper. I love color, but I love pattern too, and think it really sets the tone in a room. I hope you find what you're looking for.

Bettina, if I had uneven stone walls and small windows, I'd go with white walls too! I tend to choose wallpaper and colors (i.e. paint) to last a long time. I love doing it, but it's a job of work so I wouldn't love to re-do it every couple of years. If it gets terribly dated I'll do new, like in the 1970s wallpaper we had about 5 years ago. Huge gaudy pattern in brown and gold. Yuk.

Susan, thanks! I think you're right and that I should invest in something I can live with for awhile. I think of it as creating an environment within a room. The kitchen is one room I'll spend a lot of time in. :)

Evelyn, I possible could, but considering my long list of things to do, might not get to that for another 10 years or so. :)

Renee, things like wallpaper are extremely subjective, aren't they? I've been looking online and have found some places that discount most of the name brands of wallpaper. Perhaps I'll find what I want!

CaliforniaGrammy,thank you! Yes, I am trying to think along the lines of saving in another area. I mentioned to Dani that I can probably use the extra wall paper instead of tile behind my kitchen cabinets. It may work out cheaper in the long run that way!

Carolyn said...

The cupboard and wallpaper look great. Personally, I don't really care for wallpaper, but I think it stems from having to tear down super-glued wallpaer in two houses. Besides, wallpaper doesn't stick very well to log walls. That being said, there are a few homes that I've seen done tastefully in wallpaper and I occasionally think about doing it in our bathroom as an accent wall.

Alla said...

I love the cabinets! And the wallpaper is lovely. I really like wallpaper but putting it up, not so much. LOL.

badgerpendous said...

Maybe consider applying the oak t&g (since it's horizontal) from the floor up to "chair rail" height, in order to tie that wall in with the others. Then paper above that?

Regardless, can't wait to see the "after" shots!

Leigh said...

Alla, so good to hear from you! Thank you! I agree wallpapering is a chore, but this will only be two walls, and hopefully pretty straightforward at that!

Bagerpendous, I'm open to all ideas. We really like wainscoting, though with the door and window, there may not be a whole lot of wall left as it is. I admit I'm anxious to get started!