Dressing Room Adventures Part #2 - The Wallpapering Begins (or does it?!)

So here we are - Saturday morning of the wallpaper weekend.  My parents arrive carrying wallpapering tools, a sewing machine and other assorted home reno goodies.  I couldn't believe this was finally happening!!

Sure - the whole 'paste the paper' issue was still there, but I'd kind of just accepted it and realized the day would be long and hard but so worth it.

Now here is where the whole thing gets. so. darn. fun.

You know how there is always that part in a movie where there is a slow motion montage of the main character's face when he/she realized that his girlfriend has been cheating (and he's missed all the signs) or that his life will never be the same? Or that scene in the Simpsons where you can see the moment Ralph's heart broke?

Well the next step in the wallpapering process felt a bit like that.

I should tell you first that my dad is a very straight guy. Professional. Mature. Intelligent.  He would NEVER do what he did as I was running down the stairs to get the camera to document the process for the blog as the first piece was about to be cut.

Dad: SH*T.

Janice: (stops dead in her tracks). What. (Insert moment of panic - Dad NEVER swears).

Dad: There's a ????.

Janice: (Not able to hear because he is CLEARLY whispering). A WHAT?

Dad: (clears throat). A flaw.

Janice: A flaw in what?

Dad: The wallpaper.

Janice: (runs up the stairs two at a time).

Seriously people. I didn't even know what a flaw in the wallpaper was! I get into the room and see 3 long anxious faces waiting for the impending doom of my reaction.

3 anxious faces and this:

Ummm yeah. Can you see that? That lightened area on the right? Yeah. That is a flaw. That is a pretty big flippin flaw.

Maybe we can just trim that part off right? Sure I might be short in wallpaper, but I can live with that as long as I get most of it done this weekend.

Enter roll #2. 

Roll #2 is a close relative to roll #1, but he's like the unathletic dorky brother of the captain of the football team.  What a let down.

Since I don't want to censor myself on here and always intend to give full disclosure, let's just say I only opened one more roll (that's 3 of 5) before the tears started.  These are the dark days of DIY home decor.

I think I did well - I cried a little (so embarrassing to say) but as you know, I had been planning this for MONTHS and everything culminated in this weekend. However on the inside, I wanted to throw things. I wanted to call the supplier and have an absolute, uncalled for conniption on whatever poor soul happened to answer the phone. Luckily for that person (and for me), both the seller and the supplier don't work weekends. 

This is probably why.

I wondered whether this could be my fault in any way. I checked the batch numbers (they all matched). I kept them in their packaging so as not to damage the paper/bend it/rip it. I did everything I could so that my wallpaper weekend would go smoothly.

Guess I didn't realize I should open up each roll to check for flaws. 

This was the beginning of a bad day. And it was only 9:15 in the morning.

Next up - phone calls, mad dash through crazy traffic and a decision. Stay tuned!

Dressing Room Adventures Part #1 - How Not to Wallpaper

So as most of my lovely readers will recall, I have been talking about and planning my dressing room for some time now. I gathered ideas, thought about layout, and got excited. Way back in December, I went looking for wallpaper advice and was turned on to Graham and Brown's "Darcy" by Wanderluster of Rambling Renovators.  I loved it - the geometric pattern style I loved and the colour was great - she had suggested the purple version but I ultimately ended up falling for the pearl colour - basically white with silver circles like this:

Here goes - here is my lesson on how NOT to wallpaper.

1. Fall in love with an expensive wallpaper. 

2. Look around locally and realize that nearby stores charge 3 times the price per double roll than what it is sold for on www.grahamandbrown.com.

3. If you are a deal hunter like me, search around to see if anyone has any coupons or if you can find a cheaper price.

4. Find a great price on www.designyourwall.com. Check around for reviews, find nothing negative, and order!!!

5. Have 5 rolls shipped to your mom in Florida and wait until she comes back after a winter away.

6. Wait some more. In the meantime, plan out how to organize your dressing room. Tell everyone who will listen about your plans.

7. When everyone who you tell says "ugh - wallpaper!? What a pain!" brag about how the wallpaper you bought is "paste the wall" and so much easier to put up and take down.

8. Prep the room - prime, sand, and paint the trim.

9. Organize a time when an experienced wallpaper hanger (like my dad!) can come to show you the ropes. 

10. Send your husband to the local hardware store to buy the necessary things to help you hang the amazing gorgeous "easy to hang" wallpaper that you purchased months prior. Paste, seam roller, big sponges etc. Before he leaves, look online to see if there is a recommended brand of paste.

11. Feel your stomach drop when you realize that not all Graham and Brown wallpaper is "paste the wall".  What do you mean? Isn't that their claim to fame? That all you do is roll the paste on the wall and slap up some beautiful, expensive paper? Oh wait - you mean that just some of the paper is that type? That I have to click on a very small button and read a very small section that says "paste the paper" on my beautiful, lovely paper?

12. Realize it isn't the end of the world and get your mind wrapped around the fact the installation will be more difficult than you realized, but that it will be totally worth it. How hard can pasting and hanging wallpaper be? Didn't most of our parents do it to every. single. room in their house? Yeah - seriously. How hard can it be?

To be continued ...