wallpapering over painted wall

[plasticpigeon]

I have bought some nice wallpaper as I have never been happy with the yellow painted walls in my dining room. However that means I shall be papering over paint, which is Dulux emulsion. I assune this is not the end of the world, but I woudl be grateful for any advice on prep. Would it be good to size the walls with paste first?

 

[Feltwell]

I think sizing is more to kill the porosity of plastered walls, stop the adhesive drying too quickly, so not sure you need it with painted walls.

One thing I have found is the ready mixed pastes are a lot stronger than the ones that you mix up from a sachet yourself. Decorating Direct are a good source.

 

[88v8]

As Feltwell says, it depends whether the wall needs it.

If you spray a mister on the wall, one puff, does it sink in? Or sit on the surface?
If it sinks in then I'd size it. So much easier to slide the paper into a match, and less likely to get lifting seams in the future.

Ivor

 

[plasticpigeon]

As Feltwell says, it depends whether the wall needs it.

If you spray a mister on the wall, one puff, does it sink in? Or sit on the surface?
If it sinks in then I'd size it. So much easier to slide the paper into a match, and less likely to get lifting seams in the future.

Ivor

It doesn't sink in quickly. I think you would approve, I found a Morris paper called scroll in thyme/pear for a half decent price.

 

[Feltwell]

Dare I ask, what is a half decent price?

I quite like Morris designs, but then again I have zero vision when to comes to interiors - if I was a bachelor there would be a distinct danger of magnolia overload!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Dare I ask, what is a half decent price?

I quite like Morris designs, but then again I have zero vision when to comes to interiors - if I was a bachelor there would be a distinct danger of magnolia overload!

£30/roll for 7 rolls. It's nice not having to hide the price from the former other half who is fine with spending thousands on holidays and cars, but £200 on wallpaper for a room the family spends time in every day would have been thought of as an extravagance.

I've realised that there is a sort of convention to many Morris designs, which is to have 2 designs going on at once, a low contrast design in the background to create a bit of texture, and then something more bold in the forground. Sometimes the 2 designs are separated out to create simpler designs for a more modern look that is not embracing of clutter or texture. Also his designs were quite flat, ie they didn't have realistic shading to make them look 3d like chintzy stuff or earlier designs, which is why I think they have never really fallen out of favour. I believe those in the Aesthetic movement also approved or flat ornament on flat surfaces like walls and ceilings, so there was some crossover I think.

I have no idea if the interior design choices I make are any good or not, but I know it takes me ages to settle on something I like, so there are usually a few bits and bobs that need to get sold, or worse fixed and then sold, or given away as I swap and change things about. I do know the yellow that I chose always bothered me so I am glad to get the chance to cover it over. Morris paper is probably a bit fancy for my house, but after seeing the David Parr house on the internet, I realised that conventions were broken in Victorian times too so I'll just do what I want. I'll put pictires up if it turns out ok.

 

[Feltwell]

That sounds good, I've seen Morris designs for typically more like £50-£60 a roll. Share your source please!

I'm not a particular fan of Victorian interiors and have no desire to replicate them here - I've gone the other way if anything, we have old furniture that would have been too plain for this house. But, having said that, with all the original cornice & skirting & ceiling roses & doors still in place here, the Morris type designs do seem to suit.

We've the previous owner to thank for that, she was quite the arty type (she was a milliner - her workroom is now my daughter's bedroom) and she did put some older-style papers up in certain rooms - this converted us!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Ha! My "source" was someone on ebay who changed their mind and put 7 unopened rolls up for sale, and a bit of serendipity as I hadn't heard of that pattern but it looked nice enough. Anyone put an electric blower on a pump organ?