Butterfly wallpaper panel project (winter 2012)

Detail of butterfly and leaves on wallpaper

When my parents bought their house in 1973, they were told that the most valuable thing in it (among various antiques etc.) was this wallpaper. It has real butterfly wings and real leaves (not sure what type; possibly Japanese Maples?). I believe the fibers running horizontally are silk.

Four lengths of wallpaper were saved when it was removed 20 years ago

We're not sure how old it was at that time, but it graced our dining area for another twenty years. My mother eventually removed it and stored it in the basement. For years I've wondered what we could do with it - I kept coming back to the idea of screens to divide a room. When I was visiting over the holidays, we dug the paper out and I brought it home. Since then I've been mulling over how I might create these screens. 


I was worried about affixing this paper - which I presumed was delicate - to something that could ultimately warp or deteriorate. Then an idea struck - the doors sold at home improvement stores are not liable to warp, and a door has about the right dimensions... I went online and discovered that an unfinished interior hollow core door costs approx. $20. Bingo. After work last night I made a trip to Home Depot and picked up some wallpaper paste and a roller (warning: Home Depot does not sell wallpaper so their supplies for this project were sparse... their only paste came in a huge jug, for instance, and it was very dusty).

Raw materials: doors, wallpaper paste, roller and tray liner

As soon as I got home I decided to get started, before my energy faded. I have never wallpapered and was a bit intimidated... the nice thing is, this paste seemed sort of like the tubs of paste I used as a kid. Pretty innocuous. I rolled it on, laid down the paper, lined it up where I wanted it, then wondered if I should use a flat edge to remove any puckers. I didn't want to hurt the wallpaper, but after one swipe I realized this step was necessary. (Thank goodness, because later, with direct light on it, I saw a few ripples I missed... luckily very few). The paper was surprisingly durable -- I was expecting something that would rip or pucker easily, when I imagined this process. The big surprise was how much paste oozed out each time I smoothed the paper down, and then how many touch-ups I had to do along the edges. I suppose on a wall the overlap keeps the edges down? 

Knotty pine wall that I can't bear to paint over - but it's awfully dark

As I worked I got an idea where I could use this -- our family room is clad in knotty pine on 3 sides and I've been trying different ways to lighten it up without actually painting over the wood. I can't bear to paint over wood - something in my gut just won't let me. What if I hung the doors together behind the sofa? I was picturing each panel with a space between them, lined up along the wall.

Pulled the sofa out in anticipation of the new wall panels

When I cleaned up, I trimmed the edges of the wallpaper that overlapped the doors -- just a little bit on each end. They seemed ready to move, so I carried them downstairs and experimented with different positions. Spacing them out didn't work and the 4th panel did not fit, but finally I found a configuration that looked right. 

Three wallpapered panels now form a backdrop for the sofa

Right now they are propped up on risers but after I live with this for awhile, if it seems like the right placement I can attach it with small l-shaped cleats. If I ever want this to be a free-standing screen, I can attach hinges. The wood is untreated - I expected to varnish it but the light color really works with the wallpaper, so less work for now!

Another angle (I have since moved the light on the left so it will not hurt the paper)

I will probably give one of my siblings the 4th panel that did not quite fit into this space. Already it's a nice flashback to childhood - so many meals spent next to this wallpaper, so many times as a kid I inspected each butterfly.


Time to complete: 2 hours
Approximate cost: $100