I decided to freshen up our front entryway. The space was fine, just bland and boring. We hadn’t done more than put a rug and coat rack in there when we moved in five years ago so it was definitely ready for an updated.

My goal for the “room” was brighter, visually interesting, a little more modern. I decided to check out the peel and stick wallpaper options. Real wallpaper is beautiful but it’s expensive, permanent, and it was simply more work than I wanted to do for that small space we rarely use.

BEFORE:

I found a beautiful print on Amazon but when it arrived, it was too glossy. It looked how you’d think $20/roll peel and stick wallpaper from Amazon would look. It was pretty but much better suited to a small space (the back of a bookshelf or drawer fronts) than to an entire room. I saved one roll to use in our guest room as well decor.

I found, or rather my husband found, a lovely peel and stick at Lowe’s courtesy of The Property Brothers “Scott Living” brand. It was a little more expensive at $44/roll but it looked more like wallpaper and didn’t have that high-gloss shine.

We got those rolls home and y’all, I was ready to start peeling and sticking! I thought this was going to be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. I was wrong. The wallpaper was trickier to put up than I thought it would be and required a lot of precision. A lot. I am not a precise person. I lose patience and want to just get everything finished. My husband watched me do it for maybe 30 minutes and was twitching (he is very precise). He stepped in to make sure things ran smoothly 😉

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It was a lot of measuring, cutting, lining up pieces, and painstaking peeling and sticking. I know this is the easier, and more forgiving, option, so I can only imagine how much work real wallpaper is.

In the way of “simple” home projects, this one took on a life of its own. Once the wallpaper was up, I realized that the trim – originally painted cream to match the beige walls – now looked yellow and dull against the crisp, clean wallpaper. I taped off the room and painted the trim a bright, fresh white. Once that was finished, the dark red and blue oriental area rug didn’t match at all so I needed a new rug…obviously.

I finished off the updated room with a wreath for the door (Target) and a few special pieces of art.

I was able to redo the entryway – wallpaper, wreath, and rug – for under $280.

AFTER:

A few tips for the peel and stick:

1. Buy one more roll than you think you’ll need. We originally bought 3 and had to go back for a 4th. It’s easier to have an extra roll than to try and cut and match.
   
2. Be precise. If I’d done this without my husband, it would have been a mess. The first panel I did by myself was ever so slightly slanted down the wall and the bottom part didn’t line up to the trim. I thought it was fine but if I’d continued in that vein, it would not have been straight, smooth, or aligned. Take the time to line it up and slowly stick it to the surface.
   
3. Leave extra wallpaper when lining up against the trim. You can cut it down with a straight razor once it’s up but I liked having the extra room for error.
   
4. Get the straight-edge piece that smooths the wallpaper as you’re laying it down. That thing was bonkers helpful.
   
5. Take your time, especially in a larger space. It’s that whole home improvement motto: measure twice, cut once. Measure twice. Cut a little extra. Do the peel and stick once.
   

Wallpaper

Rug

Wreath

Art

Thoughts? Any other peel and stick converts out there? Drop a comment below!