How to Use Wallpaper to Make a Faux Finish

Appearance

• Your imagination is the only limit when choosing colors or patterns for the walls. Some choices include mottled sky or ocean, stones such as granite, marbled patterns, one pastel or deep solid color, or a specific design with two or more colors. Some types of wallpaper have many color choices, including vinyl, foils and embossed.

Types of Wallpaper

• You can choose from several types of wallpaper to make a faux finish: vinyl, embossed, foil, fabric and flocks. Vinyl should have a fabric backing when used in humid areas, such as the bathroom. Vinyl, foils and embossed paper are easy to clean, and might be preferable for high traffic areas or the kitchen. Fabric and flocks are difficult to work with, but give a homey texture to the walls. Flocks wallpaper has small tufts of velvet, cotton or wool, not the woven kind used in clothing, with a fabric backing.

Add Dimension

• You can add dimension with embossed and foil papers by crumpling them. After tearing or cutting vinyl or fabric wallpaper, overlap the pieces when placing on the wall for added dimension. Flocks wallpaper already has dimension as part of its design. Additionally, you can wallpaper just one accent wall to contrast with flat paint on the other walls.

Benefits

• Using wallpaper to make a faux finish can hide damaged walls in a way that paint cannot. You can cover water stains, cracks and holes with any of the previously mentioned types of wallpaper. Repair holes with mesh netting as the wallpaper needs a solid surface for good adherence. The texture and dimension that wallpaper offers can camouflage an uneven wall. You can paper-over paneling, avoiding the intensive labor of removal and disposal.

Choosing Wallpaper

• Vinyl wallpaper is best for humid areas, such as the bathroom. While you can use foil paper in the kitchen and bathroom, the colors will bleed unless you cover the foil with a clear adhesive, which will seal it. Moreover, while foil is a good choice to cover damaged walls, it is difficult to remove if you want a different color scheme in a few years. Whichever type of wallpaper you choose, purchase clear adhesive rather than white.

Creating the Faux Finish

• You achieve the faux finish by tearing the wallpaper into different size pieces and overlapping them during application. The entire piece of wallpaper is dipped into the bucket of adhesive rather than just coating the back. This is why clear glue is best. White glue might leave an unsightly residue on some colors, such as a dark, Tuscan red. Applying the wallpaper without crumpling will give it a smooth, marbled appearance. Smooth wallpaper, even with overlapping, might not hide damaged walls or the grooves in paneling.