8th November 2020
My current house, that I moved into in 2019, is the first home I’ve owned and therefore the first I had a chance to really ‘go wild’ with, in terms of wallpaper. Renting and wallpaper just don’t go together in my opnion. There is the expense of the paper, that you cant take with you. That expense far outweighs the amount you would invest in paint which can be easily painted over when you leave . There is also the problem of the potential damage to the walls when you remove the paper – even the most careful removal process can take down plasterwork.
There are removable ‘renter friendly’ wallpapers and panels on the market which are usually of a peel and stick variety and lean towards more modern styles and geometric patterns. I’ve also seen some great DIY rental hacks on YouTube which usually feature standard wallpaper going on top of something removable like strips.
Enter PastedPaper which makes prepasted wallpaper sheets and Die Cuts which are organic, strippable and importantly come in historical patterns and styles. Its exciting to see my favourite patterns such as Morris and V&A archive patterns finally being brought to life for the rental market.
The PastedPaper Sheets and Die Cuts product lines were brought to life in 2018 and were created as a result of creator Julies’s 25 years of creating home decor products for international markets – namely the wall covering and craft industries. The company is based in Brooklyn, NY and everything is printed and produced in the US.
As opposed to standard rolls PastedPaper comes in individual sheets and each is dipped in water to activate the paste, ‘booked’ for 2 mins, and then each sheet can be moved around on the wall into place before the paste starts to set. Pastedpaper says it is ‘re-thinking wallpaper’ and is easy to put up and remove making it perfect for the rental market.
Julie’s favourite designer is William Morris and she has read all his books, used his colour palettes, visited his homes and explored his sensibility for design in everyday life. So it was only fair to test out one of the classic Morris designs available, Leicester.
Review
- Ease of use – When I first saw the amount sheets needed to cover the area I was a little daunted as I am used to rolls. One wall height of wallpaper (about 2.3m in my house) needs about 5 sheets, depending on what part of the pattern repeat you are putting up, and this was initially a little off putting. However considering how much easier water is to apply than paste it was much quicker. The booking time was also a lot shorter with most Morris & Co needing 6ish minutes. Less mucky too. Cutting around obstacles/edges – much much easier than paste the wall or paste the paper wallpaper.
- Quality of paper – It is a different texture/finish than Morris and Co or block printed paper. The PastedPaper sheets have a completely flat print and this probably is the defining factor of the look when you get close up. It feels more like a general wallpaper than an artisan product that you might be used to with traditional Morris & Co rolls.
- Finished look – Lots of edges mean lots of gaps. Dependent on the paper you choose this may become an issue. I found I got much better at this as I got used to the process. Wallpaper especially dark coloured paper on white walls will show minute gaps and this is quite normal. Painting behind especially if you are renting usually isn’t a option. So it really makes a difference to take your time putting it up. I found a slightly longer booking time (3 mins) helped positioning too.
- Room for error – Again as you are putting up multiple sheets there are multiple opportunities to go slightly skew. Plumb in after each length or ideally use a laser level which projects a line the whole length of the wall that you keep squaring up against.
- Removal – I kept the paper up for just under 2 weeks and it came off without leaving a mark behind. On some parts of the wall the paper went directly on plaster and on others paint – no problems either way.
- Price – For this pattern 50 sheets covers approx 7 sq m and is priced at $289 (approx £219). To cover 7 sq m using a 10m standard roll you would need 2 rolls. Morris and Co Leicester wallpaper is about £80/roll. So it’s not a cheap paper – but you are paying for the distinct patterns.
Overall – The ease of use and removal outweighs the price for me on this wallpaper. I would not wallpaper a whole room using this but for a feature wall, or small area and in particular for those who are renting PastedPaper is a winner.
Plans for Pasted paper include developing and offering more great historical patterns and well know artist designs which will appeal to an even broader marker. Can’t wait to see more wallpaper of this style in homes including those who rent.
All papers available from www.pastedpaper.com
Pasted Paper Instagram @pasted_paper