Stencils vs. Wallpaper

I dare say that I am not the type of person who could commit to wallpaper. I rather like the idea that $80 worth of paint could change the whole room and not involve any steaming, tearing, chiseling, cursing, or producing tons of garbage.

When I was five years old, my parents bought their first house. We moved from a relatively large apartment in San Francisco to a tiny quaint two bedroom one bath house in Pacifica. The first decorating project I remember was the wallpaper my parents installed in the living room.

I quite liked the wallpaper. It was off white with gray bamboo all over.

So pretty. So demure. So zen.

The installation was not so pretty, not so demure, and certainly not zen whatsoever.

What I didn't like was the constant barrage of cursing emitted from BOTH my parents. My mother never swore and to hear her hiss "sh*t" and "god damn" and other things in Chinese (her mother tongue) was particularly worrisome. My father simply bellowed "SOB" and "F*@!" like a good old American.

The atmosphere was tense. At times I did not believe the wallpaper would even make it on the wall. I even thought this wallpaper could make my parents get a divorce.

Eventually, the wallpaper made it on the wall and my parents stayed married. In the end, it was great. After a while, I forgot how difficult the whole situation was and I believed that wallpaper was a good idea.

And then...

I spent a winter in England visiting my best friend Jenny (best friend since kindergarten thank you very much) and happily agreed to assist in whatever DIY project they were tackling at the moment. That larky happiness quickly turned to snarky snappiness when halfway through wallpaper removal I was thigh deep in sticky residue and no sign of progress was in sight. No, they did not leave me a solo act in this endeavor. There were three of us working on it!! The only thing that got me through it was knowing that it wasn't my home and ultimately, I would not have to live with the results.

I vowed then and there that I would never never never hang wallpaper in any house of mine.

Until....

I spotted this one particular wallpaper. I friggin' love this wallpaper! I love it so much I might consider forgoing my deep rooted convictions about wallpaper.





It's called Cordoba from a company called Zoffany. I really like all the colors it comes in. I would buy a roll just to cut it up and frame it. Or wrap presents in it. Or make a dress out of it. Or anything. I would do anything my little heart desires with this wallpaper.

What could I do to make a wall interesting without committing to wallpaper? How about a stencil, I thought.

Maybe. It's a lot of work yet much better than wallpaper! Still holding out for Cordoba, though!