Yay I Installed Peel and Stick Temporary Wallpaper In My Bathroom!

I finally did something I’ve been wanting to do for years, but didn’t feel like it was worth it in my last apartment. I installed bathroom wallpaper!

As you probably know I’m a renter, so many of my projects have to be temporary. That’s why I decided to look into peel and stick wallpaper options. There’s such a great selection out there, but when I found this botanical print from Tempaper I was smitten!

Turns out installing this type of wallpaper isn’t as daunting as it seems. The paper is super durable and forgiving, allowing you to adjust and re-position as needed to get everything lined up and perfect. This is great news because bathrooms can be especially tricky. Working your way around a toilet can be a big pain in the ass. No pun intended (zing!).

The first thing you need to do is measure your wall. By the way, Tempaper has a cool calculator that helps you determine how much paper you need. I only needed one roll for this wall and had some to spare. Please note that this kind of paper won’t adhere well to textured or matte walls. Eggshell, Semi-gloss, or gloss paint works best. Bathrooms usually have semi gloss paint, so you should be good. 

How to install peel and stick Tempaper wall paper in a bathroom.jpgNext, pre-cut the lengths you need. This makes your life so much easier. Be sure to line up the pattern with each new piece you cut.How to install peel and stick Tempaper wall paper in a bathroom (2)

Remove any toilet paper holders or towel racks that might get in the way. Outlets are fine, you can just use a razor to cut around them later.

I did this entire job alone because there’s just not enough room in my tiny bathroom for this to be a two person job. If you have room for help, it’ll make the job easier, but if its just you don’t worry, you can do it. As you can see I could barely fit the step ladder.How to install peel and stick Tempaper wall paper in a bathroom (3)

Now the real fun starts. The first piece is the trickiest because you need to get it on there straight, that way all the following pieces line up. Use the wall corner and ceiling (and a level if you have one) as your guide and you’ll be fine. How to install peel and stick Tempaper wall paper in a bathroom (4)

As you can see I didn’t measure or pre-cut the window section. Just simply go around when you’re done and trim around any windows, outlets, and edges with a razor blade. Just keep lining up each piece at the side seams and use a Tempaper squeegee to push out any air bubbles and smooth it out.

How to install peel and stick Tempaper wall paper in a bathroom (5)And that’s it! If you’re wondering how well this paper might hold up in a bathroom, I’ll just say I took a steamy shower about an hour after I was done and no seams or edges came away from the wall. The paper is also non-porous, so it seems it’ll hold up to moisture well.

How to install peel and stick Tempaper wall paper in a bathroom (6)

I really love how much life it brings into this small room. I originally wanted to try to do the whole room, but I think the accent wall approach is actually perfect for in here.How to install peel and stick Tempaper wall paper in a bathroom (7)

I love pink and green together so I added pink and coral colored towels and rugs and a flamingo shower curtain.

How to install peel and stick Tempaper wall paper in a bathroom (8)

Major mid-century Palm Springs vibes, right? Now I just need to find some art work and make a valance for that window (stay tuned for that) and it’ll be complete!

 

Special thanks to Tempaper for being kind enough to provide product for this project. As always, all opinions are genuine and my own.

A Look Back At My Apartment Through The Years

If you haven’t heard the news already, I’m leaving my apartment of over 6 years and moving back to Palm Springs!

As I pack up each room for the move I’m reminded of how many faces each one has had over the years, and how we started out here with literally only an air mattress and a laptop. I worked hard to make this apartment feel like our own home and did every thing I could to personalize it within the limits allowed. In the beginning I worked with what I had and could afford, which wasn’t much, and slowly improved each room over the years and brought in new and better things to make it what it is today. I had fun doing it and I’m really proud of what I’ve done and been able to share with you all since the blog started.

I thought it would be fun to take a little look back through the years. Each rooms has looked even more different than what you’ll see below, but this is what I could find on my Instagram and photo archives.

The living room and dining room have always been the main focus. It’s where we spend the most time and really the only room people see when they come over. It started out with ugly paint and carpet (the floors were eventually changed by management) and eventually turned into a bright and spacious feeling room. It was even featured in Better Homes and Gardens!

44421_430992239058_6727695_n

124

As you can see I flipped the entire layout last year.

57

The dining room has had a few different lives too. 45778_431244939058_252962_nHere are a couple of my favorites.891011

Even the front door got a makeover a couple of times!

1213

And lastly, the bedroom. I went from garden grandma chic vibes to tropical resort vibes.

14151617

I’ve had a lot of fun living here and sprucing this place up, but I’m excited for something new!

Stay tuned for projects in the new place soon!

 

I’m moving! To Palm Springs!

You guys, it’s finally happening…

I’M MOVING!

Remember last year when I talked about wanting to move but ultimately didn’t because the timing didn’t feel right? Well, it finally does and I’m really excited about it.

For about a year we’ve been toying with the idea of moving back to Palm Springs and during our 3 week long road trip last month we finally made the decision to do it. So many signs were pointing to ‘yes’ and everything just kind of fell into place which means it’s meant to be. Among the many signs were if we stayed here our lease renewal would result in a huge rent spike AGAIN (not worth it), and we found an amazing mid-century apartment right away as if by magic. I couldn’t turn it down.  Total kismet!palmsprings

Don’t get me wrong, I adore Los Angeles and always will. I was born in LA and I will always consider it home, but Palm Springs is home too. I grew up there and even though as a teenager I couldn’t wait for any opportunity to get out, as an adult I look for any chance to go back. Life is weird!


I’m going to miss this view, and this apartment, and all of the memories we’ve made in it. Six years is the longest I’ve ever lived in any one home in my entire life! It’s going to be strange to leave but it’s definitely time to go. Besides, I’ll be back in LA at least two days a week because of my husband’s job, so I’ll still get my fix.
Anyway, I’m really excited for this new chapter and to share the new place with you in a few weeks. Make sure you’re following along on Instagram for all the updates that don’t make it on here!
Wish me luck…

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment//How To Use Fabric As Temporary Wallpaper

Do you like the look of wallpaper but can’t commit to installing any? Same here. A lot of the projects I do in my apartment have to be temporary because I rent, so I’m always trying to find inexpensive and temporary solutions to my design problems.

When I redecorated my living room earlier this year I knew I wanted to do an accent wall behind my sofa, and I knew I wanted it to be a pattern. I’d heard of people using fabric as temporary wallpaper before and decided I wanted to give it a whirl. I fell in love with a fabric that I ended up scoring for $6, and the other materials are really inexpensive, so it was no big loss if it didn’t work out.

For this project you need fabric (I used a light weight cotton), liquid starch, push tacks, an exacto knife, and a paint roller. For everything I paid less than $20 total!

Side note: I did this project on the rainiest day of the year, so please excuse the lighting in some of the images!

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (2).jpgDIY Fabric Wall Treatment.jpg

First, I used push tacks to hang the fabric up on the wall. I tacked at the ceiling line and sides.

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (3).jpg

Then I used a paint roller to apply the liquid starch to the fabric.

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (4).jpg

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (5).jpg

I started at the top, smoothing out air bubbles and wrinkles as I worked my way down. Make sure you saturate the fabric thoroughly so it sticks to the wall very well. I repeated the process for each piece, matching up the edges on the sides. This fabric had a label on one of the selvage edges, so I cut that off before applying it to the wall.

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (6).jpg

Let it dry thoroughly for several hours. I let mine dry over night.

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (7).jpg

Next, I used an exacto-knife to cut around the edges of the wall and around any details like air vents and electrical sockets. For any left over air bubbles, I just sliced them and re-saturated, then pushed any air out. DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (9).jpg

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (8).jpg

That it! I was actually shocked at how much easier it was to do than I imagined. It took me a few hours but wasn’t as labor intensive as I anticipated. Here’s how it turned out!

DIY Fabric Wall Treatment (12).jpgDIY Fabric Wall Treatment (11).jpg

IMG_5327-1.jpgDIY Fabric Wall Treatment (14).jpg

I love it! 

To remove it all you have to do is set a corner with warm water and peel it straight off the one in one piece. I actually removed a piece and put it back up on the wall because I didn’t like the placement. The best part is this fabric can be laundered and reused whenever I choose to remove it! 

Clean up is also a breeze. Just regular soap and water will do! 

Have fun! 

DIY White VCT Tile Bedroom Flooring

Up until about a month ago I had carpet in my bedroom and I HATED IT. Between allergies, constant city dust, and senior dogs, having carpet just wasn’t right for our lifestyle. I rent and didn’t think changing the floors would ever be an option, but when it was time to renew our lease and our manager offered to replace or clean our carpet, I seized the opportunity to ask if we could replace the floors at our own expense instead. They surprisingly agreed to my request and gave me the freedom to pick the flooring option of my choice.

I knew whatever option I chose wouldn’t match the rest of the apartment anyway, so I decided to give in to my desire for white floors. I did some research and the easiest and most cost effective of our options seemed to be VCT (vinyl composite tile).  Plus, I’m always down for a mid-century vibe and you can’t get anymore mid-century than vinyl tiles.


I ordered a bunch of samples and ended up choosing Armstrong’s Carnival White , an off-white color with multicolored specks priced at $0.91 per square foot. It’s really cute and has the vintage speckled look I was going for, but was the most cost effective for me as well. Since I rent I didn’t want to invest too much, if you get what I mean. 

This was my first time installing VCT tiles so I’m no expert, but I can tell you that there are some very good and thorough tutorials on YouTube that can explain the techniques you need better than I can through pictures. If you’re planning on doing this project I highly recommend watching several of them.

Luckily my room is pretty much a square so there wasn’t many complicated cuts and I was able to finish the room within a day, by myself, spending less than $300 total.

Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)Here’s a terrible picture of what I started with. As you can see the dark beige carpet and old pink paint absorbed most of the light in the room. The first thing I had to do was remove the old carpet. That was a lot easier than expected and I was able to do it all in one piece. After that I pried up the tack strips and used pliers to remove any stray staples in the floor.

 

Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

Then we took the opportunity to paint the walls a nice high reflective white .

After the walls were done I got started on the floor. I used a chalk reel to mark the center points of the room where I would begin laying tiles.

Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

Next I dry laid some tiles to make sure they would be even and to decide on which way I wanted the speckled pattern to run. A lot of of the time the tile is installed with an alternating pattern but I decided to run mine all in one direction for a seamless look.

Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

Then I had to use a small notch tile trowel to apply adhesive to the floor. I want to note that this took longer than expected to dry, and didn’t dry clear like the container said it would. I let it dry for SEVERAL hours until it was tacky and a dark amber color. If you start laying the tiles too soon they’ll slide around and make you regret everything. Also, wearing knee pads will save your life.Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

At this point my dog decided to get around my barricade and lay directly in the glue, promptly getting stuck and full of the stickiest glue that no dog shampoo on earth could remove. After throwing him in a bath to soak and cutting his hair, I was able to continue onto actually laying the tile.

I didn’t get pics of that process because I had to move fast, but I started from the middle line and worked my way out. Once I got to the edges I used a utility knife to cut the edge tiles to size. YouTube will explain all that to you in better visual detail.

Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

As you can see there were some small gaps between the tile and the wall. You can put a piece of trim around there to finish it off or you can use caulking to fill it in like I did.

Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

For the threshold I simply used a piece of flat molding and wedged it in the door frame. Simple and sleek. Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)I let the tile set for about a day and then mopped it and applied four coats of floor polish with a microfiber mop. Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

Tips for Installing VCT flooring (Vinyl Composite Tiles)

What a difference! My room feels so much cooler, fresher, and brighter! I only wish I had done this sooner. Here’s how it looks furnished. Much better than before!

Vintage California Style Bedroom Decor