Milton & King {Geometric Illusions wallpaper}
This project was done in collaboration with Milton & King.
In March of 2020 I decided to paint a floral mural in our breezeway. It was therapeutic and I enjoyed every bit of the process. However, before I even finished it I knew it wasn’t going to last long term. I just wasn’t thrilled with how it looked, but I decided to give it time just in case I changed my mind. (I knew I wouldn’t, but it made other people feel better!)
After hanging Milton & King wallpaper in my kitchen and by our stairs, I became convinced wallpaper was the way to go in the breezeway. There is something about patterns and how they repeat so perfectly in wallpaper that appeals to me. It is calming and gives my mind a place to rest when I am in those rooms. I wanted to go with another black & white print because it is timeless and wouldn’t clash with the breakfast nook. From my kitchen you can see both rooms, so they needed to compliment each other.
I chose Geometric Illusions. It is so different from the Calcutta pattern I previously used!
My dad is busy helping my sister with projects, so I tackled this project on my own. I didn’t follow the technical steps for hanging paper – had to improvise to make it work for one person on a ladder. It was far easier than I expected. The paper is not pre-pasted, so you apply paste to the wall. I love this method because it is much easier to move the paper around until you get it in just the right spot.
One thing that often confuses people about wallpaper is the pattern repeat. Every wallpaper repeats, but the length of that repeat is different. It could be every 6″ the pattern repeats or even every 24″. It is important to understand this when ordering paper. If the pattern repeats every few inches, you won’t have near as much paper wasted and will need to order less paper. In the photos below you can see how I lined my pattern up, but it was just short of reaching the ceiling. This means I had to move the paper up until the pattern matched again. Once I moved the paper up, I had about 13″ of waste that was cut off at the top. If you are more visual, I recorded a video on this topic on Instagram. Go to my highlights and watched the one titled “wallpaper”.
I am so thrilled with the final result! It took me a couple days to hang it because I was interrupted after just about every panel I hung. I think sometimes hanging wallpaper can sound so complicated and hard. It really isn’t. It does take patience and a willingness to do it ‘right’ not just ‘good enough’.
If you have more questions about the process of hanging wallpaper, you can visit the Milton & King website or check out my instagram (for my non-professional version tips !). You can also read my previous post answering the common questions related to wallpaper – click here for that link.
Here are some helpful, related links:
- Geometric Illusions wallpaper is from Milton & King
- Paint color: Carbon Copy by Behr
- Hammock: Opalhouse by Target
