Guest Room, Part 3: Temporary Wallpaper for an Accent Wall

FYI: I was not compensated for using, or writing about, Tempaper.  I bought it with my own money because I wanted to see if it was a good option for renters.

Do you ever gather the supplies needed for a DIY or decor project, then procrastinate on tackling it out of fear that it won’t go well?  That’s exactly what I did with the Tempaper that I ordered for my guest room makeover . . . way back in October.  Then late one night during the holidays, Ryan and I cleared out the room and I determined that it was time to dive in. After all, that paper wasn’t going to hang itself!

Have you heard of Tempaper, a temporary removable wallpaper?  I thought it would be good to test out a roll of it in the house, since it appears to be an excellent temporary wallpaper option for renters.

I pulled Ryan away from the new Star Wars game just long enough to help me clear out the room, then I got to work.

For the guest room I ordered one roll of Tempaper’s Edie pattern in Frosted Teal.  I hoped the single roll would cover the small back wall (left wall in photo above) of the guest room, creating an accent wall behind the bed frames.

I laid down my large sewing cutting mat, and used my rotary cutter and clear ruler to cut the Tempaper.  The combo of the cutting mat and long clear ruler helped me to measure and make super-straight cuts.

A note of caution:  Either I received a defective roll, or the Tempaper material scratches easily, because shortly after rolling the first part out flat to cut, I noticed this long white scratch on it.

I started hanging the Tempaper on the right side of the wall, working my way left across it.

After the first length was successfully hung, I got worried that the single roll may not cover the entire accent wall.  (Yes, I should have figured this out before starting – it’s just that the wall is so small that I was sure one roll would be enough!)   Knowing how long the first piece was, I did some quick measuring, and found that I would come up about 3/4 of one strip short of covering the whole wall.

Crap.  I was determined to get the Tempaper hung and done, and more importantly, I wasn’t going to shell out another $85 for another roll, most of which I wouldn’t need.

The solution?  I decided I could stretch the single roll of wallpaper and make it work.

Two large headboards of the two beds I’m modifying would be sitting against this accent wall, and there is no other possible furniture layout for them in this small space.  Therefore, I wouldn’t have to totally cover the parts of the wall that would be blocked by the headboards.

I measured the headboards, and the areas that they’d cover, then marked it on the wall with painters tape.

I hung the second sheet of wallpaper and stopped at the tape line – which saved me a good 20 inches of paper.

In the photo below you can see the part of the wall that is not covered by the second Tempaper strip. However, when the mattress is on the bed frame, the blank area won’t be visible.

 I continued the hanging process until I covered the entire wall – or the entire exposed area, at least.

I know the exposed areas are going to be covered by the headboards, but I have to admit – the incomplete wall coverage is driving me crazy every time I see it, and every time I look at these photos!  I wish the roll had been just a bit longer.  Is it too much to ask that one roll cover a simple 10 ft x 8 ft wall?

I’m going to post my official “review” of the pros & cons of Tempaper, but I want to do that separately from this guest room progress update.

Have you ever used Tempaper?