Kitchen wall covering ideas
 

Got an apt. where kitchen and living room share a common cathedral ceiling. L-shaped kitchen separated from living room by a wall beginning at counter height and angling up at 45 degrees to about 12 feet. Wall inside the kitchen above the counters was partially wall papered many years ago. Wall paper covers the 45 degree wall and then more wallpaper comes down the adjoining wall, except the whole wall is not covered. Paper is cut at a 45 degree angle to match the 45 degree wall. Rest of the wall is painted drywall. Then on the opposite wall, a triangle of wallpaper starts at the counter level and comes down to the floor. You get the picture, Odd shapes of wallpaper that is beginning to look ratty.

What to do to replace it? Don't think pulling it off will work. Too much damage to underlying drywall. Could re-wallpaper but not crazy about wall paper above counters in kitchen. Any ideas?

if you want to re-paper, at least get some commercial vinyl, or vinyl coated paper. even then, its not a good option, as i discovered when stripping an old kitchen; many roaches and other critters found that old wallpaper makes a great home.

i would strip it, skim the drywall, put up a cheap tile backsplash, and paint the rest. new wallpaper is pretty pricey, especially if you hire someone to hang it; stripping and patching the walls has got be cheaper. and tile lasts much longer.

Can you tile over wallpaper? The wallpaper looks worse right around the counter. The paper is pretty tight on the wall, so if I could tile over it, I could avoid removing all the higher stuff and the solution would be pretty simple.

Only if the wallpaper is securely fastened. I wouldn't risk it. I'd re-plaster/texture (if paper is securely fastened) over the wallpaper and paint.

I've seen tin ceiling panels used as wall coverings and painted. It looks pretty cool.:cool:

My wife suggested the same thing.

the paper may be tight now, but tiling over it? please don't.

Tin may be a pricey proposition - but quick and attractive. as an architectural product.

Looks like tin wont work. Space between counter and cabinets is 15".

what kind of wallpaper is it? with a paper tiger (scoring tool) and some very hot water, most wallpaper comes off pretty easily. and repairing the drywall with some mud is not that hard. i just cringe when is see people have painted or textured (or anything else) over wallpaper, unless its the really expensive kind (anaglypta, lincrusta etc.) which is designed to be painted.

anyway, just my $.02

I'm running out of options and I probably need to begin work tomorrow. I think I may wallpaper over the existing paper with embossed paintable vinyl paper.

what about this stuff?
hd has it

Stabilit .090 In. FRP Wall Panel 4 Ft. x 8 Ft. - White

Model # MFTF12IXA480009600
Store SKU # 121586 Store SO SKU # 404572

$32.47/EA-Each

I've used that stuff as a backsplash in another unit. I considered it here, but it's not really an aesthetic fit in the apartment. The FRP is utilitarian, and whoever built this kitchen gave it a kind of modern, more upscale look, hence the wallpaper hung with odd angles.

I wouldn't put anything over wallpaper either. I wouldn't put up more wallpaper either.
The paper tiger works great. That and hot water with wall paper remover in it will take most of it off. It is a bit messy though.
Then some sanding and patching to get the wall ready.

I would suggest texture like knock down or at least an orange peel. That will hide the imperfections in the wall.
There are lots of DIY instructions on the web.

If you buy the sprayer from Homedepot it will run about $50. If you have an air compressor it's worth it to do it yourself.
Just make sure everything that's not being sprayed HAS to be covered.

The viscosity of the dry wall mix and the setting on the sprayer will determine the texture yuo will get. Practice on a large piece of cardboard to get it the way you want.

Danny

I have had good luck tearing off any paper that is loose and painting with oil based kilz. Then I skim the ragged edges with dw mud, sand and paint it all with oil based paint. Oil based paint will not loosten the water based glue.

it is a very durable finish at minimum cost but it does take three steps and you may not wish to take the time to do it. It is rugged and inexpensive except in time though.