DIY Framed Wallpaper Mural

For years, in the back of my head, I’d describe my dream house style as an apartment in Paris- herringbone floors, lots of decorative molding, and beautiful light streaming through the windows.

When we moved into this house 6 months ago, I decided to make some of that vision a reality. I came up with the idea of framing a piece of chinoiserie wallpaper (you can see I’ve been obsessing with this idea for months).

After tearing out the plaster, replacing it with drywall, taping and mudding and sanding. Finally, the wall was prepped for the new wallpaper! Here’s how it was a few weeks ago-

DIY Framed Wallpaper Mural

Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:

If the video doesn’t work here, you can watch it on YouTube here. P.s. I’m trying to build that page up, so if you’d subscribe, I’d really appreciate that!

SUPPLIES

Chinoiserie Wallpaper mural (sand in pomegranate)- I got 35 square feet of the Tempaper self-adhesive removable wallpaper
Frame Corners– 4 pieces
Panel Molding– 4 pieces
White Paint

step 1

Start by prepping the wall. It should be clean and smooth. You do NOT want textured walls for this wallpaper- it will show through and mess up the look.

Next, figure out where on the wall the mural should go. Find center on the wall and measure to the left side and mark that side. I used large corner molding pieces so I placed those so they almost touched the baseboards. From there, I measured up to find the bottom of where the mural would hit.

step 2

Now that you have your starting point, it’s time to put the wallpaper on! To put it up level, I used a laser level to guide where I should lay the wallpaper. You could also do this with a level and a pencil.

Next, pull the backing off at the top and put it on the wall making sure to line it up with the level. Don’t take all of the backing off the wallpaper! This will make it tricky to line it up and put it up without big bubbles. Once the top of the wallpaper is adhered to the wall until you reach the backing, pull the backing down 1-2 inches at a time and use the squeegee to smooth it down.

Continue until you get to the end of the panel.

step 3

And now for the trickiest part of putting up the wallpaper- matching it.

For a big pattern like this, matching the pattern is super important! Here’s what I do- I stand on the step stool and at eye level, I match 12″ of the pattern perfectly. Above where I matched and below won’t be touching the wall yet. Once I have the 12″ matched, I’ll use the squeegee and work my way horizontally. Then I’ll work my way up and trim the ceiling piece. Lastly, I’ll work my way down.

If you don’t match the pattern perfectly the first time (which is normal!), just pull the wallpaper off the wall and re-stick it! Keep repeating until you get it right. Peel and stick wallpaper is usually nice and sticky so use that to your advantage to get it right.

Another option is to use a second person to line it up. Start at the top and have that person line their portion up. Then have the second person line up the bottom portion. Then use the squeegee to push out any bubble.

Continue this step for the 2nd and 3rd panel until the whole mural is up

step 4

Finally, it’s time to frame the mural. Start by putting up two corner pieces- attach them with a nail gun. Then measure between the two pieces and cut the molding to size with a chop saw. Test fit the panel molding. If it fits, attach it to the wall with a nail gun.

For this project, I wanted something fancy to really give it that European charm! I LOVE how the Ekena Millwork molding pieces look. They’re pretty affordable too- it was around $80 for the beautiful coordinating trim. I’ve used their products a bunch in my house and am a big fan.

after

I am beyond thrilled with this project! It upped the classy factor in my living room by 100%! I keep popping in this room just to stare at it- lol!

The pattern is beyond gorgeous! The birds are so fun and whimsical. When I was sharing options for this wall months ago, someone messaged me that I needed to put something up that was special enough to be framed. I think this definitely foots the bill!

If you’re in the market for beyond gorgeous wallpaper, this mural is from Tempaper Designs. They have a bunch of patterns and colors of the chinoiserie. And the best part is that it is made custom for your measurements. So you know it’ll look beautiful and nothing will be cut off.

I think that now I’ll be making a few changes to my living room to elevate it to the level of the wallpaper. Stay tuned!

I had a reader ask how to do this for a rental and this wallpaper is removable- so it should come off cleanly. And if you want the framed part, you could attach it with command strips (the molding is made of foam). OR you could get a big piece of foam core and wallpaper and frame that. Then hang it. Then you could take it to your next place too.