If you are just joining our How to Decorate {for the DIY’er} Series, welcome! Miss a post? You can find all the entries for our series listed conveniently on one page here.
Welcome to Day 11 of our How to Decorate Series! Today Rhoda from Southern Hospitality is going to teach us about one of the greatest inventions ever….beadboard wallpaper! After seeing her post about it a few years ago, I immediately ordered some and placed it on the walls of my boys’ bedroom. Two years later, and it’s still looking fabulous! But don’t take my word for it, listen to the master herself….
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Thanks so much, Beth, for asking me to be part of your fab DIY series! Beth and I have been fast friends since we met last Fall in NYC at the Nate Berkus show. She’s a dear to me!
I have been a DIYer for many, many years now and love accomplishing those projects to make a home better. That’s why we all love what we are doing, a love of home and a way to make our homes more comfortable as well as beautiful.
Isn’t that the goal?
Adding architectural interest to a plain no frills home has gotten easier than ever. We all love board and batten, as well as beadboard with chairrail. Adding those elements can really make the difference in a plain space. And if there is one product that I’ve DIY’d and have been ecstatic with, it has to be beadboard wallpaper. And not just any beadboard wallpaper, but the UK Graham Brown Wall Doctor version. That’s the only one that I would even consider using. It looks just like the real thing, no joke!
The Graham Brown version is very substantial, pre-pasted, and goes up like a charm. I have used it in several applications in my old house in AL with great results.
Of course, it looks fantastic with chairrail installed on top, and the great thing is, that it sits on top of the existing baseboard so no need to take that out and start over. I used it successfully in my former masterbath. 
I first used it on the ends of my kitchen cabinets and I loved the custom look it gave them. I also trimmed them out with molding and that really made it look like the real thing. 
This was also one of the bathrooms in my old home in Alabama. I chose to do just one wall to add some architectural interest to this space and it worked great in there.
Right now, I’m working on the bathroom in my parent’s home that I am currently using. It’s a great way to add architectural interest to a blah space and that one is blah! Once I add the chairrail and paint everything out, it will look fabulous! Be sure to check back with me to see this finished space. I’m redoing the floor too and it’s going to look fantastic!
I’m also very excited to be partnering with Graham Brown in offering this wonderful product to my readers through my new online shop. It’s a great alternative to cutting your own wood and installation is a breeze. I highly recommend it.
If this looks like something you’d like to try, go on over to my new shop to ORDER! It should walk you through easily with shipping added and tax for those in GA.
Thanks again, Beth, for letting me share with your readers. This is one product that I’m so passionate about, I love sharing it with the world. This is a secret I don’t want to keep to myself.
Happy DIYing!
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Brilliant Rhoda! I recently lined the back of my kitchen cabinets with beadboard paper and they look fabulous. It adds instant interest without a lot of fuss or expense. I highly recommend it! So how about you? Have you used beadboard wallpaper before? What do you think of it? Feel free to link to your beadboard project in the comments!
I need a budget friendly, easy solution to the old black and white subway tiles in my bathroom. This seems like the ideal solution, but I’m wondering how well it would adhere over the tiles. Any suggestions on appropriate prep work? Removing the tiles isn’t really an option at this point. Thanks! I hope I can use this stuff!
This looks so good! I was wondering how you think it would hold up and how easy it would be to apply to kitchen cabinet doors?
Here in California we have orange peel textured walls. Do you think I’d have to smooth that out before using the beadboard wallpaper?
Good question Karen. Unfortunately I think you’d have to skim coat the wall with joint compound, smooth/sand, prime and then apply wallpaper. This wallpaper is foam-like and very thick, but I think the sand coated (orange peel) walls might make smooth application of the paper difficult.
Love this product! Thank so much for sharing it with us! Quick question- does it come in any colors other than white? thanks!
Hi Christin,
To my knowledge no, but it’s paintable and caulk-able. In fact, even if doing white, I wouldn’t just use it on its own. It looks so much more realistic when painted!
🙂
It’s wonderful product and I used it in my kitchen to cover ugly paneling at chair rail height. However, I got a kitten the next month and I don’t believe in de-clawing them. With that said, this wall paper became her favorite scratching post. It’s soft and foamy if you’ve used it. So here’s my disclaimer, awesome product, looks authentic, but not cat proof. I’ll be trying a different paper in July, and crossing my fingers that I don’t have to replace the wood.
Ooh, my wheels are turning. Got several places I could put this! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Crystal
Is it “kosher” to put it up in a dining room? I’ve seen beadboard in bathrooms and bedrooms, but could I get away with a dining room? We eat all of our meals in our main dining room and I’d like to add a little more interest to the walls while making it look less formal & more inviting.
I love beadboard Wallpaper and being in Canada the best quality I have found is Martha Stewart at Home Depot. About 25.00 per roll. I have (so far) done 2 ceilings, dining room and master bedroom. It is not prepasted and covered old celing tiles beautifully!! Just brushed the glue onto the ceiling tiles and applied the wall paper. I get lots of compliments and a few jaw drops when I tell them it is wallpaper 🙂
We need to see pictures Maureen!!! 😉
I love this How to Decorate series! So glad to hear from Rhoda – I love her blog too! I may have to try that beadboard wallpaper – it looks so real!
Beth – I am so sorry! I put the wrong link in my previous comment! My beadboard wallpaper project was my kitchen backsplash –
Sorry for the incorrect info – I blame my age…..
http://thelittlebrownhouse.us/2011/04/16/beadboard-wallpaper-back-splash/
I love Rhoda and her blog! She has done amazing things with her home! I did my first beadboard wallpaper project a few months ago in my hallway –
http://thelittlebrownhouse.us/2011/02/21/glammed-up-with-wainscoting/
Thank you so much for this series and featuring all of these talented ladies!
Has anyone ever used it on a ceiling? I love the idea of using paper – maybe I’ll give this a try somewhere – bookmarking this post! Thanks!
Hey Carmel, I know that Susie used it on her ceilings. Here is her post: http://www.susieharrisblog.com/2010/04/tale-of-beadboard-ceiling.html
If only I had known! I recently hacked through several lengths of beadboard… with a hand saw. I still can’t feel up upper arm ; )
Thanks for all the great tips in this series, girls!
Great post, Rhoda!! I’m needing to order that stuff soon!! 🙂 Thanks again, Beth, for hosting this awesome series!
🙂
shaunna
Oh I just LOVE it!! Can you buy that stuff at Lowe’s or Home Depot? I would love to try something like that in my guest bathroom!
Hi Amy,
My Lowes carries it for about $16/roll but it’s not as good as quality as the Graham Brown that I used in my boys’ bedroom. I used the Lowes paper for the back of my kitchen cabinets and it looks fabulous back there but it is very thin and rips easily. The Graham Brown paper is like foam and is a much higher quality paper. I would use it in my higher traffic areas.
Hi, Heidi! I can’t totally say it would hold up on cabinets to dogs & kids, but I do think it just might. It will dent if there are sharp objects or blunt objects that hit it, but other than that, it is very durable. I don’t think the ends of kitchen cabinets get that much wear and tear, so I’d say go for it. The great thing is it is reasonably priced and 1 roll goes a long ways.
Perfect solution for the ends of my kitchen cabinets that have taken a beating from kids and dogs! Rhoda and Beth, can you share how durable you think it would be for the long haul? I have actual beadboard in my bathrooms, but this wallpaper would be a simple solution I’d love to try in the kitchen!
Thanks, ladies!! xoxo
Heidi,
I used cheaper beadboard wallpaper (found at Lowes) for the back of my cabinets and the Graham Brown kind for my boys room. I would say for high traffic area, use the good stuff. It’s like foam and will dent and can knick but it’s held up to two very rambunctious little boys just fine!