I’ve been at it again. My love for beadboard wallpaper has not slowed down and I’ve finished up the masterbath water closet. Amazing what this stuff does to add architectural details to an otherwise bland and boring little space. I love the crisp whiteness against the blue walls. Instant appeal!
Here’s how it started.
All blue, but not all that exciting.
Withe the addition of chairrail and other molding, along with the beadboard wallpaper, much improvement don’t you think? I sure do!
Want to know how I did it all? Of course you do! This is one roll of my nifty beadboard wallpaper, that I now carry in my shop, so you can get your hands on it at the click of a button.
I hope you know that the Wall Doctor Graham Brown version is the very best type and the only one I would use. Some of the copycat versions are not at all the same. I saw one in person and it was really bad. This one looks like the real thing.
If you missed my earlier posts last year when I first discovered and started using this amazing stuff, click here to see the tutorial on my kitchen and bath cabinets. I added this on the ends and really took them up a notch.
And we had a beadboard wallpaper party, after many of my readers tried it out too. It’s been a hit now for going on a year, in case you haven’t heard about it before.
I decided to begin the chair rail right underneath the window trim that was already in place, so that set my line for the chair rail on either wall. I measured just under that, so I would have a line to stop the wallpaper and then have the chair rail cover it up. Much easier to put up the wallpaper and then put the chair rail molding right on top. So, I figured out how many sheets I would need to go all around this little space. 9 to be exact.
Here they all are cut and ready to go. I actually put these up one at a time with a lot of time in between. I would wet a piece, wait 5 minutes, put it on the wall, smooth it out and then go do something else. Next time I came in the room, I did another piece, until I made my way all around the room.
I didn’t worry too much about the bottom where it meets the tile wall baseboard. I had already figured out that I would add a simple small piece of molding there to cover that seam. That is one thing I’ve found in working with this paper. If you add molding around it, it totally looks like the real thing and I really think that’s one of the key secrets to making it look SO authentic.
All the pieces are in place now and waiting for the chair rail to be installed.
Here’s how I got behind the toilet. I can’t imagine having to put in real beadboard behind a toilet. It would not have worked in my case. I barely had room to slide this paper behind, much less a thick piece of real wood beadboard. So, you can see how time and cost effective this would be. Don’t get me wrong. I love the real thing too, but sometimes it’s just not practical. Here I just cut a slit in the paper to move it around the toilet line.
And here it is all smooth and in place.
I did slide it behind the toilet without much problem. This paper is thick and easy to handle.
Now it’s time to get busy on the chair rail. I opted to go ahead and paint my already primed chair rail with 2 coats of my trim paint, just to save the hassle of painting next to my blue wall paint. Didn’t want to have to deal with that.
Here’s where I added a small trim molding (again, this is the lightweight foam stuff that can be cut with scissors). I glued it in place with wood glue. Really any sort of glue should work. Don’t tape on top of your wallpaper though like I did. I did have a little bit of it that pulled up with the blue tape. No major damage, but be more careful than I did.
See how that cute little trim just finishes it off and sits nicely on top of my existing trim baseboard tile? It’s those small details that make the difference.
This is shoe molding, very small (about 1/2″ wide from Lowes) and it worked perfectly on top of my tile.
And again, here is is all finished and painted. I did one coat of my gloss trim paint on the wallpaper too. I definitely think you should always paint this wallpaper to further enhance it and make it look like the real thing. It’s made for painting!
I love how it adds so much more interest in here now.
Mitered the corners with my simple hand miter box. It’s never perfect, since houses are sometimes off square and this was no exception. I did have to add some caulking in here, but after painting, it looks pretty darn good.
Close-up of the small trim molding and the wallpaper. Once you paint over the wallpaper, the paint fills in the seams for the most part, so they are hardly noticeable.
Love, love, yes I’m in love! 
Now, here’s one thing I’ll show you. Houses and walls are not always straight or plumb. I was having a hard time getting this molding to lay flat and had to hammer in a bunch of extra nails in the center of this board. I thought the board was warped and was about to commence with some major whining out loud! Grrrrrrr!
But then I figured out that it’s the wall that’s not straight! So, those are some of the hazards of doing projects in less-than-perfect houses. It can show up in the strangest ways. Now, if I was a perfectionist, this might bother me, but since I got over that a long time ago, I can live with a little wave in my chair rail. Oh, and I finally picked up a nail set, which made my life much easier. That’s to punch in those finish nails and then caulk fills in the holes.
Project Cost:
Beadboard Wallpaper – $25
Chair Rail from Lowes (real wood): $20 for two 8′ pieces
Small foam molding ( two 8′ pcs. from Lowes) – $5
Total: $50
Looking in the dirty mirror from outside the room. It’s SO gratifying to do a project like this. It was really a fast one and I got it done in no time. The hubs thinks I’m still trying to cover up more of his blue, but I still say all that white just enhances that purdy blue!
Instant architectural detail, you gotta love that!
Added to Kimba’s DIY Day this week.
Happy Birthday to my sweet mama, who turns 82 today.
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Telling Tales of Dusk book giveaway winner is:
#38: Nancy from Nancy’s Cottage Treasures. Congrats! Email me your mailing address and I’ll have Terri send you a copy of the book.
I loved Nancy’s comment:
Growing up in south Arkansas, on a tomato farm, well…I had my share of tomato samwiches. I love poetry and used to write long, rambling, obscure poems that my Mother thought were grand. I was just melodramatic, lol. I appreciate the opportunity to enter this give-away. What a lovely book to spend time with on the front porch this summer….remembering the olden days when my life was simpler and slower. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by! I'm Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn't have to cost a fortune and I've spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yardsales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I'm here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won't you join me? 
{ 84 comments… read them below or add one }
Your bathroom looks terrific. I have never seen this type of product before. Thanks for sharing.
That’s stylin’. Fit for a throne
I too love beadboard wallpaper. I used the same brand on my backsplash and it’s great.
Wow! It looks so beautiful and the crisp white really does show off the blue. Rhoda, you make it look so easy!
That looks fantastic! Well done!
Rhoda, where do you get the foam molding? I’d love to try this! This looks so nautical and pops with the blue. Love it!
Lisa, I added in the cost breakdown & molding info to the post, but Lowes has the best selection of this foam molding.
Rhoda Marie! against that blue==WOW, luv it.
Stop inspiring me…….
Rhoda, want to come do mine?? I have wanted bead board in my master and powder room I don’t know how long. Hubs just want take the time to do it. Maybe someday I can do the wallpaper. It looks so real. Great job.
Thank you so much for sharing your tips about this wall paper! I’m currently doing a little update on my kitchen and have used a lot of it and am so impressed with how easy it is to use. My husband was not convinced until he saw it installed and painted, now he loves it, especially since we’ve installed real bead board and this is so much easier! Our house was built in 1927 so I completely get the uneven walls but I finally figured out to use a little level to check to see if my lines were even. lol
Rhoda, could you wipe a glaze over top of the beadboard wallcovering?
My wheels are spinning now. Also the trim you used for the bottom near your tile, could that same type of trim be used to frame out a mirror? Love your great ideas!
g. suzie, I think you could add glaze to this wallpaper if you wanted to, but I wouldn’t go too heavy with it. I think it might look like too much if you did. There are all sizes & types of that MDF molding at Lowes, so yes, you could use it around a mirror. I used the reeded MDF on my mirror projects if you missed those last year, click on Top Posts and you’ll see that project too.
Rhoda! I love the way the colors contrast! It looks absolutely perfect!
great job.
gail
Rhoda, a fabulous job, and I just love the difference you made! Bravo!
Karena
Art by Karena
Rhoda! I love it!!!! It makes such an incredible difference. I’ve been watching all your tutorials because I think I want to use your beadboard wallpaper in my powder room. Love it!
Really pretty! I love the new fresh look and it will look so nice with your bathtub makeover a couple month ago! Very nice!
I really like it against the blue. It does look very fresh and clean. I love this stuff! I wish that I had more walls I could use it on! I have it in my kitchen and bath. It is so easy to clean up too. Nice job!
Rhoda, it looks fantastic! I love the way it turned out! You know we did the 3/4 paneling in our bathroom so I know all about the wavy wall thing! Our house is about 100 years old … so as you can imagine, there isn’t a level surface to be found. Well, except in the bathroom – thanks to the reno! Thanks for sharing how easy it can be to spruce up the loo!
Ooo, dining room update is on the blog this morning – hope you can pop over!
i love it! Bathrooms are one of my fav spots for beadboard!
wow that looks so much better!
It’s beautiful…so finished looking now! You are one busy lady!
After seeing Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chick’s big boy room reveal, I spent last evening thinking about doing our master bedroom in navy and white, but I wasn’t sure what to do about the adjoining bathroom. And here, this morning, is your navy and white bathroom! It must be fate!
I love it! That very same project is on my to-do list for my half-bath, just as soon as I remove the ostentatious wallpaper already in there. Also, I have to say anything which allows you to only have to paint the upper-half of your bathroom walls is *perfect*. I can tell you from personal experience that it’s no fun to remove a toilet tank just so you can paint behind it.
Beadboard wallpaper solves that problem in a stylish manner.
This looks so awesome! I think this technique would add a lot of charm to my bathroom that lives off my living room. It is dark green now and looks like a cave.
I LOVE IT! I might try this in my bath room. I am so glad I saw the wallpaper in your home….IT LOOKS SO REAL!
I love seeing all your creative uses for beadboard wallpaper. It looks so crisp in the bathroom now!
Gasp – I can’t believe it… I love, love, love the way your bathroom turned out!!!! That’s it, I have to get it!!!
ButterYum
I am so glad you posted this! I was thinking about putting it in my bathroom and I was wondering how durable it would be in a bathroom! I am definitely going to use the wallpaper instead of the real board! Hope you’re having a great Tuesday!
I don’t think this post could be any more timely! I was JUST talking to my husband this morning about some of our kitchen cabinets, and how we should use beadboard for some unsightly work that was done by the previous owner. This would work out PERFECTLY!! Thanks for the great post and tutorial!
A while back I discovered this wallpaper on your blog and have been in love ever since. We just used it in my husband’s small bathroom at a chair rail height of 5 feet with paint above. It looks fantastic! We used it because the walls have a few cosmetic problems and we weren’t ready for a total gut of the place. It hid all the bad and looks like a million bucks and everyone that sees it cannot believe it is wallpaper. Thanks again.
Oh, how lovely Rhoda ! You are the Queen of Beadboard Wallpaper – it looks striking against that blue. LOVE it !!!
xoxo
Kate
Rhoda,
It looks fantastic! Seriously, though – is there a room or place anywhere on planet Earth that *doesn’t* look better with a little bit of beadboard?!?!?!?! I’m a total addict – need to hold me back!
xoxo,
Lindsay
Another lovely beadboard wallpaper project from you… I NEED to get some of that stuff… I’ve got a list in my head where I’d love to put it. Thanks for the great directions too!
It lightens it up so much. It looks great!
Wow! That looks really great. I’ve been toying with the idea of putting beadboard in my kids bathroom. I’m going for a beachy theme there. I wanted to use the wood kind, but your wallpaper looks really great.
I do want to ask your opinion though. My kids get water all over when they take baths. They think it’s fun to stand up and then plop down in the water so naturally the floor, walls, rug – everything gets soaked. How well do you think the wallpaper would do as opposed to the wood?
Sarah, I really don’t want to make any claims about it with kids & water. But, when it’s painted in a gloss trim paint, it really does repel water from the small amount that has dripped on the ends of our bathroom cabinets. I would hate to tell you that it would work perfectly though & then have your kids destroy it. The good thing is, it’s not terribly expensive to do a small bathroom. I still had a good piece left from my roll that could have done another area, so it goes a long ways.
Thanks Rhoda! I was thinking that probably after painting it with semi-or high gloss paint it would probably do fine. I was mainly worried about it peeling around the baseboards since thats where most of the water goes. I figure it can’t do worse than the regular wood kind. I wish I would have know about this wallpaper over a year ago. We added beadboard to the inside of our kitchen cabinets and not only was it a complete pain in the butt. It doesn’t look quite the way I envisioned. This would have saved me (well technically, my husband) a lot of work.
Thanks again!
What a difference the beadboard wallpaper made in your water closet! It truly does look like the real thing…my head is spinning with the ideas in my head now! LOL! God bless you Rhoda…~Robyn
A great thrifty way to get the real look! The dark blue looks great with the white, always a great combination!
The Designer Insider
It looks wonderful and so realistic! I might have to try that.
Happy birthday to your mom!
Did you prime the blue before covering it with the paper? I have a dark green on my walls in the basement bathroom and was planning on priming it before putting this up. And after seeing your post today I’m planning on ordering some from your Open Sky and doing this very same thing in the bathroom. Love that this looks real yet it doesn’t require new baseboard or the room behind the toilet that the read beadboard would. Love this!
Brilliant Rhoda! What a stunning transformation! Btw, I gave you a big ole’ shout out on my blog today. Go check it out. I hope I did you proud!
xoxo,
Kim
Rhoda,
Once again I am in awe. You have such a great eye and natural gift for taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary! I wish you could bottle up your talent and sell that in your Open Sky Shop!
I invite you to stop by and enter my giveaway.
Happy Tuesday, my friend.
Deborah
It looks fantastic and was well worth $50! Happy B-day to your Mom!
Hi Rhoda!! Oh this looks so good! You are good, girl! The white just pops against that royal blueness! You should be so proud of yourself.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia
Love it! Thanks for the reminder about that great product. I read your first post about using it in the kitchen but kind of forgot about it until now. I think I might need to try it out in my house.
In the 2nd picture I would swear your toilet is smiling and winking. Anyone else notice this?? Just wondering.
Love how it turned out! Thank you for doing the step by step, how do you do it? It is my struggle, because I just want to get it done. lol..i need to do better with my befores and step by step. Thank you for taking the time to do it. Look perfect! ~lulu
wow looking good,who knew!
Wow! I didn’t even know they had that! Looks great!
That looks FANTASTIC!
Thanks for the great how-to photos!
holy beadboard batman!!! that looks awesome Rhoda. It makes the bathroom look so much bigger. Great job!
Miss Rhoda, there you go again being the Queen of DIY!! Boy for $50 you got more than your monies worth!! I love the white with the dark blue. I tried a DIY project this weekend. Oh my have I opened a can of worms. You would have whipped right through it and would already have had it done. I am still working on it. I can say this, Never again!!! I might show it on my blog if I ever get it done! Yikes. Kathysue
I love bead board. Love. Love. Love. it. I have wanted to try the wallpaper for a small project. After looking at your transformation, I’m ready to get started! Thanks for sharing. Now I’m off to have a look at those bead board party links.
Hi Rhoda – what a super job, looks great, I think I’m going to try it in my upstairs bathroom, if I can stay home long enough to do it! Your tutorials are excellent dear – I love your easy directions and clear photos.
Off next Wed. on my big trip – the African safari – see you when I return.
Hugs – Mary
Beautiful.
Just beautiful!
Cottage-y and beachy!
I think I am going to try this in my kitchen as a backsplash.
Thanks for showing us how it’s done!
Blessings to you!
~Leslie
Love beadboard and didn’t realize the beadboard wallpaper looked so real! Love it!
I have to admit…and I am blaming it on being new to blogging…but I have never seen this wallpaper! You have changed my life with this post! I cannot wait to use it!!!!
Wow, Rhoda, this looks fabulous! What a great little makeover that makes a BIG difference. Love it!
I didn’t know there was such a thing! I love it!! Makes such a difference.
Well you KNOW I love that navy and white and the wallpaper is FAB!! It looks amazing! Have you had issues with that wallpaper “chipping” at all? My paintable wallpaper is easily scuffed — if my finger catches it wrong, the spongy stuff comes right off. I haven’t use it on walls because of that.
I feel you’ve introduced me to the Holy Grail of wall paper. How does one repay you? I suppose a comment will have to suffice. But I am flabbergasted at how great your bathroom turned out. It looks better than magazine quality! It’s gorgeous and it really does accent the blue nicely!
Thats amazing! very helpful tutorial, learnt lots from it. Thanks for sharing!
alicia
Your beadboard wallpaper looks fabulous! I am definitely going to be trying that next month in my kitchen along my backsplash and chair rail. First I need to paint my kitchen cabinets and add some crown molding.
Very striking in your blue water closet area, Rhoda! I am with you…..the white beadboard wallpaper & molding sets the blue paint off beautifully enhancing the total look….another great job !!!!
Bonnie
This looks SO nice! What a difference!
Oh wow!! That looks gorgeous!!!!!!!
I’ve seen some wallpaper and even seen it used, but wasn’t impressed. I’m definitely going to have to try out the brand you recommend. It looks fah-bu-LOUS!
Hi Rhoda….
Things have been a little hectic here so I’ve not been around to blogland much…..oh my have you been busy !!! It looks wonderful !!!! Love how it came out, it looks like the real stuff…..and probably esier to wipe down….
All the best,
Kathy
I just love it! What a dramatic change. Gorgeous!
OH I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for the wonderful inspriation! My husband and I have almost completed our guest bath tranformation. It’s beautiful. I wish I could send you a picture. I can’t thank you enough for the tip about adding shoe molding. It adds a “grand” feeling to our builder basic molding. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a tip, but thanks for the idea I could copy : )
Hi, love your bathroom transformation. I have a question about the beadboard wallpaper–how do you think it would work with textured walls? All the walls in our house have texture called “knockdown”. Is the wallpaper pretty thick or do you think texture would show through? Just wondering before I buy and try. Thanks in advance!
Hi,
I love your beadboard bathroom. I am also wondering if it will work on hand-sanded and primed textured walls. Is the paper thick enough so the texture won’t show through? Thanks!
I have an old house, bathroom needs lots of work, would this beadboard work around the tub area if you used the high gloss paint? Any suggestions? Thanks.
I had paint falling off the walls in large chunks in my bathroom. I didn’t think it would be possible to scrape and smooth the walls enough to make them look good again. I read your tutorial and ordered the beadboard wallpaper from you, and I ordered some wonderful molding called Hedwig small from Classic Ceilings. This molding has a lot of grooves in it, much like the rest of the woodwork in my old house and looks great as a chair rail. I scraped the peeling paint and primed, because the walls were green where the paint fell off. I put up the beadboard paper per your instructions. It was SO easy! Most of the seams ended up invisible, but the ones that didn’t I spackled. I DARE anyone to find the seams now! I then put up the trim (after some unpleasant time spent learning how to use a miter box) and caulked the nail holes and upper edges of the molding. Wow! I can’t believe how much of a difference it makes to caulk the seams and edges – especially if you have crooked and wavy old walls! I painted the wallpaper and trim with satin white. The room looks like it was professionally done! I can’t thank you enough for your tutorial. I would recommend that EVERYONE try this wallpaper. It yields truly amazing results!
OMG that is just the coolest thing I have ever seen . Thanks for sharing…
I’m thinking about using the beadboard wallpaper to cover paneling about 3 ft. with chair rail. will it cover the grooves in the paneling. Love your bathroom and the kitchen cabinets.
Cheryl, I am not positive that it could cover the grooves, but I do think it would if you filled in the grooves with some spackling of some sort. It would be worth a try for sure. I would caulk/spackle the grooves and then prime it first before you try the wallpaper. The wallpaper is pretty thick so it could definitely work.
I love this! I’m looking to use the beadboard wallpaper in my motorhome, so I really appreciate your step by step instructions! Your finished result is BEAUTIFUL! And I love the navy/white combo too! So fresh, so nautical, so beautifully coastal! <3 Lesli
this is so pretty!!! great JOB! by any chance do you remember what the name of the blue paint is called?
Hi, Alicia, yes it is by Kilz paint & is called Magellan.
I love this room! I love bead board wall paper. What would you do if you have all oak trim? Is it possible to mix white bead board wallpaper with the oak trim?
This is perfect for my dining room. I already have the chair molding up and some outdated wallpaper on the top & bottom of it. I’ve been trying to think of something to use in the place of it. I wasn’t too sure about painting wallpaper and how it would hold up. Also, where would I find this type of wall paper at? I can’t wait to get started. Thanks for the great idea.
Hi, Linda, I think you’ll love the wallpaper esp. since you already have chairrail installed. I sell this wallpaper in my online shop here:
http://southernhospitality.mybigcommerce.com/
Just stumbled across your blog and LOVE the wallpaper… I was going to put up bead board in my Master Bath until I saw this !!! … Why did you paint over the wallpaper though….was it just to fill in the gaps?? And where can I find it??? Must have it!!!!!