I’ve Tested Peel-and-Stick Wallpaper for Years. This Is Better.

I’ve spent a slightly ridiculous amount of time testing wallpaper over the last few years. Different brands, different walls, different textures…all because I wanted to know which ones actually stay up AND come back down when it’s time to remove them.

I’ve tested peel-and-stick wallpaper on textured walls, on smooth walls, installed a full room of peel-and-stick, and tested it again on textured walls, but for way longer. I’ve basically become a one-person Consumer Reports of peel-and-stick wallpaper.

In all that wallpaper ordering and testing, I accidentally ordered some samples that weren’t peel-and-stick (most companies offer wallpaper in a few different types). So while I was doing my five-month peel-and-stick wallpaper test, I decided to throw up one of my ordering mistakes – a pre-pasted wallpaper from a company called Love vs. Design.

I had zero expectations…I just like experimenting, and I figured, why not? So I put this sample up in my bathroom, along with the peel-and-stick contenders. Five months later, when I removed the few peel-and-stick samples that were left, I took this one down too.

Also, I filmed it live for Instagram stories, because…well, because that’s what I do. So I dug back into my Instagram archives and put together the clips of me taking it down. All combined, it’s about two minutes long and worth the watch.

So, as you can see from those clips, I was shocked at how well it worked. It was GLUED TO THE WALL, with no worries about it ever coming off (unlike the peel-and-stick samples)…but then it also came off so easily with water, just as promised. Which surprised the hell out of me, honestly.

It was in that moment (which you can see on the video) that I decided I would never use peel-and-stick wallpaper ever again. I still stand by all my peel-and-stick tests and all the results, and there are definitely some good ones out there, but this is better.

Removable Wallpaper That Actually Works

The peel-and-stick big claim is that it is user and renter-friendly (easily removable). But it’s not exactly easy to install (it stretches, it’s unforgiving if you need to adjust it at all during install). It also has lots of variables once it’s up (it shrinks with heat and time, there is no guarantee it will stay up OR come down, etc). This is not only better quality, but it seems to have way fewer variables, which makes me feel much more confident about recommending it.

I was so excited about discovering a wallpaper that actually works that I contacted the company and asked if they would be interested in working together on a project. I wanted to do a full room install of their wallpaper, make sure I actually like it and want to recommend it, and if so, tell the people about it. And much to my delight, they wanted to do that as well.

And so Molly’s bedroom makeover was born.

Also, It’s Customizable

So let me tell you my second favorite thing about this wallpaper (the first being that it actually works).

It’s customizable. Like, VERY customizable.

I can’t even tell you how many wallpaper patterns they offer. It’s a lot. Here’s the beautiful part though… when you find a pattern you like, you can customize the colors on it. Let me show you.

Let’s say you like pattern I used for my experiment, the herons –

..but the colors aren’t for you. That’s fine, because you can select each design element and choose a different color. Not like five color options. 241. Yes, I counted. You can quite literally create anything you want, then order a sample for $6 to confirm that you really do want teal herons on a purple background.

How freaking cool is that?! There’s nothing like a million possible color combinations to get me out of bed in the morning.

Choosing the Wallpaper for Molly’s Room

The very first step to creating a new bedroom design was to choose the wallpaper pattern and colors, then the rest of our choices would be centered around that.

I asked Molly to look over the Love vs. Design website and pick what she wanted. She picked this design, but wanted it in white and very light pink. So I ordered that sample (far left in the photo below), and then the same one in five other pink variations (for a little more contrast).

Then I took the liberty of ordering five other patterns I thought she might like…because selfishly, I was hoping she would choose something with a little bit more color variation.

She ended up choosing the center one in the second photo, which I was thrilled about, since it checked boxes for both of us (mostly white florals for her, a little bit of color for me).

Let’s Talk Installation

I’m not going to make this an install tutorial, you can find those all over the internet. Plus the instructions come with the wallpaper.

The basic process is pretty simple. You spray the back of the wallpaper with water to activate it, then spray the wall. From there you put it up on the wall, line up the design, and smooth it out with the tool they include with your wallpaper purchase. Then you trim the excess with a sharp blade.

Removable Pre-Pasted Wallpaper Installation Vs. Peel-and-Stick

Peel-and-stick is vinyl (plastic) with an adhesive backing. It’s basically a giant, powerful sticker. Once you put it on the wall, it doesn’t want to move. There’s no sliding it into place or making little adjustments as you go.

And wallpaper is very easy to get slightly off. The room where I installed peel-and-stick was 17 feet high at its tallest point, so by the time I got to the bottom, I sometimes had quite a bit of “off.” To get the seams to line up, you have to pull and stretch the wallpaper a little.

Which sounds helpful, except it’s not. Since it’s a thin sheet of plastic, stretching it causes wrinkles, throws it out of square, and creates a whole host of other problems. That room was definitely a two-person job, and it was still difficult.

There’s just no forgiveness in peel-and-stick.

Removable pre-pasted is printed on paper, more like traditional wallpaper. It is activated with water, so when you go to put it on the wall, it glides into place. You can slide it a bit and tug on it, and it keeps its shape. It’s easy to line up the seams and forgiving when it’s not perfect, because you can move it around until it is.

I installed Molly’s room 100% on my own. It was a big project (it took me a few days), but it wasn’t a difficult project. I never felt like I needed another set of hands. Also, it turned out perfect. Like, for real. It looks freaking good.

Also, let me clarify something. Love vs. Design offers three different types of wallpaper: peel-and-stick, glissade (removable pre-pasted), and traditional pasted (where you need to buy glue). I am only recommending the glissade. I tested the peel-and-stick, and its performance varied depending on the wall texture. I have not tried their traditional wallpaper.

What If I Have Textured Walls?

Girl, same. All my walls are textured. Orange peel texture, to be exact. You can absolutely use this wallpaper. And as an added bonus, you can’t see the texture through the wallpaper, so you end up with a finished product that looks smooth and amazing.

Now for the pictures of the finished wallpaper (and paneling, and pink section) –

I think that about covers it. This is my new official wallpaper recommendation, which I love because I finally feel like I can recommend removable wallpaper without a giant list of caveats. Renting and worried about removal? This is what I would use. Textured walls? Mine are too. Worried about it randomly peeling off the wall? After five months of testing the sample and now installing it in an entire room, I’m not.

CLICK HERE TO SHOP LOVE VS. DESIGN WALLPAPER AND USE CODE LVE15F FOR 15% OFF!

Stay tuned for the final reveal of Molly’s room. It’s different than any other room I’ve done before (so feminine), and I’m having a ton of fun with it.