One Hour Wall Makeover

Y'all (no, I am not southern but prefer a good y'all to you guys), I have not posted a project in a month! The reason for my hiatus, I am not sure?? I have been busy and I guess needed a break from staging pictures, editing, and writing. But, I have missed sharing with you, so I hope to be back. 

And my first project to share with you is this quick, easy, inexpensive wall makeover.

This little stair wall leads up to our library. It is next to where our TV is and I am afraid to admit, I see it more often than I should. I planned to put reclaimed wood on it, even had it cut, but decided I wanted something a little more fun, so I decided to use an old, vintage map that I got at a garage sale. I do live in an old schoolhouse, so maps and globes are a favorite of mine. Plus, blues and aqua colors are my favorite so this map is a great way to add some of that.

I made a homemade wallpaper paste that works great and does make removal easier than typical wallpaper paste. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Mix 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch in a quarter cup of cold water and add to the boiling water. bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring constantly. Let it cool complete and then apply it to the wall using a foam brush or clean rag.

While the paste was cooling, I cut the old map to fit the space. I temporarily attached it to the wall using poster putty. I used a sharp box cutter to cut the map to fit the space. I had to add an extra piece to the lower right hand side. I also had to patch a few spots where I cut too much of the map. 

This little desk and a basket of blankets sits in front of the wall so it really is a just a subtle accent, but I love the fresh color. This paste works great with fabric, old book pages, engineer prints, etc. and a small space takes less than an hour to transform.