Turn Thrifted Antique Wallpaper Into Unique Decor You'll Love

Do you ever come across wallpaper and think: That is a work of art? If you've ever been thrifting and found a really unique piece of wallpaper, and you wanted to buy it but weren't sure what purpose it would serve, this is for you. While decorating an entire wall (or all the walls in a room) is the usual way people use these coverings, sometimes you come across a small amount while thrifting, but there isn't enough to use it on your actual surfaces. That's when you buy it anyways (or save small pieces from your other projects) and add it to a frame to make actual art. You don't need to have wall to wall coverings of your favorite prints and designs. In fact, finding really kitschy pieces at a thrift store means you will have a customized hanging that can't be found in big box stores, and you only need an inexpensive frame or a few DIY supplies to try this. 

There are so many innovative ways you can use wallpaper in your home, and turning a vintage scrap into a wall hanging is one of the simplest options. Snag a frame from a craft or home store, or a secondhand shop. You may have to trim down the paper to fit the frame you choose, and be careful when handling older pieces that could have arsenic in the paint, like those from the Victorian Era. If you need to elevate your frame to match your print, consider painting or staining it and adding matte finishing spray to the glass to remove the shine to better view the wallpaper. 

If you are working with a very small or torn piece of wallpaper that wouldn't fill an entire frame, you can get creative here. Why not make a scrapbook collage using the wallpaper and other scraps of decorative paper, memorabilia, prints, and whatever else you can combine on a piece of card stock? There is also the option to breathe new life into an old frame by color drenching the entire thing, matte, backing, and all. This turns your frame into a blank canvas you can then attach a very small piece of wallpaper to so it becomes the main focus no matter the size. On the other hand, if you have a large piece of the print or design, use an oversized frame for a really big statement addition to your walls. 

One innovative way to use wallpaper in any room that also works for your vintage finds is to cut out some of the designs from the paper itself and use these on the walls to "layer" the print. If, for example, you find a really nice strip of antique wallpaper that features large florals, you could cut some of the blooms away from the background and glue them to a new piece of paper to frame, or just add them to your walls in a pattern or collage. This could be useful for paper that is worn in areas and might not all be usable or aesthetic to frame. By keeping just a portion of your thrifted wallpaper, you still have something very stylish to display as artwork in any room!