The Wallpaper Decisions Continue

A few weeks ago, I posted about the issue we ran into while installing wallpaper in the kids’ shared bedroom – the wallpaper was accidentally sent to us at 2x the scale and we only received half of the pattern.

I do want to give a thumbs up to Spoonflower’s customer service. I was initially very frustrated by the situation but they got back to me the same day and were very helpful with looking into the issue. I received a full refund for my initial purchase and a complimentary sample in the correct pattern scale (I asked about just getting the second half of the pattern in the larger scale, but they were unable to do that). It was my first time using this company but despite the setback, I feel the experience has been a good one overall. I just received the second sample a few days ago and taped it up to the wall to compare:

My initial thoughts are: I do prefer the larger scale. It feels bold and different and extra fun. That being said, I don’t hate the smaller scale. It’s still whimsical and unique! I do wonder if it would feel too busy over the whole wall, but we’re only doing one wall and there is a door, a mirror, and a dresser on that wall so the pattern will be broken up a bit.

Another thing I want to consider is the look of the installed wallpaper. Justin and I both remarked on how easily the installation was, but we were disappointed to see that the wallpaper bubbled up in the days following install.

I have smoothed it down repeatedly, and the bubbles continue to reappear. We did start in the corner with the worst section of wall (our walls aren’t textured, but the previous owners just didn’t paint very carefully on this side and it wasn’t super smooth) so we’re wondering if the paper would stay better on other parts of the wall. I’m uninterested in shelling out money if it’s not going to stick flat to the wall though.

I think what I’m going to do is take some of the original paper they sent us and install it over other a couple small sections of the wall to see if the bubbling up occurs elsewhere. If it’s going to be an issue throughout, my decision is easy and we will not be purchasing the wallpaper. If it is just in the one section in the corner (which will be behind a door most of the time), I think I can live with that. If we don’t end up purchasing the wallpaper, I think I’ll just use different colors of paint to create a fun little pattern on the wall. We’ll see!

What would you choose if you were in my shoes here? Go with the smaller scale wallpaper or keep looking for another option (or just paint a pattern)?