Removing wallpaper is a big pain. While I agree with Pam that it is optimum to market a house in neutral, streamlined move-in condition, this wallpaper is pretty non-offensive. If it is in good condition, I'd be tempted to leave it.

It is in really good condition. (I was having a hard time finding the seams.) I wonder if cleaning would brighten it up?

Most real estate agents want clients to have professional cleaners come in to go over the house top to bottom to spiff it up....maybe see what your agent will advise you to do. Aside from decluttering, one of the most dramatic pre-sale things to do clean the windows inside and out -- it's amazing what a difference that makes!

I love stencilling and I have a stencilled wall in my house. That being said, the reason I love it is because I could customize it. If it was in a house that I moved into, chances are I would repaint to suit my aesthetic sense. So your effort might be largely wasted.

The stencil you chose is awesome; why not spend your time incorporating it into your new house instead? :)

The wallpaper is inoffensive. Use a bright trendy rug, de-formalize and de-personalize a bit and you should be fine.

Lindsey you are right. I do love the stencil so I'll most likely purchase it when we get to our new destination. Thank you!

@tandem42 we are meeting with an agent in a couple days. I will definitely ask who they would recommend. Thank you!

I would not stencil. If you remove the wallpaper, I would paint. Let the new homeowner do what they want. They might not like your stencil . . . and all that work for naught.

I would removed the wallpaper and do paint, no stencil. I would discount the purchase because I have to remove wallpaper.

Also, when you are ready to sell, I would borrow updated chairs and remove everything except a large bowl or fresh flower from the table. I love the chairs but they don't give a young/new vibe.

Your white footed bowl and some green apples would look nice.

It can be difficult to remove wallpaper and you don't know what you're going to find underneath that could cause you more work and money. Yes, that wallpaper is dated, but that whole room is dated. So I would first try updating the room and see if that sells. and then only remove the wallpaper if you're not selling. If you do remove it, then I would just paint a neutral color. No stenciling. That is way too specific and time consuming for something that will most likely not appeal to most buyers. Remove everything in that room except the table including all of that stuff around the mantel. Update the chairs, put down an area rug, and put one decorative item in the center of an un-tableclothed table. Even if you only got that far, it would be a huge improvement. Another thing you can do is hang art work to help cover the wallpaper.

The room's best features are the fire place and the window. With the faded wallpaper gone and a coat of paint, it will look fresh, not tired. Your agent will tell you to remove the decorative items on wall, mantle, and table, the tablecloth, and the three extra chairs. Then pick some candlesticks for the mantle and a vase with fresh flowers for the table.

With your white fireplace and antique wood furniture, a blue paint scheme would be attractive. Or use BM Sea Salt, a current trendy color, or its close relative, Palladian Blue.

This paper is plain enough that it is essentially neutral. I'd leave it unless I got negative feedback about it.

because it might come off hard and messy is exactly the reason to do it now, and then paint the room. some fraction of your buyers will also know it might come off hard and messy and not want to buy your house because of it. the easiest house gets the highest sales price, all else being equal.

When showing buyers homes with wallpaper, the reaction is generally negative from the buyers. It is perceived as "too much work to remove". At least it is that way in my area. If the buyer is interested in your home, they will reduce the offer by much more than the cost and effort to actually remove the wallpaper as the price of the 'hassle factor' or PITA factor whatever term you use. For best results, do as the others have mentioned, remove the wallpaper and prep and paint the wall. No stencil. No more wallpaper.

There's a gel product by Zinsser we've just used with much success to remove wallpaper. You spray it on and most importantly, let it soak for the prescribed time on the directions. This should be an easy job. Do not use a steamer -- it will damage the integrity of the wall. Buyers can never see beyond anyone else's decorating, so make it easy for them to love your home! Stencil is rather dated.

One of the problems with really old faded yellowed wallpaper is that it signals to buyers that other things may not have been maintained and updated. It's not that anyone is aghast at a simple beige stripe pattern, it's the implications of deferred maintenance that scare buyers.

@Pam P. nearly 8000 search results on Houzz alone indicate you might be mistaken about stencils being "dated."

https://www.houzz.com/photos/query/Stencilled-wall/nqrweh

It's fun! Don't be afraid of it, it's not the 80s geese and hearts anymore :)

Decluttered the mantle and removed the table cloth. Looks brighter (even on the dreary rainy day) but I almost have to agree that the paper must come down.

removed extra chairs as well.

I think I'm just old fashioned, but I like it :)

Consult a realtor about your specific area; in my region that house would sell the minute it went on the market and it would more than likely be gutted the minute it closed. Cause that's just how people roll around here, sadly. Maybe in your area people want turn-key perfection. A realtor will help but I wouldn't start all that work until you know for sure. Personally I'd be choked if I did a bunch of prep and then someone ripped it out.

Fast work on decluttering! Looks much better already for selling purposes.

@apple_pie_order thank you! I am liking the simplicity. I appreciate the advice!

i would simply remove everything in the room and not have to paint or stencil

why should you? you are leaving the house, dont make more work for yourself


someone above said people might not buy your house because they think wallpaper removal is basically difficult, but if the buyers forgo the house because of a simple wallpaper you have more things to worry about


i highly doubt that will be the case since it doesnt look too bad and if they really like the other aspects of the house, they wont care



dont put more work just because of what IF someone will or wont like it

for every person who doesnt, more people DO like it AND more people DONT CARE

I think the room is charming and that wallpaper adds to the charm...it goes with...

So it's a plus to me rather than a minus.

How about trying to clean it? Some papers when you "add water" will immediately deteriorate (so just keep going and it will be easy-peasy....If vinyl, it should withstand a good wipe down.

I would love a dining room like that...

Post more rooms...I would love to see...(ummm....plus it's good advertising :))))

Now, can we talk about the popcorn ceiling???

Is the paper seam lifting above and below the window?

I had that same paper in my powder room. It had one small seam lift years later and my potty training toddler started pulling it off the wall. My builder didn't paint or prime the drywall under the wallpaper, so the Sheetrock paper came off, too. I had to have the walls floated. Yes, wallpaper traumatized me for life. :-)

^This. Many buyers have had negative wallpaper experience and veer away from having to remove it. Ask your Realtor. S/he will know your local market. It is a factor where I am, but it may or may not be in your area.

@tbtqtbw I had to go take a look again and YES it is peeling there.

@pennydesign let's not talk about the popcorn hahaha that's another snowball! Here are a few of the other rooms. We've tackled one by one. Still decluttering and down sizing. It is such a chore but in the long run we hope the sale goes smoothly.

Very nicely done. Looks neat and clean and organized which is a very good thing for sales.

I love how the staircase turned out. working on staging the other bedrooms. Beachy room will be decluttered and bookcase removed. So any buyers out there? Hahaha!

@Denita thank you! It helps having this sounding board getting advice/opinions from others.

It's a smashing house and, of course, it all depends on your market. They're building loads near me and expectations are HIGH!!!! Basically we don't stand much of a chance of making a profit.

I bet there are hardwoods under you carpet. Have you considered pulling it up and just doing a clean up? Folks LOVE the hardwoods...

Wonderful update on the staircase...

Adorable little bitty baby room..

P.S. did you know there was a buying and selling section of this forum? Might help to cross post...

All the photos you are posting look great! House is super clean and will show well. List it as is. If you get lots of complaints, then you can strip it off. (One suggestion…leave the fan light off when you take a picture).

I like wallpaper ( and in my neck of the woods, wallpaper is a must for special spaces) and, for a paper that is at least 15 yrs old, the former owners did a good job choosing it.

Tell about the fireplace? Interesting. Is it a working one? Is the surround old?

@pennydesign Thank You!! Yes there are Hardwoods under all that carpet upstairs. Unfortunately it's not in the best condition and we felt it was going to be too time consuming to refinish three rooms and a hallway up there, As much as we would love to. We'll let the next owners make that choice. The baby room was actually empty so we found a free toddler bed and mattress to help fill the room. I think I like this staging business.

@JudyGDesigns Thank you! Feeling better more and more about staging. The fireplace front is an old antique cast iron mantel. My husband made the brick interior and I made the faux marble hearth. We had it at our old house brought it to this one and I think it fits very well in this dining room. We will be leaving it with the home, unless the new buyers do not want it then we will sell the piece (Time to downsize and retire)

Make sure you let the agent know that there are hardwood floors under your carpeting, that will be a good feature for the future buyer to keep in mind.

" I think I like this staging business."

^It's big business now :)

The house looks great.

If you like staging, why not get into it? I purchased my sofa from a woman who did it for a condo complex, and she was busy. She had her 2-guys-and-a-van that she used, and she purchased high quality stuff off Craigslist and then sold it (she didn't do storage). I believe you just have to introduce yourselves to realtors as a kind of internship (prob. super low pay at first, but that's a very positive perk for the realtor to offer his/her clients...Of course you would just have to use the clients stuff if you don't want to "own" anything.

Many folks (not you clearly) need an objective third party when getting a house ready to sell (the queries on the subject here are proof of that).

This is now off-topic, but one would think that with all the negative press wallpaper gets in GW that wallcovering companies would all be out of business. Meanwhile. if anything, wallpaper manufacturers continue to get more innovative and offer more types and more expensive types of coverings than have been seen in decades.

@pennydesign aww thanks so much for the props and encouragement. I just may start that business up when we find our forever location. You never know we may end up somewhere there's a need. Cheers!!

Regardless of what you will do a new home owner will either like or dislike a wallpaper or a paint colour , if your intentions are to sell the house I say leave it alone and let the next person worry about it ,as long that the place is clutter free and clean that all it matters.

If you do paint the dining room, please show a photo when you are finished so we can see how it turned out.