After my huge struggle to get the rowhouse attic wallpapered, I was disheartened when I returned to the house a few weeks later to find that the glue had discolored my white paper. I’m not sure why this happened but am willing to blame it on the fact that I printed my own wallpaper… it’s special paper meant for color ink jet printing, but maybe it just can’t stand up to the wallpaper mucilage like scrapbook paper or standard dollhouse wallpaper can. (I think I noticed some discoloration on the hallway paper, too, but the print is so busy and the room so cramped, it’s hard to tell.)

Rather than waste more of my life trying to make this paper work, I decided to get back to basics. I found two sheets of off-white scrapbook paper in my stash with a very faint cross-hatch design, and decided to use this for the upper part of the wall, with paneling covering the knee wall. I was having a hard time finding two different Victorian patterns to use in the side by side attic rooms without clashing, so this will have the added benefit of making the two rooms work better together.

I bought some 2″ wide basswood (the height of the knee walls) and trim pieces to make my own paneling. The materials cost about $10 altogether. Here’s the rough idea.

I stained the wood pieces with the Early American stain I’m using for the shingles and interior trim.

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