Beadboard vs. Beadboard Wallpaper

We love beadboard! It’s so charming and timeless. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on traditional beadboard vs. wallpaper beadboard, the good and the bad. 

Beadboard vs. beadboard wallpaper. This is a subject I have been wanting to write about ever since I hung my first piece of beadboard wallpaper a few weeks ago. Before I purchased the wallpaper for our guest room and living bookshelf I had read only good things about it and while it worked out for me I do have some thoughts about it. I wanted to take the time to share the pros and the cons for those of you who are thinking of trying it in your home too. Here are my honest thoughts on bead board compared to beadboard wallpaper! 

Let’s start with traditional beadboard. We’ve installed it on many occasions, in our home and for others. I truly love it! It’s charming, timeless and it adds instant character. It’s pretty affordable, about $20 a sheet, and its easy to install. It can easy be cleaned and looks great painted. 

We have floor to ceiling beadboard installed in our master bathroom, as you can see here. I love the old home charm that it adds to the new bathroom remodel. 

This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here. 

can see our complete bathroom before and after here. 

We also used it in our laundry room behind our washer and dryer. You can also find it in my office as well, behind my built-in desk. I only have good things to say about it. It’s all held up beautifully and cleans like a breeze. 

How does the wallpaper compare? 

Well, I was really excited to try it in our guest bedroom. It’s something I’ve considered for a number of years but never pulled the trigger on. I thought it would be perfect for out guest bedroom makeover. I wanted something that I could install solo, without Josh and something affordable. I ordered several rolls, enough for our guest room as well as the built-in bookshelf in our living room. 

After install the wallpaper in both places I learned a lot and discovered a few things I like about it and a few things that I don’t.  Let’s start with the pros. 

1. It’s affordable. It is a little cheaper than traditional beadboard. It runs about $23 for 56 sq. feet vs. $20 for 32 sq. ft. for traditional beadboard. The wallpaper is pre-pasted, however I prefer to roll my own wallpaper paste onto the wall. This was an additional $20 for the paste but I had plenty to complete both projects with more left over.
2. You can install it solo. When it comes to installing floor to ceiling beadboard it can be tricky to do so on your own. It took Josh and I both to install it in our bathroom. The wallpaper option is easily installed by just one set of hands. It’s installed just like any other wallpaper. No heavy lifting involved! 
3. It’s paintable. I was easily able to paint it with a roller just as I would traditional beadboard.
4. It looks a lot like the real thing. If I didn’t know it was wallpaper I would think that it’s the real thing. If you want the beadboard look, you’ll get it with this!

There are a few things that I’m not thrilled with. Here are the cons.

1. It dents and dings easily. It isn’t as hardy as I was hoping. Below is a photo of our guest room. The bedside table in the room scrubbed the wall lightly while I was moving furniture in the space and this is what I was left with. Sadly, it has happened in a couple of places in the room since I wallpapered it. It’s a bit frustrating because once wallpaper rips or dents there isn’t much you can do about it. 
2. Air bubbles are super noticeable. Installing isn’t difficult but because of the grooves and lines if there are any air bubbles you’re going to notice! The lines help to make the install easier, however they also draw attention to any blemish on the wall. Keep that in mind while hanging. This isn’t a worry when installing traditional beadboard. If you’re walls are not extremely smooth I would skip the wallpaper. 
3. It has a tacky feel. Before I ordered the paper I read on a blog that the wallpaper once painted takes on a harder texture. I have not found this to be true at all. The paper is still soft or vinyl like. It also has remained somewhat tacky to the touch since painting it. I’m hoping this changes over time. We shall see! 
4. It wont hold up to too many paintings. The grooves are more shallow with the wallpaper vs. traditional beadboard. After painting the room a couple of times I think that those grooves will become less and less noticeable. The grooves make the beadboard, so that might be a issue in the far future. 

P.S. I can’t wait to share the new guest room once it’s completed. It’s looking so much better already! 

You can see the bookshelf details and before and after here. 

Would I install the wallpaper on the back of a bookcase again? Yes! Would I install the wallpaper floor to ceiling again in a room? Probably not. I loved the wallpaper in small installments. It did beautifully on our bookcase and I think it would be perfect in a bathroom, half way up the wall but in an entire bedroom, floor to ceiling it was a bit much to work with. I’m not sure that it will hold up to wear and tear over the years in large spaces, especially in rooms where children are playing. 

With all of that said, I don’t regret using the wallpaper. I’m so glad I can compare the two and that I have a second option to traditional beadboard.  I am considering it for the lower half of Charlie’s bathroom. I haven’t quite made up my mind but I think either option would work well.