I was given a free wall decal in exchange for this post. The opinions and text are all mine.
When my husband and I purchased our house in 2007, we only had a vague idea of what we were getting into.
It was not our first house. We knew about the trials and tribulations of being a home owner.
The challenge of our “new” house was that it is really more of an antique. The house, as far as we know, was built in 1892. It sits in a quaint historic neighborhood in Brunswick, Maine.
Since living in this house, I have learned that you have to want to live in an old house. It’s not like living in a newer house by any means. Any small project can turn into a required $10,000 fix very quickly. (This statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but it has happened to us.)
Don’t get me wrong, my husband and I love living in our big old house. Our house has original floors, doors, windows and woodwork that you just don’t see anymore. We love transforming it with our renovations that mix modern design with its traditional character.
But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of people’s newer houses with drywall and insulation surrounding them.
When I was contacted by Cozy Wall Art to try out one of their wall decals, I was nervous. While the designs on the website were gorgeous, I was skeptical that they would actually work on our horsehair plaster walls. I won’t get into what it’s like to live with these type of walls, but let’s just say it’s difficult to hang things and when you mess up, you are left with large gaping holes that get bigger as plaster crumbles out of them.
Yet, I really wanted to try out a wall decal. Sherry at Cozy Wall Art was super helpful in convincing me that their decals would work on a painted plaster wall and finding the perfect design.
Sherry immediately sent me some beautiful damask designs when I told her of my old house that we decorated with modern touches. The damask was the perfect pick for my house because, as she noted, the application of a damask in black vinyl gives a very traditional design a modern flair.

Admittedly, we chickened out on installing the wall decal on our horsehair plaster wall. We chose the one wall in the house that just happened to have drywall on it due to a renovation. I decided it looked better in our second floor hallway (over our living room, where I originally thought I would put it) because we have some other elements in our hallway rug and sitting room that matched the damask design.
While the instructions said it would take less than ten minutes to install the decal, this was not the case with us. Our walls and ceiling are less than straight, making it difficult to get the design look straight. Once we eyeballed it as best we could, I left my husband to attach it to the wall. (He’s much neater and more patient than I.)

Once the installation was finally complete, I was very happy with the result. The design fits right in with the traditional elements of the house, yet the black vinyl on the neutral wall over the original wood chair rail gave the area a contemporary touch.

The area it is in is difficult to photograph. You’ll have to trust me that it looks pretty spectacular. I’m thinking that the decals would work fine on one of our flatter plaster walls in the future.
As I mentioned, Sherry was super helpful during this process, and I received my decal very quickly. If you check out CozyWallArt.com you’ll see they have a ton of affordable options for wall decals including quotes, designs for kids and more modern options.

Have you ever used wall decals in your decor?

I was given a free wall decal in exchange for this post. The opinions and text are all mine.