Tips for finding discontinued wallpaper

[Rebecca Schunck]

Finding discontinued wallpaper can be a time consuming and difficult challenge. The following post is meant to provide you with some background into the discontinued wallpaper industry as well as some tips that will hopefully allow you to find a resource for your wallpaper.

How is wallpaper discontinued? Generally, a wallpaper manufacturer manufactures a wallpaper design that comes in several colors and enough will be printed for the average 2 year run. When the run is over, all of the wallpaper is now discontinued. It is then sold off to various sources thoughout the wallpaper industry and to retailers at a severely discounted rate. Some of this discontinued wallpaper is perfectly fine and an excellent bargain as you can purchase it for 50-75% off retail or more. The challenge is that some of the discontinued wallpaper may contain retailer returns, manufacturer errors, or other faults. So when you purchase this type of wallpaper it may be in your best interest to purchase more than your currently need to compensate for the fact that there may be flaws. If, after purchase, you discover a flaw or you didn’t purchase enough for your project, then you are left searching for additional rolls if the retailer is out of that particular paper.

Additional discontinued wallpaper can generally be found via two sources, www.ebay.com or a traditional wallpaper store.

By wallpaper store, we are talking about a wallpaper retailer with an associate whose only job is wallpaper. Those rare individuals have an eerie ability to pick out manufacturers’ material by sight and attempt to match your paper. They also network with other professionals in the area and have contacts within the industry to obtain additional discontinued wallpaper based on your sample.

www.ebay.com is another source of discontinued wallpaper, but it can be more of a challenge to find. You should try searching for pattern number, manufacturer, and theme or style of your wallpaper/border you are wanting to match.

[DiscountDecorat]

Sometimes when the line is discontinued you can still get the paper. Here are things we have found for some of our customers.

First, see if the paper is available in other color-ways. Sometimes you can (for a pricey price!) get the house to run the paper in the colors you are seeking. Many houses will do custom runs. But it is expensive.

Second, you can find out where they sold the remaining inventory when they discontinued the line. We have purchased thousands of rolls of wallpaper out of inventory of companies like F. Schumacher. When calls come in to the design house, they often refer the customers to us. For example, you can see what we have in inventory at DiscountDecorator.com (http://www.discountdecorator.com).

Third, you can look into finding a similar pattern from another house. Many times, with a bit of leg work, you will find something equally nice, albeit not exactly the same. This is fine when you are doing a room as a whole, but will not do if you are looking to repair a damaged area. (Believe me, with 4 kids, I have had to do many re-do's on our home, so I know what that can be about!)

Hope that helps.

-Marcy
Marcy@DiscountDecorator.com (mailto:Marcy@DiscountDecorator.com)

[lorbre]

Hi,

I'm wondering if someone can help.

I am trying to find the pattern of a flock wallpaper we used to have in our house as a child in Ireland.

I have managed to locate the actual wallpaper through a vintage dealer in New York, however I only require a sample piece (one pattern block), the dealer will not sell less than two rolls at 300.00 dollars a piece.

Obviously this is highly wasteful (as I will not be using the actual paper) and not an option I wish to pursue.

I do have an image of it, which I don't think I can attach.......it's a fairly standard floral type flock design.

I require the pattern for a design exhibition in Paris next year.

Can anyone offer any advice?

best wishes,

Lorraine

[Badams]

Hi,

I'm wondering if someone can help.

I am trying to find the pattern of a flock wallpaper we used to have in our house as a child in Ireland.

I have managed to locate the actual wallpaper through a vintage dealer in New York, however I only require a sample piece (one pattern block), the dealer will not sell less than two rolls at 300.00 dollars a piece.

Obviously this is highly wasteful (as I will not be using the actual paper) and not an option I wish to pursue.

I do have an image of it, which I don't think I can attach.......it's a fairly standard floral type flock design.

I require the pattern for a design exhibition in Paris next year.

Can anyone offer any advice?

best wishes,

Lorraine
I am impressed that you were able to find someone that actually has what your looking for. You might have found your only option. Do you have a manufacturer name or pattern number, photo? You might be able to list it in "Items Wanted" on ebay and someone will respond. Maybe try to negotiate with the person who has it. If it will not be permanent, maybe he will lease it to you for your show for a price and then you could send it back after your finished with it. My question would be "What is its' worth to you?" Good Luck!