Vinyl Roadblocks

A post I’d intended to preempt this one would definitely better details our vision for this home. I gotta get on that, I know it would be helpful to get inside our brains and understand the bigger picture. While this is a design philosophy that applies somewhat to the rest of the house and should rightfully be spilled into a design guide/inspiration board of sorts, I had really great plan brewing in my mind for Julia’s bedroom, the first of all the rooms that we’ve made an effort to get finished for her convenience, and her convenience alone. While light-walled, it’s still going to evolve to be a space full of color, with the accents in the room contributing the energy that every kid’s room needs. Thinking about the potential gets me all energized too.

To layer on some personality, I really, totally wanted to buy these large triangle graphic tiles by MUR and cover the wall behind her bed. And, just to be clear, I’d have totally duplicated the same style as shown below, because even though they are marketed as being adaptable and could be installed in any orientation and pattern, I often just don’t see the point in effing around trying to be cooler than what’s already been done. I also have no interest in trying to replicate the design with painter’s tape and a brush and 30 hours of my week. The vinyl and the design is downright rad, and it makes me want to settle in, relax and love being at home:

I’ve never been sold in on the idea of using wall graphics in the home; our last home was plenty busy with detail, and even though I’ve often eyed some of the graphics sold by BLIK, (for a long time I saw them featured on Fab) they never seemed like they would fit in. The ones I liked were too modern, or too bright, or the wrong palette, not to mention that I didn’t really have an ounce of free space to let them stand freely and uninterrupted, which is what I think the cooler graphics really deserve.

I’ve also had my fair share of vendors approach me, asking me to try their adhesive products for no cost, and even then, as nice as it is to test something risk-free, I declined offers because I plain didn’t want any. So, there, that backstory. I have no experience with vinyl graphics, right hand raised, vinyl graphics virgin.

Of course, now I sort of wish now that I had tested one or two out, just to see first-hand what validity this next statement holds:

Vinyl wall graphics from MUR do not adhere well to low- or zero-VOC paints.

Wha-the-what? That’s what I read on MUR’s FAQ page, the last page I curiously poked through on its site before hitting the critical B-U-Y button on a not so inexpensive order. In pink. That Julia picked out happily. And we all did cartwheels over.

Apparently, there’s something to do with how the low- and zero-VOC concoctions are formulated to repel things from the painted surface (and while I can’t find the same memo on BLIK’s website, maybe they have a superior vinyl product, I’ve found reference to issues in plenty of other articles on the internets). Humph, so in an effort to prime and eventually paint in this “green” and health-conscious way, I might have just eliminated the opportunity to actually adhere a design to the surface as a longer term accent feature. I don’t really want to “test” the fact myself with a $140 vinyl order.

So, this is why I’m crowd-sourcing for real life experience from all of you vinyl graphic loving people: Is this really so? Did you try vinyl clings on zero-VOC with a sad result? Did you try them over low-VOC products and have no problem? What about BLIK, is that better? Do you have any alternate products (that are equally as cool!) that are proven to adhere to low- and zero-VOC products? Help a girl out, and thank you in advance.