Redesign & Resale: Is It Hard To Remove Decals?

Tile stickers and wall art stickers are all the rage these days. It's a great trade-off being able to spice up your home’s interior design by simply applying stickers. But it's all fun and games until it comes down to removing these wall decals.

It's an important consideration related to the redesign and resale value of your home. Those who want to redesign it or those who wish to use neutral paints in order to resell the house will be rolling their eyes at the butterfly stickers applied a few years ago.

Well, an easy answer is that it's relatively easy to remove decals, but it needs to be done ever so patiently and carefully to avoid leaving a mark:

Removing wall decals

Wall decals are designed to stick around for years, but using the right tools, you should be able to slide them right off. Start working your way up with a fingernail or a sharp knife around the corners and gently peel back. Make sure to do it slowly, or the decal may leave you with individual strips of vinyl to remove later on.

Get help for stubborn wall decals

If the decal has been on the wall for years, it may be difficult to remove as suggested above. Use a hairdryer on its lowest settings to loosen up the adhesive but don't hold it in too close as it may start melting the vinyl itself, leading to a bigger mess. Gently pull off sections of warm decal to check if the adhesive has loosened up. If not, you'll be leaving a stain which you’ll have to deal with later.

Avoid applying pressure as it’ll only make the decal stick harder.

Removing leftover adhesive

If the adhesive has been left behind on the wall, you should get it all off before prepping the wall for repainting. Most of it should ball up and come right off when gently rolling your hand across the wall. If not, rinse the wall with an ammonia solution.

Do I need to repaint?

If the wall decals are removed correctly, the paint underneath will remain intact, and you should be able to get the wall looking as good as new by washing it. But if the paint has faded, chipped, or is damaged, you will have to repaint. Be sure to hire a professional for this step, as decals may keep bleeding even through several layers of paint.

Repainting the region around tile stickers

Bolsover Designs is a store dedicated to wall art stickers that you can install around the house. We make the best kitchen and bathroom tile stickers here in the UK that are easy to put on and easier to take off – you can order waterproof tile stickers in mosaic or azulejo styles.

You can also order wall stickers for bedroom and living room spaces, and we'll customize them to whatever size you want. We also offer vehicle graphics.