How to...Home Page

Wallpapering Main Page

• If possible, start by papering a wall that doesn't contain a door or a window. Begin at one corner, working away from the window. When hanging paper with a large regular pattern, start with a central feature such as a chimney breast.
  
• Walls and corners are rarely true or square so cannot be relied on a as a guide. The trick is to mark a vertical guide line on the wall, using a plumb line.
  
• Mark the line on the wall, slightly less than one roll width away from the corner.
  
• Unfold the top half of the paper and lightly press it to the wall using a paperhanger's brush
  
• Slide the strip to align its edge with the plumbed line on the wall. Allow the paper to overlap the ceiling by about 50mm (2"). Brush out from the centre to exclude air trapped under the paper. Unfold the bottom half and brush it into place in a similar way.
  
• Using the back of your wallpaper scissors or sharp knife, score a line along the corner between the wall and ceiling. Peel back the paper and cut along the crease to remove the waste, then smooth the paper back into place. Use the same method to trim the strip to length at skirting level.
  
• Hang the next strip beside the first, making a neat butt between them.
  
• At the same time, slide the strip up or down to align any pattern motif. Keep checking that the match is accurate as you brush the strip into place.
  
• As you proceed, wipe excess paste from the ceiling and skirting, using a damp sponge. Similarly, wipe smears of paste off the surface of the paper. Run a seam roller along the butt joints to make sure they are stuck down, if you wallpaper is flat.
  
• Disguise a less than perfect line at the ceiling by pasting a narrow patterned border along the top of the wall.