1.
Before you Start
The wallpaper you’ve bought from us is ‘paste-the-wall’ type. We recommend that you use a high quality ‘paste-the-wall’ adhesive, either ready mixed or powdered.
It’s best to order more than enough rolls of paper for your project. If you order extra rolls later, then the batch will be different and you run the risk of minimal differences in colour. This is because we print our wallpapers to order, and therefore each order will have a new batch number.
As well as the wallpaper paste, you’ll need a paint roller or brush to apply the paste, a wallpaper smoother or plastic spatula, a craft knife or sharp blade, a tape measure, a spirit level or plumb line, a pencil, some scissors, a seam roller and a damp sponge or cloth.
2.
Prepare the Walls
The walls need to be clean, dust free and smooth before you start, so remove any old wallpaper or flaking paint. Fill in any cracks or holes with filler and sand the surface.
How to Hang Wallpaper | How To Wallpaper | Graham & Brown
If your walls are porous or glossy you might need to apply a coat of primer before hanging your wallpaper. Do this the day before. Primer will also be needed if you’re wallpapering on bare plaster, plasterboard or wood.
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3.
Plan Your Layout
You’ll want to hang your wallpaper from a specific starting point. If you’re papering a single feature wall, then it’s best to start at the centre. With a pencil, mark roughly where each length of paper will hang to ensure you have enough left over for corners. Use a spirit level or plumb line to draw a vertical line from the top to the bottom of the wall. This is where you’ll hang your first length.
If you want to wallpaper the whole room, then you should start from the most inconspicuous corner. Measure a line that is the width of your roll from the corner, minus 3cm. Use a spirit level to draw a straight line from the top of the wall to the bottom. This makes sure that you’ll start wallpapering from a perfectly straight hanging mark. The 3cm overlap into the corner will allow for a corner that isn’t entirely straight.
Wallpaper Installation: 10 Tips For Newbies! - Driven by Decor
To work out how many strips you’ll need to cut, start at your pencil mark and keep lining up the wallpaper roll and work your way around the room to determine where each row will be dropped. Based on the width of your wallpaper rolls and where they lay out from one corner to the other, you may have to adjust left or right to achieve the maximum yield.
Wallpaper Installation: 10 Tips For Newbies! - Driven by Decor
4.
Cutting the Wallpaper
Cut your first strip of wallpaper about 4 inches longer than the height of the wall you’re covering to allow 2 inches of excess paper at the top and at the bottom. Unless you’re a professional, it’s better to cut each strip as you go along, one at a time.
Wallpaper Installation: 10 Tips For Newbies! - Driven by Decor
How To Hang Wallpaper | Family Handyman
5.
Paste the Wall
Lisa and Lucy Atelier wallpapers are all paste-the-wall type. Use a roller or wide brush to evenly spread the paste where you are going to hang your first length. Paste slightly wider than the width of the roll to ensure that the seam will be securely stuck. To apply paste along the top and bottom of the wall, and around any sockets, use a brush.
6.
Position the First Strip of Wallpaper
Using a ladder, drop your first piece of wallpaper, aligning the edge with the vertical line you’ve drawn on the wall. Allow an overlap at the top. Focus on pressing and securing on the line you’ve drawn, then gently flatten out the rest of the paper using your hands and continue until the paper is attached to the wall. Double check the strip alignment against the vertical mark. Wallpaper paste takes a while to dry, so you’ll have time to readjust until you have it exactly where you want it to be.
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7.
Smooth it Down
Starting from the centre, using a wallpaper smoother or spatula, press the wallpaper onto the wall, working outward to remove any bubbles or creases.
Wallpaper Installation: 10 Tips For Newbies! - Driven by Decor
Your smoothing tool will help to achieve full adhesion to the wall, but it won’t remove wrinkles. If you try to work a wrinkle too much, you might tear the paper, so it’s better to lift the paper off in sections and readjust instead of trying to work out a wrinkle with your smoothing tool.
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8.
Trimming the Edges
To trim off the bottom of the wallpaper, push the trimming tool firmly into the top of the skirting board and use a craft knife or blade to cut along, using the straight edge as your guide. Make sure your blade is sharp. You can now do the same for the top of the paper.
Wallpaper Installation: 10 Tips For Newbies! - Driven by Decor
While trimming the top and bottom of your paper, never pick up your blade while you’re cutting. Either glide your razor and straight edge along together or pick up and reposition your straight edge while keeping your razor in place.
How To Hang Wallpaper | Family Handyman
Another option is to use a trimming wheel. Again, make sure it's sharp enough for the job.
How to Wallpaper a Room | Hanging Wallpaper | Wickes
9.
Sponging Down
It’s almost inevitable that you’ll get some glue on the front of your wallpaper, but it easily wipes off with a damp cloth or sponge. Every time you hang a new sheet, use a damp sponge or cloth to gently wipe away any excess glue from the top and bottom edges. Also remember to wipe off the skirting boards and coving.
Wallpaper Installation: 10 Tips For Newbies! - Driven by Decor
10.
Hanging the Next Strip
For the next strip, hold the roll of wallpaper up beside the strip you’ve just put up until you see where the pattern matches. Mark where the new strip meets the ceiling. When you cut this new strip, cut at 2 inches above the mark you’ve made. Unroll the paper and cut the length at the bottom plus another 2 inches at the bottom too. Once you’ve pasted the wall and you’re ready to hang the next strip, only place the side of the strip that’s closest to the seam, while holding the other side of the wallpaper away from the wall, until you’re happy that the pattern is lined up.
How to Wallpaper a Room | Hanging Wallpaper | Wickes
Once you’ve matched up the pattern between the two sheets and created a tight seam, smooth the new sheet down and set it in place. Work in sections of a few feet at a time starting from the top, matching the seam, setting it in place. Trim at the top and bottom, as before. Lastly, use a seam roller to smooth the join between the two pieces of paper.
How to Wallpaper a Room | Hanging Wallpaper | Wickes
After cutting several strips of wallpaper, you’ll end up with remnant wallpaper pieces. Don’t throw them away, they’ll probably be needed in other places, like above a doorway.
11.
Drying
Let the wallpaper dry naturally, avoiding direct heat or drafts that can cause it to shrink or lift. We recommend leaving the door of the room open during the drying process.
12.
Wallpapering corners
Corners are rarely completely straight, so it’s unlikely that the edge of the strip on the second wall will be straight up and down, setting you up for disaster if you continue around the rest of the room. To avoid this problem, you want to cut your strip of wallpaper into two. The first strip will cover the first wall and the corner and will overlap about half an inch onto the second wall. To determine the size to cut your strips, measure the distance from the end of the last strip you installed up to the corner, and add an overlap of about 3cm.
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Then cut your strip of wallpaper off the roll like you normally would and cut it in two along the entire length of the strip so that the strip on the first wall is the width that you need, plus a bit more.
Wallpaper Installation: 10 Tips For Newbies! - Driven by Decor
Apply the first strip, pressing it firmly into the corner.
How to Wallpaper a Room | Hanging Wallpaper | Wickes
Next you will need to mark a straight, level line down the wall where the edge of the second half of the wallpaper strip will go. This will be your guide to hang the second strip. It will overlap some of the first strip at the corner, depending upon how even or uneven the corner is. Try to match up the pattern as best you can, but it won’t match up perfectly if your corner is uneven. What’s important is that the second half of the sheet is completely vertical so that all subsequent strips will be straight.
When working with an exterior corner, wrap the wallpaper around the corner and then smooth it down. Measure and mark the width of your wallpaper on the new wall and use a plumb line or spirit level to create a vertical line to use as a guide for subsequent strips. Match up the pattern as best as you can.
How to Wallpaper a Room | Hanging Wallpaper | Wickes
13.
Wallpapering around sockets & switches
For the neatest finish, it’s best to unscrew sockets and switches from the wall. If you do this, always turn off the power first. Hang the wallpaper drop as usual over the outlet/switch. Use a craft knife to cut an “X” into the wallpaper over the outlet/switch. Trim the four flaps of the “X” to about 2cm deep. These flaps can then be folded into the edges of the opening. The plate can then be installed so that the wallpaper looks tucked under the outlet cover. Be careful not to let any paste come into contact with electric wires.
Summary
If you’re new to wallpapering, ask someone to give you a hand the first time. Also, papering a single feature wall is much easier than a whole room. Let us know how you get on!