Wallpaper can be a beautiful and reliable way to decorate your walls. Also, if you’re craving a look other than painted walls, wallpaper could be your answer. There’s an enormous range of wallpaper available today, giving you a chance to select the wallpaper design that’s a perfect match for your vision. 

That said, wallpaper is notoriously difficult to install. Whether it be an inconsistent pattern or a bad seam, you may find yourself getting frustrated during the wallpaper installation process. That’s why we’ve compiled all of our best tips for installing wallpaper below. This information should help you install wallpaper with confidence and create a stunning interior. If you’re still not convinced, remember that you can also always enlist the help of your Denver painting experts.  

Select The Best Type of Wallpaper For Your Needs

Right off the bat, make sure to choose the right type of wallpaper for the room that it’ll be installed in. This decision is important and will set the tone for the rest of this DIY project. 

Vinyl wallpaper is the most widely used. It’s generally the simplest to install and maintain. This makes it a smart choice for homeowners hanging wallpaper on their own. 

Vinyl-coated wallpaper and solid vinyl wallpaper are both available. Solid vinyl wallpaper is typically used in bathrooms and kitchens because it’s waterproof. This lowers the risk of mold and water stains. That said, solid vinyl wallpaper can be tricky to remove from the wall. 

For other rooms in your home, vinyl-coated wallpaper may be a good choice. This type of wallpaper can be more easily removed. However, the backing and surface are both made of paper, with a liquid vinyl seal. This makes it less resistant to water damage than solid vinyl wallpaper. 

Other types of wallpaper, like foiled wallpaper, for example, are also available and can provide a one-of-a-kind look. However, specialty wallpaper is significantly more expensive than more basic options. Especially if it’s your first time applying wallpaper, it may be a wise choice to avoid the costlier wallpaper options, as you may make mistakes and require a lot of extra wallpaper.

Adhesive

The type of adhesive that you use to hang wallpaper matters, too. Different types of wallpaper need different adhesives. Make sure to look at the label of your wallpaper and get the proper type of adhesive before you get started. 

Extra Paper

We also recommend rounding up your wall measurements to ensure that you have some backup wallpaper. As a rule of thumb, purchase three or four extra rolls of wallpaper to allow for mistakes and overages. Brands may discontinue certain wallpaper styles and you could end up out of luck if you need to replace some of the paper. So, as a safety, always have extra!

Steps of Hanging Wallpaper

• Paint the walls with a primer or sizer. 
• Cut the paper into sheets that are four inches taller than your walls. 
• Position a sheet flat on your worktable, then apply a thin layer of wallpaper paste on the back of it. Repeat with each sheet. Make sure not to get any paste on the table, as it could compromise the next sheet. 
• Book the wallpaper by folding the back of it onto itself, with the top and bottom edges touching in the center. The edges must align, and smooth out the wallpaper as much as possible without creating creases. 
• Leave the paper alone for the booking time detailed on the label of the wallpaper.
• Beginning in a corner, draw a line parallel to a door to reference during the installation process. Then, unfold one section of wallpaper and hang it on the wall, overlapping slightly in the corner and around two inches at the ceiling.
• After aligning the paper, tuck the paper at the ceiling corner using a paper smoother. Going from top to bottom, smooth out the full wallpaper sheet.
• Trim off the excess paper using a sharp blade and a taping knife. The knife should be positioned in between the ceiling and the wall. Then, use the blade to trim the paper above the knife. 
• Continue hanging the sections of paper, making sure to overlap each piece by ⅛ of an inch. Keeping taking measurements to keep each section identical 
• Close each seam using a seam roller. This will flatten the edges. Then, you can close the seams by hand. 

Contact Brush Strokes Painting today for help with your next Denver interior painting project.