How to Apply Wallpaper for Beginners

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Never applied wallpaper or replaced old wallpaper in your house before? Don’t worry we have you covered in this wallpaper basics post! Whether you have just bought a new house or maybe just want to update your current house, at some point, you will need to think about what’s going on the walls. This can be as straight forward or as complicated as you want it to be. The first thing you need to decide is whether to use paint or wallpaper to update the walls.

Which wallpaper do you choose?

Wallpaper is our focus today so once you have chosen to use wallpaper you can get started! The first thing you need to do is choose the right wallpaper for the room you’re decorating. Each room will have its own personality and you may want to show off yours this way. Wallpaper can completely transform a room. A nice clean colour wallpaper can easily freshen and brighten a room and make it feel more roomy and larger. Equally a colourful patterned wallpaper can add a huge splash of colour to a bland looking room and can make it more cosy and inviting to live in. Use small patterns for a larger room look and large patterns on a darker background for a smaller room look. There are some amazing patterns over at Everwallpaper for you to take a look at!

Tip: get some wallpaper samples before you completely decide and stick them up on wall to get a feel for what works for your room.

What materials do I need?

Once you’ve decided on what type of wallpaper you are going to use, you need to gather all the materials that you will need to actually put it up. You will need: enough wallpaper to cover the area you want (buy an extra roll or 2 just in case you run out!), wallpaper paste, a wallpaper brush, a wallpaper trimming knife, clean cloths to smooth down the wallpaper once applied and a wallpaper table just to make your life easier!

Tip: Line the walls with lining paper. This may sound like a faff and just another job to do but you will thank me for the suggestion when you have lovely clean, bump free walls!

How do I prep the walls properly?

Next you need to prep the walls. If you have wallpaper to take off, the easiest way to do this is with a steamer. Once all of the old is off, make sure all the walls are clean and dry as well as free from spider webs. Remove any nails or picture hooks and fill any holes these have made with filler. If you’re lining the walls first, do this next.

How do I start to apply the wallpaper?

Once you’re ready to apply your wallpaper, measure the length of wall you want to cover, roll out your wallpaper and mark this length on the back with a pencil. Cut this and then apply your wallpaper paste to the wall. It’s far easy to wallpaper paste the actual wall than it is the wallpaper as it gets very sticky! Start at the top corner of the wall and slowly apply the wallpaper down the wall smoothing as you go with a clean cloth. Cut away any excess off the wallpaper and prepare your next piece. Match up any patterns making sure to smooth down all the wallpaper edges with a clean cloth once you’re happy with how it looks.

Tip: If the wallpaper doesn’t go on perfectly straight away, don’t worry! Just peel it gently off and start again.

For applying wallpaper to trickier parts e.g. around plugs and fittings all you need to do is apply the wallpaper as before but don’t smooth down the parts you need to cut out. Gently cut the wallpaper away and smooth around the fittings. Cut the excess away once happy.

You will make mistakes but don’t worry, they can be fixed and as long as you’ve bought enough wallpaper rolls, you can redo any bits that need doing again! If you head over to Everwallpaper they have some great ideas for different rooms as well as the ability to create your very own custom wall art!

Have you ever applied wallpaper to you one of the rooms in your house?