Wall Coverings

When it comes to Do It Yourself (DIY) interior decorating, wallpapering is the one home redecorating project that only the brave and the adventurous do-it-yourselfer usually attempts. The prospect of standing helplessly in front of a bare wall with wet, sticky wallpaper dangling over our heads and down our back is enough to make most of us think twice.

But wallpaper, if done well, is an interior decorating DIY project that can bring many years of lasting beauty to a room and really bring a look together. Here are some tips for the DIY enthusiast to help make this trickiest of all interior decorating techniques go a little more smoothly.

First, collect your tools around you and keep them close at hand. After you cut the first strip of wallpaper and you are half way through hanging it on the wall, you won’t be able to walk away and go search for the sponge to smooth it out. Here is a list of supplies to keep handy:

A Roller, sponge, and several damp cloths

Plenty rags and towels and a drop-cloth for the floor

A sharp-edged utility knife, a pair of large, sharp scissors, and pair of nail scissors for fine trimming

A pencil, a ruler and a plumb-line (a piece of string with a weight tied to the end)

A wallpaper trough filled with water to activate the paste

Extra paste (even if you have pre-pasted wallpaper, use extra paste to ensure a lasting finish)

Most wallpaper today is pre-pasted, but sometimes the paste is insufficient to hold the paper to the wall, especially if you are using a heavier paper. Follow the manufacturer instructions to activate the paste and then apply additional paste to the edges to ensure lasting adhesion.

Where you start wallpapering and where you finish are critical to the finished result. No room is perfectly square. The first pieces you put up will be the best, and the chances of a perfect match-up at the end are slim to none. Look for the biggest expanse of wall in a part of the room that   patches the eye. Make this the starting point. Drop the plumb-line in the middle of this wall and draw your starting line. Work both to the left and to the right of the plumb-line, planning your finish point in an inconspicuous corner or over the door where the eye won’t pick up a mismatch.

Smooth each piece with a damp sponge or cloth (some people like to use a wallpaper brush) and roll each seam carefully. If this is your first time hanging wallpaper, it is best to start with wallpaper that does not require you to match the pattern. If you are pattern matching, measure each strip before you cut to the piece already on the wall, and remember to leave adequate length at the top and bottom so that you will still be able to trip neatly at the ceiling line. If you are matching wallpaper you will get about 3 to 4 full length strips per roll, depending on how high your walls are. Save the odds and ends for papering over the door or around cabinets.

The only difference between a DIY wallpaper job and that done by a professional interior decorator are the little details that give you away. If you take some time to plan the job and think about how you are going to go around the corners. Trim neatly at the ceiling line and carefully around obstacles. Do a rough cut while the paper is dry and then a precision cut as you hang the paper. Smooth from the top, carefully trimming as you go down. If the paste dries before you have finished trimming, apply more paste. Trim ceilings and floors last, after you have done any other necessary trimming.

To go around corners, which are rarely square, allow an overlap of about half an inch around the corner, even if you have to cut paper   lengthwise to make this work. Don’t overlap around a corner by several inches because you will get off at the ceiling line and it will be hard to   patch up the next strip of paper. You will want to drop another plumb-line on the new wall to make sure the first strip on the next wall goes up squarely. Butt the new strip up into the corner, covering the one inch of paper from the previous wall. This technique makes sure your paper is square on each wall so that the pattern will line up and the seams will be straight. In the corner the pattern might be off a little.

Don’t worry about this. Remember, the eye rarely travels directly in to the corner, but you will catch someone’s eye if the wallpaper in the middle of the wall is badly matched or if your seams start to slant.

Once you have mastered the art of wallpapering there will be no stopping you. When you stand back and look upon your wallpapering   masterpiece, you will want to take on all kinds of interior decorating DIY jobs that you had been putting off.

See our blog at [www.2leftthumbs.com/]2 LEFT THUMBS for hints and tips on home improvement, remodeling, decorating and maintenance. We also have articles on home decorating, home remodeling, home maintenance and home improvement at   www.2leftthumbsdecorating.com/]2 LEFT THUMBS DECORATING.

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