Wallpaper can take a room from drab to fab in a matter of moments. You’ve picked your style and pattern, now it’s time to cover your walls. Need some help? We’ve got you. Carry on reading for a step-by-step guide on how to put up wallpaper in your home.
In this guide we’ll walk you through how to:
- Measure and cut wallpaper to the correct lengths
- Apply adhesive to the wall
- Hang the lengths to achieve a straight and smooth finish on walls and around corners
- Tackle awkward areas like radiators, windows, light switches, plug sockets and door frames
- Hang wallpaper to create a feature wall
Let's get started. We’ll show you how to hang wallpaper all by yourself!
Skip to...
- Before you begin
- How to hang wallpaper
- How to hang glue free "Easy-roll" wallpaper
- How to repair a wallpaper strip
Before you begin
There are some tasks that you may need to do before hanging your wallpaper. Check our list to ensure your walls are fully ready for wallpaper. With this guide and tips on how to hang wallpaper, you will get the best finish possible and avoid any nasty surprises further into the project.
Have you removed any existing wallpaper?
Doing this will give you a smooth finish and avoid air bubbles and creases appearing when you hang the new wallpaper.Our guide on how to remove wallpaperwill walk you through this task.
Are your walls freshly plastered?
If so, have you sealed them with wall sealer? Applying wall sealer, also known as wall size, seals the porous surface of the wall and improves the adhesion of the wallpaper paste. It also aids the slide of the wallpaper, useful when you’re matching patterns or hanging it in awkward areas like window recesses.
Have you lined the walls with lining paper?
Hanging lining paper prevents the new wallpaper from shrinking when it’s hung, which leads to gaps between the lengths of paper. You may also want to hang lining paper if your walls have any stains or small imperfections in the surface, as it will help to disguise this.
Do you have enough wallpaper?
OurWallpaper Calculatorhelps to estimate the amount of wallpaper you’ll need for your project. When you measure the height and length of the walls you want to wallpaper, also measure the windows and doors - the calculator will do the calculations for you. Allow extra for wastage. We recommend 10% extra, and any unopened rolls can be returned (see terms and conditions). Also, allow for extra when using paper with a large repeat pattern – the pattern repeat is usually stated on the roll label or product information.
Are all the rolls of wallpaper the same batch number?
Make sure all the rolls have the same batch number printed on the label, as the colours and in some instances, the finish, can vary between batches.
Have you planned how you’re going to hang the wallpaper?
We recommend hanging wallpaper vertically unless the pattern requires it to be hung horizontally. If hanging over lining paper, hanging it in the opposite direction to the lining paper means that the seams won’t fall in the same place and create ridges.
Do you have any fixings on the walls?
If so, unscrew the fixings before papering, leaving the wall plugs in place. Mark the position of each one by pushing a matchstick (with the head broken off) into the plug. Leave it slightly proud so you can find the hole and reuse it later.
How to hang wallpaper
Safety first
- Keep adhesives, chemicals and scissors out of reach of children
- Always ensure good ventilation during application and drying of wallpaper adhesives
- If hanging wallpaper around a stairwell, get someone to help you as you’ll be working at height with heavy lengths of wallpaper.
Step 1
The walls must be clean, dry, healthy, straight and smooth.
If you’re wallpapering on plaster, plasterboard or wood, apply a universal primer the day before so the wall can get a good grip of the wallpaper.
If your walls are covered with gloss or silk paint, sand them down and then apply a universal primer.
If instead they’re covered with matt paint, wash them with a cleaning product that contains baking soda and let the walls dry for 24 hours before wallpapering.
Step 2
Now’s the time to prepare your paste (adhesive) if it isn’t ready mixed. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Step 4
With a pasting brush or a roller, start applying the wallpaper paste on the wall in a thin, even layer, from the vertical line you’ve just traced onwards, starting at the top and working your way down across the width of a roll. Use a stepladder to reach the ceiling.
Step 6
Carefully position the wallpaper against the wall and double check the strip’s alignment against the vertical mark. Once you’re happy this is straight, use a wallpaper smoother to smooth it from the centre to the edges to smooth out any air bubbles and wrinkles.
“Paste the wall” wallpaper is easy to reposition: If the strip is not positioned as you want it, slowly take it off and reposition it.
Step 7
Trim any excess paper on the top and bottom with a snap off knife and a ruler, flatten out the seams with a seam roller and then repeat for the rest of the wall, making sure the seams line up each time.
Step 8
To wallpaper around any switches or sockets, cover these with the wallpaper strip and use the snap off knife to cut around them.
