Easy tips and tricks to hang wallpaper

Asha Bogenfuerst Asha Bogenfuerst
Photo wallpapers in living room, Demural Demural Modern living room
Loading admin actions …

Hanging new wallpaper is like giving your home a life-changing makeover—it can dramatically change the way your home looks and feels. Other than that, hanging wallpaper is also an excellent DIY home improvement project which you will hopefully be very proud of once you've completed it. In order to complete your mission successfully, you will need to know the tricks for achieving smooth seams, working on corners, trimming the wallpaper, and planning properly. This idea guide is here to teach you how to hang wallpaper. 

Let's browse through some of these tips for hanging wallpaper shall we? We hope you will find some helpful tips through this idea guide. 

Tools needed for wallpapering

Fortunately, the tools needed for wallpapering are fairly inexpensive and easy to find. You will need different tools for different phases of the project. Some tools are used to prepare the wall for application, while others are to prepare the wallpaper, and finally to remove bubbles and wrinkles after pasting the wallpaper. 

For the surface preparation, you will need a putty knife, level, tape measure, and primer. As for the wallpaper preparation, you will need a wallpaper tray, wallpaper table, scissors, and paste brush plus paint roller. Finally for the finishing, you will need a smoothing brush, seam roller, broad knife, and utility knife. 

What to plan before hanging wallpaper?

Good planning will help you avoid mistakes and achieve the desired results when it comes to hanging wallpaper. First of all, decide where you want the seams to fall and where the patterns should start and begin in the room. You should plan to lay seams where they'll be the least noticeable, like over an entry door. Next, decide which will be your dominant wall because you should start to plan where the wallpaper will end and where it will begin based on the dominant wall. Finally, choose the starting point for the first strip of wallpaper. 

How to remove wallpaper

Removing old wallpaper can be a pain in the neck literally, but it can be easier if you know a few tricks. Apparently, the best way to remove wallpaper is to wet the walls with a solution of fabric softener and water, let it soak for 20 minutes, and then scrape the paper off the wall using a putty knife and beginning with the corners first. The beautiful wallpaper pictured here is available from Bloompapers based in Barcelona, Spain. 

Preparing the wall

Preparing the wall for hanging wallpaper is a very important step that should not be neglected as wallpaper will not stick properly on greasy, dirty walls, or old wallpaper and paint. So firstly, clean the walls properly and remove all remaining paint or wallpaper. Next fill in all the holes in the walls, and finally cover the wall with a coat of primer to provide sufficient slippage. Browse through classic wallpaper designs here on homify for more ideas and inspiration. 

How to paste wallpaper

Mural wallpaper 뮤럴벽지, U2 U2 Classic style walls & floors Wallpaper

Pasting the wallpaper onto the wall is not hard to do if you have the right tools and are well prepared. Firstly, cut the wallpaper into 4 sheets longer than the height of your walls. Make sure you cut it at the same place so that all the strips of wallpaper are regular. Next, use a paint roller to apply the wallpaper paste evenly to the wallpaper while it's lying face down on a smooth surface or wallpaper table. Lastly, make sure the edges and ends have sufficient glue and you're ready to paste it onto the wall. 

Dealing with obstructions

After you've pasted the wallpaper, you might find that bubbles and wrinkles have formed due to the wallpaper not sticking to the wall properly. This is the finishing phase of your DIY wallpaper project. First, cut a small slit on the wallpaper above where the bubble has formed. Then, push down on the bubble to remove air from the bubble, and use a syringe to inject glue into the slit you cut open. Finally, smooth the deflated bubble with a paint roller. We hope this idea guide has been been helpful to you. For more related ideas and inspiration, have a look at stunning wallpaper designs

Need help with your home project?
Get in touch!

Highlights from our magazine