How to hang your 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.