First time wallpapering tips

Hanging wallpaper is not as difficult as it looks, as long as you have some help and follow the basic guidelines, and the effect is well worth the effort.

 Taking proper precautions before you start will avoid the need to phone up the professionals to fix a botched job, or worse a call to your home insurance providers with a sad tale of fallen ladders, smashed windows, glued filled carpets and so on...and risk a raised home insurance premium or the costs of a total cleanup!

The tools you should have on hand are a wallpaper roller, a sponge and, if you are papering an entire wall, a ladder. For first time hangers it is recommended to choose an easy to match pattern, or better still, one that doesn’t need matching at all. This makes it easier to line up the paper.

If you really don’t feel confident, start off with a border. They come in a variety of patterns and textures and, apart from being easy to apply, can transform the look of a room. You will need help for this, and two ladders if you plan to add a border at the top of a wall. A lower one is a great option too, and even easier to apply. Always measure from the floor up, and then check that the border is in fact level before you apply ant wallpaper. Sometimes walls are not as straight as you would imagine.

The easiest wallpaper to apply is the readymade one, also known as prepasted. All you have to do is dip the wallpaper in water, or paint some water on the reverse, sticky side.

If the wallpaper has bubbles of air under it once it's on the wall, use a wallpaper roller to roll out the bubble, just like ironing a shirt. A rolling pin will work just as well as a wallpaper roller.

Work out the total area needing to be covered before you buy your wallpaper and ask for help from the assistants at the shop you buy from. Explain the measurements to the salesman and let him work out how much paper you will need, and also ask him to factor in any very large windows or doors.

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