How to hang wallpaper and borders

Wallpaper borders are a great, inexpensive way to add beauty and elegance to your room's decor. You don't have to spend a ton of money to pay a professional to install your wallpaper borders, you can do it yourself. Even if you have never hung wallpaper before, you can learn to hang borders like a professional quickly and easily.

The easiest rooms to learn do are the bathrooms and kitchen because of their small sizes. Practice on the smaller rooms and as you feel more comfortable, move on to the larger bedrooms and the family rooms.

The first thing you need to do is measure the wall space to determine how much of the border you will need to purchase. When selecting a border, look for one that is pre-pasted, this means that the paste is already added to the paper, all you do is add water. It is not recommended for beginners to work with wallpaper that needs paste added.

The items you will need:

Paint

Border

Warm Water

Sponge

Razor Blade

Pencil

Ladder

An assistant

If you are repainting the room, you will want to do this first and allow ample time for the paint to dry. There are several methods of design to hang the wallpaper border. You may hang it at the top of the wall, along the edge where the wall meets the ceiling or you may choose to hang it in the middle of the wall. In the kitchen, place the border right below the edge of the cabinets for an elegant look. You can also add pizzazz to the room's look by placing the border in the middle of the wall and painting the top half a light color and the bottom half of the wall a darker color. If you choose to do this, paint the wall first. Use a pencil to mark where the border will be placed. Meet the two colors right in the middle of where the wallpaper will be, the wallpaper will cover the paint so perfect lines are not necessary. It is recommended that you paint the top half of the wall first. This will allow you to correct any mistakes if paint is dropped onto the bottom half.

Once your paint is dry, you are ready to install the border. It is helpful if you have another person to help you hold the wallpaper so it doesn't tear. Using a pencil, make a mark indicating where you want the border to be placed. If you are placing it at the top of a wall, you can skip this step and use the edge of the ceiling as a guide. Fill the sink with warm water. Immerse the roll of wallpaper into the warm water, you should feel it getting sticky as the glue is saturated with water.

Starting in one corner of the room, place the border at the spot indicated. Allow a small section, about 1 inch or so, to overlap the corner. You will be cutting this section off once the wallpaper is dry. You do this to ensure that you have a straight edge on your corner. Have your helper hold the border while you adhere it in place along the entire wall. You will have a few minutes to work the border into its proper position before the glue sets. Take your wet sponge and gently rub it over the border, pressing out any air pockets. Look closely to make sure that your border is even and in the correct position. If any places are uneven, you can move the border into the correct position by gently placing both hands on the border and sliding it into the proper place. Be careful not to push to hard or the border may tear.

You can either continue with the same roll onto the next wall or you can cut the paper in the corner and start from the next corner with the new roll's edge. I recommend that you continue with the roll and do not make any cuts. When the wallpaper is wet, it is difficult to cut, it often tears or cuts unevenly. Make sure that you press the border into the corner with the wet sponge, ensuring that it is even and no air pockets are present. Corners are usually the first place where the borders will lift and peel away from the wall if they aren't installed properly.

When you reach the end of the wallpaper roll you will need to match up the edge of the new roll with the edge of the roll on the wall. Find the first place on the new roll that matches the spot at the end of the roll on the wall. For example, if the pattern on the wallpaper is a line of circles and you ended with one circle being cut in half, you will want to begin the new roll with the other half of the circle. Use a ruler or straight edge and cut a straight line with the razor blade. If done carefully, you should not be able to see where one roll ends and the next roll begins. Remember, if you need to make any cuts, do so before you wet the new roll of wallpaper.

Continue with this method until all walls are covered with the wallpaper border. Once you have done one room, it becomes easy and is done rather quickly. Whenever you wish to change the border to a new style, the old border peels off pretty easily.