3 Simple Hacks That Make Hanging Wallpaper So Much Easier
The first time I installed wallpaper, in my son’s nursery in our Chicago condo, I was pretty intimidated. Even though my mother-in-law, who was an experienced DIY wallpaper hanger, was coming to help, I had this idea in my head of a long, complicated process, complete with soaking the wallpaper in a bathtub, and spending hours smoothing out air bubbles and cleaning up paste.
Turns out, it was much simpler than than I’d anticipated. It took us just a couple of hours to do an accent wall, and there was zero bathtub soaking required (I was happy to learn that most modern wallpaper doesn’t need to be soaked). Once I realized how straightforward hanging wallpaper was, I got a little wallpaper happy. I’ve since installed it in five more rooms on my own. It’s gotten easier, but mostly because I’ve learned some crucial hacks along the way.
If you’re thinking about hanging wallpaper yourself, here are three of my best tips that I’ve learned to make the process easier.
3 Wallpaper Hanging Hacks for Beginners
1. Look for Paste the Wall Wallpaper
This first tip is probably my biggest hack.
If you’ve ever shopped for wallpaper, you’ll know there are lots of application options out there. There’s peel-and-stick, paste the wall, paste the paper, and pre-pasted.
I won’t get into the details of my most and least-favorites here (but if you want those details they are readily available in post on the easiest wallpaper to install) and I will just say that paste the wall wallpaper is the easiest to use.
To install it, you just use a paint brush or paint roller to spread your wallpaper paste on the wall, and then you lay the wallpaper on top. I find this to be easier, because dry wallpaper is less cumbersome to work with that wet, paste-covered wallpaper. It’s also less messy than pasting the paper.
Here’s another tip: Even if your wallpaper doesn’t specify that it’s paste the wall, you can still paste the wall as long as your wallpaper is nonwoven, which many wallpapers are these days (it will specify on the label or the brand website). The reason for this is that non-woven wallpaper doesn’t need the time to expand when it’s wet, which is the whole reason for pasting the paper.
If you’re installing wallpaper for the first time and want to make the process and simple as possible, go with nonwoven or paste-the-wall wallpaper.
2. Cut Each Wallpaper Panel off the Roll Before Your Hang It
When you install wallpaper, it’s easier to work with individual lengths than it is a whole roll, so I always find the pattern repeat and then cut the wallpaper panel off of the roll (leaving a few extra inches) before I add paste to the wall. If you have a lot of extra paper at the top of the panel, I also trim this a bit to make it easier to work with.
Always leave a few extra inches at each end of your panel to give yourself some wiggle room!
3. Change Your Cutting Blade Every 2-3 Panels
A sharp razor blade or cutting knife will make hanging wallpaper so much easier. Like way, way easier. A dull knife drags, and makes tears in the paper, and creates uneven edges. It also takes longer to make a cut.
To make sure you have a sharp blade, you’ll need to change it out every 3 panels or so. The blades get dull quicker than you’d think, so make sure you have lots of extras on hand.
Also – when I first started hanging wallpaper, I used an Xacto knife, but I now use a utility knife, which works better.
Shop a few of my favorite wallpapers:
