Things You'll Need:
- What you need:
- Measuring tape
- Wallpaper
- Wallpaper hanger/installer (unless you want to do it yourself)
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Step 1
I love wallpaper, and many of the best designs are coming from Europe- if you’re looking for hip, cool papers, go to www.ColeandSon.com, www.OsborneandLittle.com or www.DesignersGuild.com. Walnut Wallpaper (www.WalnutWallpaper.com) is a retail store in Los Angeles that carries many of the designer papers that are only sold to the trade.
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Step 2
Closets are a nice place to start- pick out a pattern you love, and do the inside walls, and inside of the door. This works particularly well if you have a door with an inset panel, and then you can paper the inset like a frame. If you have a door that is always open, maybe the bedroom door or dining room door, why not wallpaper the back of it? That way it stands out as an art piece! I also love wallpaper on the ceiling, or even on the back of a bookcase! This is also an inexpensive way to get a designer look as you don’t need much paper to start with.
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Step 3
To measure the space, calculate the Height in yards- for instance, if your wall is eight feet, that will take one “width” of paper and about 3 yards. Most papers come 24” wide, some are as wide as 36”. Then calculate the Width or length of the wall- if it’s 15 feet wide/long, and your paper is 24” wide you’ll need about 8 widths, times 3 yards for the height is 24 yards. European rolls (considered “double” rolls) are 11 yards, so you’d need 3 rolls. It’s always important to order more than you need, especially if you have a big pattern and repeat design on the paper. The wall paper will tell you the measurements, if you are doing a standard door you will probably only need half a roll….so that mean you can buy one roll and do 2 doors!
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Step 4
Hire someone to put up the paper, it’s about $25 a roll for them to hang it. If you want to learn to do it yourself, you can certainly do that, but it’s messy and if you have bought an expensive paper, I wouldn’t risk it- hire a professional so that you’ll be sure to get good results!
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Step 5
If you have any left over paper- you can use it to cover shoe boxes to make decorative storage boxes, or use it in the back of your kitchen cabinets, or even make greeting cards with it- just adhere the paper to a card, or heavy stock paper and you’re done. Kids also love to cut it up and make artwork or crafts with wallpaper!
Comments
SkinExpert said
on 12/14/2007 Whew! I was glad when I read to the end and you said to have the installer do it. I adore wallpaper and have my entire home wallpapered. It is such a gorgeous ambience with a painted wall. I wallpapered my dining room ceiling by myself several years ago (THAT was an I Love Lucy experience) then painted it in Golden Acrylic Iridescent Gold with the Copper. I used the textured paper that emulated a Victorian tin ceiling and it is elegant. That got me hooked but I've hired since then. A good wallpaper man is an investment but well worth it. I love Interior Design and will be reading all of your articles. Thanks for sharing your talent and your time!
SkinExpert said
on 12/14/2007 Whew! I was glad when I read to the end and you said to have the installer do it. I adore wallpaper and have my entire home wallpapered. It is such a gorgeous ambience with a painted wall. I wallpapered my dining room ceiling by myself several years ago (THAT was an I Love Lucy experience) then painted it in Golden Acrylic Iridescent Gold with the Copper. I used the textured paper that emulated a Victorian tin ceiling and it is elegant. That got me hooked but I've hired since then. A good wallpaper man is an investment but well worth it. I love Interior Design and will be reading all of your articles. Thanks for sharing your talent and your time!