How to Hang Wallpaper Borders

Adding a wallpaper border is a low-cost solution to give a room a finished look. You do not need to hire a professional to install the border. Anyone with a little bit of time and some basic skills can do it. Follow these instructions and you can do it yourself while still getting professional-looking results.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Measuring tape
• Ladder
• Bowl or paint tray to hold water
• Sponge
• Scissors or utility knife

1. Use a measuring tape to measure the length of the wall where you want to apply the wallpaper border.

2. Cut a strip of wallpaper border to fit the wall as per your measurements. Add a few extra inches of border to allow for pattern matching.

3. Prepare the strip of wallpaper border for hanging. If you are using pre-pasted border, then all you need to do is dampen the back of it with a sponge. If you are not using pre-pasted border, then you will need to apply some wallpaper paste.

4. Start in a corner. Apply the border at ceiling height, and work your way around the room.

5. Smooth the border as you go to prevent wrinkles or air bubbles. This can be done with a damp sponge, a seam roller or your bare hand. The point is for the border to have a smooth appearance against the wall.

6. Camouflage the seams. When you start the second strip of border, overlap as necessary to match up the design. The seams will be almost invisible.

7. Repeat this process until you get all the way back to where you started in the corner of the room.

8. Overlap as needed in the corner in order to hide the final seam.

9. Allow 24 hours for the glue to dry, and your wallpaper border should now be permanently installed.

Tips & Warnings

• When installing a chair rail border, measure the distance from the floor carefully, and draw a light pencil line to mark where you want the border to go. This will ensure that your finished border is level.

Resources

• Lowes.com
• This Old House