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Unfold the bottom of the sheet and finish matching and closing the seam. Now use the tips of your fingers to push the seam closed. Then lightly roll the seam with a seam roller to flatten down the edges. Lightly press the top of the paper to the wall. Step 7 Close the Seams Photo by Kolin Smith Wipe off paste on the surface with a sponge. Tip: Push air bubbles out by sweeping the paper smoother from the center out to the edges. Match the pattern as closely as possible, leaving just a hair's breadth between the sheets. Unfold the top of the book and place it on the wall. Measure to the plumb line and adjust the paper to keep the distance equal. Overlap the existing piece on the adjacent wall by 1/8 inch. On the adjacent wall, draw a plumb line (if there's no door or window). Step 6 Continue Papering Photo by Kolin Smith Continue papering to a point above the door. Do not slide the razor and knife together. Alternate between cutting and moving the knife.
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Using a razor, cut above the knife to trim off the excess. Trim the excess paper at the ceiling: Push a 6-inch taping knife into the joint between the wall and ceiling. (Don't press so hard that you push out glue.) Then, working from the top down, sweep the smoother over the entire sheet. Once the sheet is aligned, use the edge of a paper smoother to tuck the paper into the corner at the ceiling. Step 5 Tuck and Trim the Paper Photo by Kolin Smith Adjust the paper to keep it parallel to the door but still overlapping at least ⅛ inch in the corner. Check the measurement between the paper and the door casing or reference line. Unfold the bottom of the book and let it hang. Overlap about 2 inches at the ceiling and 1/8 inch in the corner. Unfold the top of the booked paper and hang it on the wall. If the door is far from the corner, draw a reference line parallel to the door near the corner. Step 4 Align First Strip Photo by Kolin Smith
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Be sure to follow the exact booking time recommended on the wallpaper's label, which differs depending on its content (more for vinyl-coated wallcoverings, less for uncoated papers).
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Set the paper aside to allow the paste to soak in and the paper to relax. Smooth the paper onto itself as much as you can without creasing the folds. Make sure the side edges line up perfectly. Step 3 Book the Paper Photo by Kolin Smithįold the pasted back of the paper onto itself, top and bottom ends meeting in the middle. Slide the paper all the way to the edge of the table to apply paste to the ends and edges. Tip: Don't allow paste to get on the table or it will mar the next sheet (wipe it off with a barely damp sponge if it does). Using a paint roller, apply a thin film of clear premixed wallpaper paste on the back of the paper. Cut in the same place on the repeat so patterns on adjacent sheets will line up. As you do, check for defects and drag the paper against the edge of your worktable to take away the curl.Ĭut the paper into sheets 4 inches longer than the height of your walls. Paint the whole room with a wall primer/sizer. Step 2 Apply Wallpaper Paste Photo by Kolin Smith So another wallpapering tip Gregoras uses is to always paper the corners with split sheets.Ĭlick button on top right to enlarge illustration.
#Best wallpaper paste full#
Very often, the last strip of paper on a wall isn't a full sheet. For that reason, Gregoras always starts his job behind a door, papering out from the corner until he reaches the space above the door- the least conspicuous spot in the room. John Gregoras recommends working in one direction around the room to keep the pattern consistent.īut no matter how good your technique, the pattern between the first and last strip will rarely match up. Paying attention to the order in which the paper goes up ensures that your pattern will stay well-matched and look straight.
#Best wallpaper paste how to#
Layout is the key when you're learning how to hang wallpaper. Step 1 Best Wallpaper Techniques Overview With this kind of insider know-how, papering just got a whole lot easier. And, boy, did we learn a lot - everything from how he plans the layout to how he lines up the last seam. We asked Gregoras to demonstrate a few of his best wallpapering tips and tricks for pasting, hanging, aligning, and trimming.
#Best wallpaper paste pro#
Enter John Gregoras, a pro paper hanger from Somers, New York, with nearly two decades' experience. And as a bonus, it masks minor imperfections in plaster and drywall, too.īut as often as homeowners attempt to hang paper themselves, they rarely get it right, cursing their peeling seams and mismatched patterns-it's enough to drive you up a wall. It enlivens walls with textures or patterns or both-your choice.
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From blah to bold in a matter of hours, paper can push boundaries beyond what paint can do. Line a room with wallpaper and you have instant decoration.
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