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DIY Wallpaper Tutorial with D. Marie Interiors

April 25, 2019 / 195 Comments

Wallpaper has gone in and out of fashion for decades with wallpaper of the past being expensive and difficult to install. Today, however, wallpaper can be an easy, affordable, room-refreshing DIY that anyone can tackle. My bathroom is one of those rooms that no one needed to look at. Dingy, boring, and an eyesore, its not something I enjoyed sharing. But after a complete DIY wallpaper installation our bathroom has been completely transformed into a bright and beautiful space that I welcome my guests to see!

I will walk you through how to install your DIY prepasted wallpaper so you can refresh your own space!

  • Before
  • After

The following wall preparation and wallpaper installation guide is from D. Marie Interiors.

*I have added my own tips and techniques to this guide in bold.

Supplies:

Wall preparation

  • Proper preparation will ensure the best results from your wallcovering.  A properly prepared surface will ensure easy and successful application of your wallpaper.  It will also help with future removal.  There are many primers on the market but we have found that the wallpaper primer Shieldz made by Zinsser is exceptional.  Zinsser also makes other primers for specialty uses.  It is available at most home improvement and paint stores.  This is the wallpaper primer used by D. Marie Interiors for the “test” wall in their warehouse.
  • New drywall must be sealed with a primer as detailed above before you install your wallpaper. This will protect the drywall, ensure even adhesion of the wallpaper, and help with easy removal when the wallpaper is replaced.  It may be a good idea to tint your base primer to the background color of your wallpaper as this will prevent any color variations on the drywall (tape, spackled nails) from showing through the wallpaper.
  • Painted walls especially in bathrooms and kitchens, should be cleaned with ammonia and water to remove oils, stains, etc.  Repair any defects in the wall.  Once the walls are clean and smooth, apply wallpaper primer; tint as mentioned above if desired. 
  • Existing wallpaper can either be removed before application of your new wallpaper or you’ll need to use an oil based primer over the old wallpaper before you can install the new.  If you need instructions on this part of the process, feel free to contact us.  Once the wallpaper is removed, repair any defects and prime with a wallpaper primer.

For our bathroom, we also removed the toilet, sink, mirror, and light fixture. We intended to replace the mirror and light, and removing the toilet and sink made it easier for us to work in the small space.

Hanging wallpaper

  • Make sure you have a clean table or floor area to lay your wallpaper on for measuring and cutting.
  • To determine seam placement for your first strip, choose the most inconspicuous corner for your first strip as it is likely that the finishing strip will not match the pattern. You can also choose to start in the middle of the room and work both sides outwards so you end at the area that is most inconspicuous.  (If doing only a focal wall or not wallpapering around the entire room, you don’t need to worry about the paper wrapping around the room and not matching at the final corner.)
  • Create a vertical plumb line for your first strip. Corners are generally not straight and you need to start with a truly vertical line.  Measure from the corner out the width of your wallpaper minus ½ inch.  (If your wallpaper is 20 ½ inches wide, make your mark at 20 inches). Using a level or a plumb bob, mark a vertical line at this spot with a pencil.  You will need to repeat this procedure at new walls or when you reach a corner.
  • Select the dominant pattern of the paper and position where you consider it most desirable. This will determine the horizontal pattern placement for the rest of the room.
  • Measure and cut your first strip, allowing a few extra inches for trimming at the top and bottom.

I recommend you cut all your strips before you hang them, label each strip on the back as “top” and the number order you will hang them. This way, as you are cutting you can line up your strips and be sure your patterns match up. This is easier than guessing and trying to cut the strip against a hung strip on the wall.

  • Unroll your wallpaper, measure and cut your first strip
  • Unroll, line up your pattern, measure and cut
  • The patterns should line up like this
  • Repeat as many times as necessary, numbering each one on the back, then lay them out in the order of installation
  • For prepasted wallpaper, roll your first strip and submerge completely in lukewarm water. A wallpaper water tray is ideal but a bathtub will also work.  Follow the manufacturer’s directions on length of time to wet the paper – don’t leave the paper in the water tray too long or it will wash away the paste.

Our wallpaper had alternative pasting instructions which we followed. For our paper, we laid the strip flat and sprayed the back completely, making sure it was entirely covered in water.

  • Carefully fold the paper onto itself, paste side to paste side. (Make sure you don’t crease the wallpaper.) This is called “booking” and it allows the wallpaper paste to active before placing it on the wall. After booking, unfold the paper, making sure that there are no dry areas on the pasted side, especially on the seams. We added more water on the edges as we sprayed to make sure they would lay flat on the wall.
  • For unpasted papers, lay your wallpaper strip pattern side down on your clean table. Apply the paste product that is recommended for the type of paper you have purchased using a paste brush or roller. Apply evenly and pay special attention to the edges. After the paper is pasted, “book” it, paste to paste, to allow the paper to relax and the paste to activate. Booking time will depend on the manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Spray wallpaper evenly with plenty of with water
  • Fold the ends in towards the middle like a newspaper – this is called “Booking”
  • Unfold the top and apply the first strip between the corner and your vertical plumb line, allowing excess at the ceiling and at the bottom or baseboard.
  • Using proper tools such as a wallpaper smoother or wallpaper brush, gently press the top portion of the paper to the wall but do not stretch the paper.  Then unfold the bottom part of the strip and place onto the wall in the same manner.
  • Use a diagonal motion (top down and center outward) to gently smooth the strip and work out bubbles. Never force a strip to match, gently remove and realign it, beginning at the seam edge.
  • Use a sharp “snap blade” tool and a broad knife for cutting the excess at the ceiling and baseboard.
  • After making your vertical line on the wall, unfold your paper and place it on the wall so there is excess on the ceiling and baseboards and gently press the edges down the line so it hangs straight
  • Work your way from the line out towards the opposite side, diagonally, smoothing the paper and bubbles.
  • Press the wallpaper into the corners of the ceiling, baseboards and other edges such as windows, creasing it firmly into the corner but careful not to stretch the paper
  • Cut the excess wallpaper with a sharp snap blade tool
  • Wash off excess paste with a clean wet sponge.  Clean paste off of ceiling, corner and baseboards with sponge and water.
  • Repeat for additional strips, making sure to match the pattern.  Strips should touch at the edges and not be overlapped.

It might be tricky to go around fixtures or windows, but it is doable! Simply lay the paper on the wall like any other strip, and then cut as much of the excess off as you can before creasing the paper around the window and cutting.

  • Lay paper against the wall like any other strip, pressing it gently against the existing sheet of paper to align it properly
  • Cut the excess paper off so it will be easier to crease and flatten
  • As you cut the excess be very careful to not cut too much away, cut the corners so that you can crease the paper on all sides of the window
  • Smooth, crease, and cut around the window
  • Be sure to make a new straight plumb line on each wall.  To go around a corner, smooth the paper into the corner and cut it about ¼ inch past the corner.  Make a new plumb line to fit this partial strip and apply the partial strip back to the corner, again matching the pattern. Do not just “tuck” a strip into a corner – you will not be starting with a true vertical line on the next wall if you do this!
  • Outside corners should always be wrapped, unless they are too out of plumb and the wallpaper continuing onto the next wall will be out of plumb or wrinkled.

For the plumbing fixtures we carefully cut slits in the wallpaper around them when the wallpaper was against the wall, slowly cutting larger openings as needed.

After the wallpaper was installed and dried, we put the sink and toilet back, and hung a new mirror and light fixture. We then installed some DIY pipe fixtures (a shelf, towel hanger, and toilet paper holder).

This was one of our favorite room updates. We love how the wallpaper really adds charm to this small space. Now on to the next project!

Check out the full bathroom reveal here!

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