Wallpaper Hanging Guidelines
Hanging hand-printed wallpapers
My hand-printed wallpapers are the traditional Paste-the-Paper type. Hanging them is ideally a job for an experienced paper hanger, but if you feel confident in doing it yourself, there are many helpful videos and articles on the internet to give guidance on the finer points.
Here are my standard instructions for the hand-printed paper:
The paper is supplied trimmed. Note whether the pattern is a side match or half-drop match, before cutting rolls. It cannot be overstated that the best results will be obtained when the walls are prepared with lining paper. Lining paper reduces the risk of shrinkage at the seams and ensures good adhesion with no risk of paste failure. Use a good quality wallpaper paste or prepared tub paste, and allow sufficient time for soaking – usually at least 5 minutes. The paper should be ‘booked’ (i.e. folded pasted side to pasted side) while soaking. Seams should not be excessively rubbed, as this can produce a polishing effect. Use a roller to lightly press the seams, or rub through a protective sheet of thin lining paper or baking paper. Use of a felt roller is recommended. Ensuring the seams are very tightly butted and allowing the paste to become almost dry (15-30 mins) before gentle rolling will help to produce good results. The surface of this paper is wipeable. Paste on the surface can be removed while still wet by wiping with a clean, slightly damp cloth or sponge. Wiping over the entire surface with a clean, slightly damp microfiber cloth after the paste is fully dried (i.e.after at least 24 hours) is also recommended.
Hanging digitally printed wallpapers
The paper is supplied trimmed. Note whether the pattern is a side match or half-drop match, before cutting rolls. For best results, walls should be prepared with good-quality lining paper. Digitally printed wallpaper is a ‘paste the wall’ product. The recommended method is to apply the paste to the wall and then unroll the paper onto the wall, smoothing it down as you go. There is no need for pre-soaking the paper. When pasting the wall, it is important to ensure that dry spots have not formed in the pasted area before the paper is applied. Use a good quality wallpaper paste or prepared tub paste. It is also possible to paste the back of the paper in the traditional way if preferred. Soaking time is not necessary. The surface of the paper is wipeable. Paste on the surface can be removed while still wet by wiping with a clean, slightly damp cloth or sponge. Wiping over the entire surface with a clean, slightly damp cloth after hanging is recommended.