Best Preparation for Wallpaper Installation
1. Walls flat and smooth for best performance
2. Drywall tape finished to a level 4 or 5 for new construction
3. Skim-coat plaster should dry for 2-5 days before priming
4. Prime walls with white-pigmented 100% acrylic universal primer. This is important! Primer seals drywall and prevents glue from drying too quickly. Previously primed and painted walls are ok, but cheap flat-finish paint can cause the glue to get dry too quickly - prime again if you are unsure. If your wallpaper has a medium or dark background color, tint your primer to match the background.
5. Optionally line your walls with blankstock wall liner paper to create a flawless surface. Some wallpaper manufacturers require wall liner. This is like wallpapering twice, but it is worth the extra labor and materials!
5. Caulk baseboards and framing first. Alternately, pre-painted baseboards and framing can be applied after wallpaper, but caulk sealing afterwards isn’t recommended and doesn’t look as good.
6. Paint ceiling, adjacent wall colors, and baseboards first. Leave a 1/4” margin of adjacent colors overlap onto the wall to be papered for best results.
7. It is easier to install wallpaper first before toilets, towel bars, light fixtures and mirrors are installed. Hardware holes can be maintained for reinstallation. Pedestal sinks and most vanities should be installed and caulked.
Other Tips for best results:
Use an online wallpaper calculator to estimate how much you will need. It is recommended to order 10 - 30% extra to allow for uninterrupted strips, especially if you have a pattern repeat over 10 inches or ceilings over 8 feet.
Store your wallpaper in a cool, dry place. Store rolls flat to prevent pressure wrinkles or dents in the end of the roll. Temperatures above 90 degrees upon transport or storage can warp some papers, especially vinyl.
Grasscloth and natural fiber wallpapers may have a “newly-mown hay” smell that goes away after about a week. Some very sensitive people can experience allergies to the grasses – order a sample first to check for sensitivity.
Some vinyl wallpaper can have a “synthetic plastic” smell that also dissipates within a few days. Metallic inks can be acrid smelling at first.
It is best to remove old wallpaper before applying new; but up to two layers are acceptable if the first layer is in sound condition, depending on the paper. Prime over the old wallpaper first for best adhesion and to prevent the pattern showing through.
Some wallpapers are very thin, and will allow any wall markings or patches to show through – even pencil marks! Especially a problem with white wallpapers. Prime walls white first. Never use sharpie to mark your walls under wallpaper, it can bleed through :(
Dark wallpapers can have more apparent seams. If necessary, the seams can be disguised with permanent marker along the edges or watered down acrylic paint to match the color.
Specialty wallpapers take more time to install. Examples are natural fibers, flocked papers, anaglypta, metallic finishes, magnetic overlays, and block prints with untrimmed edges.
Add a clear coat for more durability. Some wallpaper can benefit from adding a clear finish, making it moisture resistant; try a sample first.
Consider the sheen for appropriate placement. Windows and lighting can affect your wallpaper installation in odd ways - observe a sample under different lighting conditions first. Very shiny wallpapers need a super-flat wall underneath for a flawless appearance.
For Wallpaper murals:
1. Order 3 inches extra in all dimensions from your wall measurements.
2. Check with the manufacturing company about installation instructions to match your needs.
- Traditional unpasted: best for long term use, best quality results
- Peel & stick: ok for short term use, some can require to leave overlapped obvious seams, mediocre results
- Tape tab installation: not recommended
- Exterior murals: This is possible! Check the manufacturer for different installation methods
3. For photo murals, choose a very high resolution photo. Low resolution will result in an unsatisfactory pixellated look when viewed close-up. Be cautious with altering photo dimensions to fit your space; sometimes those alterations look ok as a proof, but look terrible once installed! These are common complaints with my clients who order online. Inspect your proofs before ordering, and the mural when you receive it before scheduling installation.
Ordering Wallpaper Online:
1. Whenever possible, get a physical sample to see what the color and pattern size looks like in your space. Online photos can be deceptive about how your final result will appear.
2. Use caution when ordering artist-made papers from sites like Etsy. These can be printed on simple thick printer paper, and are not washable or durable like a commercially produced paper. One solution is to seal your installed wallpaper with a matte clear finish afterwards. The peel-and-stick wallpaper can also have a very strong vinyl plastic odor for a few days; but it is made to be more washable than the traditional paper. Peel-and-stick is less expensive, but made to be temporary; you get what you pay for!
3. Magnetic wallpaper systems take extra days to install and dry. Sealing and curing the final coat is imperative before using magnetic overlays. For examples, check out:
www.sianzeng.com - fine English wallpaper with kid’s room designs
www.magscapes.com - supplier of magnetic wall liner for commercial spaces
About Grasscloth and Natural Fibers:
1. Grasscloth and silk wallpaper can vary greatly within the same roll in pattern, texture and color. Seams are thereby impossible to match – expect that you will see prominent seams, and most people like the natural look.
2. Natural mica paper is spectacular, but also has obvious seams. Creative seaming with curves or patterns can be a good solution; factor in extra material and labor. The results are worth it!
3. All wallpapers in natural fibers such as cork, silk, linen, grasscloth, and mica minerals are inherently fragile and not recommended for bathrooms, kitchens, or high-traffic areas. Some papers can be improved with a clear sealant, but sometimes the clear sealant can dull the dramatic effects – test first.
Handmade Wallpaper:
Artist made, uniquely created wallpaper is a beautiful investment. Like natural fibers, sometimes seams are more visible. Another opportunity for creative seaming, like in a diamond pattern, can make creative layouts.
See Vahallan Wallcoverings or Studio E Inc. for contemporary and custom handmade artist wallcoverings.
Traditional Block-printed Wallpaper:
For historical renovation or those who love traditional artist-created patterns, these papers usually require more planning for layout and careful installation. Lining with blankstock wall liner paper is usually recommended before installation. A few examples:
Bradbury and Bradbury Art Wallpapers: http://www.bradbury.com/
C.F.A. Voysey Heritage Wallpapers: http://www.finestwallpaper.com/
House of Scalamandre: http://www.scalamandre.com/
Kelly Wearstler Modern: https://www.kellywearstler.com/wallpaper-1-1
Peter Dunham: https://peterdunhamtextiles.com/collections/all-wallpapers
Andy Warhol prints: http://www.flavorpaper.com/