How to Put Up a Wallpaper Border
Walls, whether painted or covered with wallpaper, can still seem boring and plain. Some home owners feel like adding a little more stylish flair to their surfaces. To enhance their wall’s look, they put up a lovely wallpaper border around. If you want to have this kind of home interior design, you can easily ask experts to help you out, but if you want to do it yourself, here’s how to put up a wallpaper border.
What You’ll Need:
Border paper
Scissors
Measuring tape
Utility knife
Straight edge
Paste-activating adhesive (to be used if you’re applying the border on top of the wallpaper)
Long table or a plywood sheet and two sawhorses
Sponge
Wallpaper tray or bucket
Procedure:
Measure the walls where you plan to put the borders on. This will help you determine how much border paper to get. Make sure you subtract the doors and windows from your measurement. You can also buy additional border paper, if you want matching patterns.
Clean the walls thoroughly, before you begin the process.
Many wallpaper borders sold today are self-pasting types. If you’re putting yours on a painted wall, all you need to have is the paste on the wallpaper. On the other hand, for a border that’s to be placed on top of a wallpaper, just use your paste-activating adhesive, insuring a stronger bond.
If you’re putting the wallpaper border on a painted wall, here’s what you should do: get the wallpaper tray or bucket and fill it with water. Very carefully, re-roll the wallpaper border, with its self-pasted side on the outside. Afterwards, submerge it in water. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions properly. Let this soak for the recommended amount of time, or until the pasted side is completely wet.
If the border is to be placed on wallpaper, just unroll the wallpaper, the design side facing down. Brush on it the paste-activating gel.
You must now “book” the wallpaper border. Booking it helps activate its pate. Unroll the paper over the table, folding in a loose accordion style. You must let the pasted side face inwards. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions on how long to book the wallpaper. Also, make sure you don’t crease the paper.
You can now start putting up the wallpaper border. Begin in an inconspicuous part of the room, beginning at least half an inch from the corner. Apply the wallpaper on the corner and to the wall, unfolding as you go. To remove the creases and bubbles and smooth the wallpaper, use the sponge. You can also use this when cleaning up excess glue.
When you reach the end of a piece, get another, but make sure you pick one that matches the design of the previous piece. To draw a cutting line, use a straightedge, then cut with a utility knife or scissors.
When you’ve applied the wallpaper around the room, and back to the first corner, glue the paper right up to where you began, and cover its overlap.
It’s easy to vamp up a plain wall, as long as you know how to put up a wallpaper border properly. Just follow these simple steps, and you’ll add a stylish appeal to your once-boring home space.