Wallpapering a Feature Wall
There are many homes with wallpapers but not a lot would wallpaper just an accent wall. If you’re one of these few homeowners who want to create a stunning wall with the use of a simple design element, then you’ve chosen wisely.
Wallpapering is the non-committal kind of wall, it makes you able to decide on whether to repaint or just maintain the current wall color that you have. Wallpapering is also a simple redesigning project, one that even an inexperienced person could do.
There is now a wide variety of wallpaper colors, patterns, and textures. There are literally thousands upon thousands of them so you won’t have to worry that your living room would become the exact replica of your grandma’s floral-patterned living room walls.
Here are the steps to adding a bit of color in your home by wallpapering a feature wall –
Gather the Right Tools
Here are the tools and supplies that you would need –
- A roller brush
- Wallpaper rolls
- Wallpaper paste
- Smoothing brush
- Sponge
- Craft knife
- Scissors
- Plumb line or a spirit level
Prep the Walls
Make sure that the walls are all clean. Use a damp sponge to wash off the dirt and dust gently. If the walls have wax or grease on them, then you might want to wash them with a vinegar solution first. A sugar soap solution would also be a good alternative.
As soon as the walls are already clean, allow them to dry before you begin the wallpapering task.
It’s Time to Wallpaper ‘Em
First, begin by measuring to the center of your feature wall. As soon as you get the precise measurement, divide the width of your wallpaper into two. Mark the middle point of both the wall and the wallpaper.
Use the level to intersect with the marking. This is the place where you should align the wallpaper edge. Make sure that the edges are straight and that the wallpaper is still at the center of the wall.
Using a roller, apply the right amount of wallpaper paste where the wallpaper will be installed. Don’t apply paste to the whole wall as it will dry up before you are even able to set up the entire wallpaper.
The trick is to do it one step at a time. Have each section of the wall covered with ample paste. Overlap the roll to the top part of your feature wall by a few inches. This ensures that when the wall isn’t straight, that you won’t have any problem installing the rest of the wallpaper.
Unroll only a foot at a time then smoothen the wallpaper as you go. Do this from top to bottom, checking for bubbles as you go along. If bubbles do begin to form, then push them out using the smoothing brush.
Continue unrolling and smoothing as you go. Do this until you reach the bottom. And, again, at the very end, be sure to leave a few inches on the edge so that you will have enough wallpaper to work with all throughout.
As you move to the next roll (you will definitely use more than one), you may want to check the pattern lines so that they coincide with the part where you left off. You may need to cut a part of the current roll so that it will look great with the initial roll.
Of course, you need to smoothen the part where the papers meet so that bubbles won’t make the fused edges obvious. Trim away any excess wallpaper as soon as the rolled out papers dry up.
And there you have it – say hello to your beautiful wallpapered feature wall.