The first time I gave a wallpapering demonstration, my knees were knocking together and my hands were trembling as violently as my aging grandfathers. I was standing before a class of peers in my college speech class, and my "wall" was a refrigerator box!

Speaking to an audience will never be my forte. Wallpapering, however, is an experience not to be feared. You can beautify any room in your home or office, simply by applying wallpaper. It is easy to do, and the results are always magnificent!

Before you jump in with both feet, however, you do need to know a few basics about how to wallpaper.

Preparing Your Walls

Wallpapering over painted walls:

Clean walls are a necessity. Use a mild cleaner to wipe the walls down with a damp cloth. In the kitchen, especially clean walls near the oven to remove any grease.

Fill in any holes or dings with spackling and allow it to dry.

If paint is loose, use a paint scraper to remove those areas.

If flat paint was used, and is in good condition, no further preparation is needed.

If painted walls are shiny with glossy enamel or oil based paint, you can either roughen it up with sandpaper or apply a coat of wallpaper primer.

If the wall is slightly bumpy and textured, you can either sand it down or use a wallpaper liner. The liner looks like a roll of stiff interfacing and is applied to the walls with a special adhesive that is painted directly onto your wall. The liner lessens the bumpy appearance of your walls.

Water stains and smoke stains cause headaches whether you choose to paint or wallpaper. If the water stain is old and dry, youll need to apply a primer/sealer that prevents stains from bleeding through. If anyone has smoked in your home, you may notice a yellow film on your walls. If not thoroughly cleaned or painted over with a wallpaper primer/sealer, the nicotine stains could cause problems with your wallpaper adhering to the walls.

Removing Old Wallpaper:

While it is possible to paper right over existing wallpaper, please realize that your newly-papered walls will not have a sleek, smooth appearance if there are several old layers of wallpaper underneath. Every seam and bump will show through.

If the old wallpaper is loose anywhere, or if there are several old layers of wallpaper, you probably need to remove it all.

Sometimes, especially if the old wallpaper is a heavy vinyl, you get lucky and can strip the dry wallpaper off by loosening from the ceiling and pulling gently downward.

In my experience, however, removing several layers of wallpaper can be a real chore. You can rent a wallpaper steamer from your wallpaper store and use a paint scraper to scrape away the old wallpaper. If the old paper isnt very porous, you may have to roughen it up or etch the surface so that the hot steam can penetrate adequately. This can be hot, tedious work, but is so rewarding when you see the naked walls ready for your designing touch.

Chemical wallpaper strippers are also available at wallpapering supply stores.

Wallpapering over wood paneling:

The previous owners of our home were sorely lacking in creativity. A cheap wood paneling covered one kitchen wall and a thickly textured paneling ran halfway up the family room walls. 'Twas not my idea of "pretty". I wanted to lighten up both rooms. The family room took 2 coats of stainkiller and 3 thick coats of paint to camouflage that oppressively dark, textured paneling. But my heart was set on light, airy wallpaper for the kitchen.

When we wallpapered the kitchen, we did not want to rip off the paneling for fear that a more costly remodeling job might lie beneath. But three beautifully-papered walls with a fourth unsightly wall was simply not the kitchen of my dreams. So we explored the possibility of wallpapering right over the wood paneling.

Luckily the research informed me that wood paneling has usually been stained or treated, and would soon bleed through my new wallpaper. So let me pass along this simple little secret for papering over paneling.

Youll need to paint the paneling thoroughly with a stain-preventing primer/sealer. Then, if there are grooves in the paneling, fill them with spackling and let it dry thoroughly. And lastly, apply a wallpaper liner over the paneling to smooth out the grooves.

ESTIMATE HOW MUCH WALLPAPER TO BUY

Save yourself time and headaches. My recommendation is that you

Measure your room and take these measurements with you to the wallpaper store.

_____Length of room

_____Width of room

_____Height of walls

_____Number of doorways

_____Number of windows

Remember to describe any unusual features of the room (partial paneling, cathedral ceiling, etc).

If the clerk has been in the wallpaper business very long at all, he or she will be able to use your correct measurements to rapidly calculate how many rolls (or double rolls) your wallpapering project will need.

She will also be able to look at the specific wallpaper you have chosen and make allowances for any additional yardage you will need for matching a pattern. It is so much easier to have it figured for you, and calculating wallpaper needs is her daily job!

The clerk will also be able to suggest what type of wallpaper paste is best for that particular wallpaper, and to calculate how much paste you will need. Save your receipt and any unopened wallpaper rolls or paste can be returned for a refund.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Table to paste on
Stepladder
Large paintbrush or pasting brush
Large bowl or pan for the paste
Paperhanging brush
Large sponge or washcloth
Trimming utility knife with sharp blades
Metal yardstick
Tape measure
Pencil
Scissors
Plumbline

Are you ready to wallpaper now?

How to Make a Plumb Line

Use a 4-5 foot string and tie a small weight (a bolt or pencil) to one end. Tie the other end to a small tack or nail. Attach the tack to the wall near the ceiling and let the string hang freely. Gravity will give you a straight line to guide your placement of the first strip of wallpaper. Older homes have settled and moved quite a bit. But even walls in a new home are rarely straight.

How to Hang Wallpaper Like a Pro

First strip:

Start the wallpaper against an inconspicuous corner or doorway. Hang a plumb line approximately 1/8 from the right side of where the first strip will be placed. Measure from ceiling to floor and add another 3 to allow for wall imperfections. Unroll the wallpaper on a table, measure it, and use a yardstick to draw a straight line across back side of paper. Cut and reroll the strip of wallpaper in reverse (wrong-side out) to lessen the papers curling.

For pre-pasted wallpaper:

Completely submerge rolled-up strip of wallpaper in lukewarm tray of water for 15 seconds. Fold one end of the pasted side to the middle, Do the same with the opposite end, so that the two ends are touching. Loosely roll the strip and leave it alone to set up for 5 minutes. Then hang immediately, beginning from the ceiling.

My own recommendations for pre-pasted or nonpasted wallpaper:

Mix wallpaper paste as directed on label. Turn the cut strip of wallpaper wrong-side up on table. Apply paste using a large paintbrush. Make sure you cover every square inch of the back side of the wallpaper strip. Especially make sure the edges are pasted. If you leave a tiny spot anywhere unpasted, it will bubble up when drying on the wall. Spread the paste smoothly and evenly with the paintbrush.

Fold one end of the pasted side to the middle (pasted sides together). Do the same with the opposite end, so that the two ends are touching in the middle. Loosely roll the strip and leave it alone so that the paper has time to expand for 5 minutes. Then hang the strip immediately, beginning from the ceiling.

Hang first strip against the corner where youve chosen to begin. Leave 1 allowance at the ceiling. Use the plumb line to insure a straight edge--because chances are, your walls are NOT straight! Start by laying the pasted side against the prepared wall at the ceiling and stroke with the wallpaper brush from center to outward edges, working your way down toward the floor, gently brushing out air bubbles and excess paste.

Use a clean, damp cloth to wipe off any excess glue from the edges. Also, use wet cloth to wipe the table top after pasting and hanging each strip.

If the wallpaper starts going crooked, just peel it off gently to where the problem begins, and start again. If any edges have dried and are not sticking to the wall, use the pasting brush to touch it up now.

Unpatterned paper:

Moving clockwise around the room, measure the next strip of wallpaper (remember the 3 allowance for ceiling and floor). Follow the steps above for each strip.

Patterned paper:

Holding the uncut roll near the ceiling, match the pattern and determine how much excess will need trimmed from the top. Remember to leave that 1 allowance at the top as you cut. Then proceed as in step 1. You will have to match the pattern like this for each strip of wallpaper.

Cutting around doorways and windows work the same way--but you will have to use scissors to trim as you hang those strips. These pieces require more time and careful measuring.

If you decide to finish trimming edges with a utility knife while the wallpaper is still wet, use a sharp blade and a straight edge yardstick as a cutting guide. If the paper starts to wrinkle or tear, either use sharp scissors or brush it back in place and wait 6-8 hours until the paper is fairly dry.

Use extreme caution when papering around electrical outlets or fixtures! Turn electricity off at the breaker box. Remove outlet cover or light fixture plate. When you have hung that strip of wallpaper, immediately cut out the needed hole using scissors. Then adjust the wallpaper strip on the wall.

Corners:

Walls are always moving and settling. It is recommended that when you reach a corner, you will cut the wallpaper strip vertically and paste it to the two joining walls in two parts. If you just curl it around the corner, the wallpaper will pucker and wrinkle badly as the days and months go by.

Hanging a Wallpaper Border

Borders can be applied to the top of the wall with ease! They can also break up a humdrum wall like a chair rail, but for much less expense. I like to cut my borders into 8-foot strips, because it is easier to handle in smaller strips.

Use the same steps above, as far as pasting and applying the border.

If you apply border on top of vinyl wallpaper, experts advise you to use vinyl-to-vinyl adhesive.

If you wallpaper in a bathroom that is not vented, I advise you not to use wallpaper border on vinyl wallpaper. The border eventually curls up.

Be creative--use borders in kids' rooms, under shelves, around a window, or as a chair rail. You can dress up a room by putting the border at the top of the wall or be different and apply it down by the baseboard.

You really can wallpaper like a pro! Each room you tackle gives you more experience and a greater feeling of satisfaction. Your house will be much more comfortable as it begins to take on your personality.