How to select and install the right wallpaper

Wallpaper is a great way to add fresh style to any room, and putting up wallpaper is a relatively easy home improvement task. If you're considering selling your home, think about putting up new wallpaper, along with a clean report from a home inspection company - it's a simple way to make your home more appealing to buyers. While wallpapering is not particularly difficult, it does require patience and preparation. Rather than allowing the process to overwhelm you, follow these tips to ensure a smooth process as you makeover your home. 

Pick the right type

While it might seem that all wallpaper is the same, a quick visit to the store will demonstrate otherwise. It's easy to get lost in a sea of paper types, so keep the specific needs of your room in mind. For instance, if you plan to install wallpaper in a kitchen, bathroom or a space frequented by children, you may want to consider vinyl coated options which can be easily sponged off and will resist staining. Certain paper types are thicker and embossed, which can add a textural element to your room's appearance. Vinyl and embossed papers are considered standard wallpaper types, and there are more adventurous options available. 

If you want to make your room even more unique, investigate foil or cloth wallpapers. These surfaces are either reflective or deeply textured and incredibly stylish when used in the right space. Unfortunately, they are also much more difficult to hang than standard papers and may require the use of special glues. If you are interested in these types of paper and haven't hung wallpaper before, it might be best to contact a professional who can show you how to get everything lined up properly. 

Prepare your walls

Before you actually begin hanging the new paper, you'll need to ensure your walls are ready to guarantee solid adhesion. You cannot hang wallpaper on top of existing wallpaper, so you'll need to remove any current wall coverings. This is a time-consuming process, but it's not difficult. Simply soak the existing paper to loosen its paste and scrape it off the wall. 

Once your walls are paper free, you'll want to patch any dents or holes in the drywall and then apply a new coat of paint. This step might seem unnecessary, but it can help to guarantee the longevity of your new wallpaper. A fresh paint job will provide a consistent surface for the new paper to stick to and make the final product look more even. 

Finally, measure your walls. This is a critical step and is especially necessary if you are using a heavily patterned wallpaper that will have to line up between different rolls. Make sure your measurements account for any variations in ceiling height. 

Hang the paper

Now that you've prepped the walls and gotten the perfect paper, it's time to actually put it up. This is a slow process, but it is worth taking the time to get your room looking its best. 

Before you start to stick the paper to the wall, be sure to check every spot where a seam will meet and make sure that you can line up the pattern in your paper to hide seams as much as possible. The best way to do this is to work from the inside out. Find the center of each wall in your room and use that as a seam, aligning the paper on either side. Then, maintain the pattern as you move into the room's corners. 

Follow the hanging instructions for your specific type of paper. Many papers are pre-pasted, which means you just need to add water to make them sticky.