How to Hang Wallpaper with Paste (Step by Step)

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I recently gave my daughter’s room a little makeover. She has been asking for a pink room with a rainbow for months!

I finally painted it pink last month. Then Photowall asked if I’d like to try one of their beautiful wallpapers, and I said, “Yes!”

There were several rainbows to choose from, and I let my daughter pick the one she wanted. The one she picked had a sun in it as well which was super important to her.

Once the wallpaper arrived, I have to be honest: I was a little nervous! Wallpapering with paste seemed a bit intimidating.

However once I got started, I realized it actually wasn’t that hard at all. Actually, it was a lot of fun and only took a couple of hours from start to finish.

Now that the wallpaper is up, I’m so happy I did it!

Supplies for Hanging Wallpaper with Paste

My wallpaper hanging kit came from Photowall which was super convenient. However you can still purchase these items if you don’t have them already.

• wallpaper

• scissors

• paste

• lukewarm water

• bucket

• roller

• measuring stick

• pencil

• straight edge

• brush

• wallpaper smoother
• razor blade
• dampe sponge or rag

How to Hang Wallpaper with Paste

1. Prepare the wall.

Remove any old wallpaper pieces or chipping paint. You may need to paint a layer of primer to smooth out the surface.

However, if you’re simply applying the wallpaper to a smooth surface, simply wipe the wall clean.

2. Cut the wallpaper into strips.

The wallpaper I was using from Photowall was clearly marked for cutting which was super convenient!

If your wallpaper is not marked, you’ll need to measure the length of your wall from ceiling to floor and add a little extra.

3. Prepare the paste.

Follow the directions for preparing the paste. Here are the directions I used.

1. Add 1 gallon of lukewarm water to a bucket.
2. Pour in the paste powder and stir quickly.
3. Allow the paste to sit and thicken for 5 minutes.
4. After 5 minutes has passed, stir the paste again.

3. Measure the width of the first strip of wallpaper.

It’s so important to get that first strip of wallpaper correct. First, measure the width of your wallpaper. Mine was 17 3/4 inches.

Then I measured 17 3/4 inches out from the corner of the wall many times from the ceiling to the floor. After that I used a straight edge to connect the lines and create one long line.

This line was the guide for lining up my wallpaper.

4. Apply the paste with a brush.

You could apply the paste to the back of the wallpaper if you have enough surface area to do that. I did not, however, I wish I was able to apply the paste directly to the wallpaper and would recommend doing it that way.

If you don’t have the space to brush the paste to the back of the wallpaper, you’ll need to simply brush the wall.

Only brush enough to cover about one strip of wallpaper at a time. you don’t want the paste to dry on you.

You’ll want to add a smooth layer, not too thin and not too thick.

Be sure to get all of the corners and edges. These spots are easy to miss, but super important.

5. Place your wallpaper over the paste.

Line up the edge of the wallpaper with the line you created earlier. The wallpaper will move around a bit as you adjust it to the wall. It is pretty forgiving.

6. Smooth out air bubbles.

I used a small plastic roller which came with the kit from Photowall to smooth out the edges of the wallpaper.

Then I used the brush to smooth out the bubbles. Lastly, I used the flat edge to press the wallpaper securely to the wall.

7. Trim off excess wallpaper.

Once the wallpaper is pressed firmly to the wall, create a crease to the edges and corners.

I found that simply using my fingernail to crease the wallpaper worked the best. Then using a razor edge, trim the excess wallpaper off.

Using a straight edge will also help create a straight cut.

7. Wipe off extra paste.

Once the wallpaper is in place, use a damp rag or sponge to wipe away any paste that has seeped through the wallpaper panels.

After that you are done!

We are super happy with the way this wallpaper turned out. It was much easier than I thought it would be as well.

So if you’ve been wanting to give wallpaper a try, I say go for it!

Thank you to Photowall for providing me with this beautiful wallpaper.

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