How to Hang Wallpaper with Paste

This post is sponsored by Photowall.

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Wallpaper–the real stuff–has always scared me. I’ve heard horror stories from my parents about unruly rolls and messy paste and never getting the pattern lined up just so.

But, I LOVE the look of it when done well. There’s no other way to get such beautiful patterns on your walls.

And after finally trying it out for myself with Photowall’s wallpaper in my cloffice, I have to say, they make installing wallpaper with paste one of the easiest projects I’ve tackled! Let me show you how to hang wallpaper with paste with zero mess or misaligned patterns.

An Easy Way to Get a Custom Look

When I embarked on creating a cloffice in our guest room, I wanted something bold. Of course, wallpaper entered my mind. But, I had just installed peel and stick wallpaper and wanted to try something different.

I was intrigued by the idea of real wallpaper and had seen a friend post about how easy her wall mural from Photowall was, so I decided to check it out.

I scoured their website for the right choice for my cloffice (they have so many options, from minimalist and neutral to bright and bold), I finally settled on . . . .

. . . wait for it. . . .

. . . Afternoon Breasts.

Yes. That is the name of the pattern. I couldn’t stop laughing when I chose it. But, it was the perfect fit. The blues and teals and lavender are colors that speak to me, so it felt like the right choice for my space.

All Photowall’s products are made to order in Sweden, so I expected it to take a few weeks for shipping: nope! My wallpaper arrived at my doorstep less than a week after I ordered it!

After I settled on a design for my built-ins, I order my wallpaper install supplies and got to work.

Supplies Needed

Of course you need some wallpaper to start. I loved all the choices at Photowall, even if you’re looking for something a little bit different than mine. You can choose from hundreds of wallpapers, murals, and even upload your own image to be printed. After that, you just need to grab a few more things for the install:

• Bucket (to mix paste in)
• 1 gallon lukewarm water
• Something to stir the paste with–I used a wooden paint stirrer
• Foam roller and tray or wallpaper paste brush
• Scissors
• Razor
• Seam roller
• Large sponge
• Wallpaper smoothing brush or smoothing tool
• Paint trim guard
• Large level
• Step stool

I had the bucket, scissors, razor, step stool, and level, so all in the supplies to install cost me about $30. Amazon makes a kit with a bunch of the supplies here–I ordered it but it arrived too late for me to use it, so I can’t speak to the quality of the items, but I love when things come bundled together.

Ok, ready to learn how to hang wallpaper with paste? Let’s go!

Step 1: Prep Your Wall(s)

First step is to make sure your walls are ready for wallpaper. Patch any holes. Clean off any dust and dirt.

I had a few holes to spackle after removing the old wire shelving system that was in place in the closet, but otherwise, that was it.

A few more tips:

If you’re applying a light colored wallpaper to a wall painted a dark color, you should prime your wall with a primer or lighter paint color, so the wall color doesn’t show through under your wallpaper.

And, if you’ve recently painted make sure to check with your wallpaper manufacturer’s guidelines are on when it’s safe to apply paint.

Step 2: Prep Your Supplies

Next up in how to hang wallpaper with paste (and any project lol): prep your supplies. I made sure I had everything in the room where I was hanging the wallpaper.

Then, if you’re using Photowall’s wallpaper, you’re going to want to go ahead and cut your wallpaper into the marked panels. This made the wallpaper oh so-much-easier to install, so you weren’t wrangling a roll of paper while hanging it.

And, there’s no worry if the pattern is going to align right. Photowall cuts the panels so the patterns align just so.

Mine was 5 panels in length and you can see in pictures how clearly numbered they are. I left the numbers on until I was hanging each individual piece, so I didn’t get them mixed up.

Step 3: Mark Your Level Line for the First Piece

You’re almost ready to install your wallpaper with paste, but to make sure the pattern works perfectly, you want to have the first piece level.

To do this, use your large level and mark a level line with your pencil on the wall. You’ll want to draw the line so the end will line up with your first piece of wallpaper.

So, the easiest way to do this is to subtract 1″ from the width of your wallpaper (this allows for a little overhang on the corner side, which you’ll trim later). And then, measure that distance from the left corner of your wall (since we’ll be working left to right). Then mark the level line all the way up and down.

You’ll be covering over it, so don’t stress about drawing the line from top to bottom.

And, don’t worry about marking a level line for the other pieces. After the first piece, you’re just going to match the other pieces to the previous one.

Tip: If you’re going to be installing any shelving where you need to know where the studs are into your wallpapered wall, go ahead and mark them now too. That way you reduce the risk of making too many marks on your new pretty wallpaper.

I marked all the studs with pencil on the wall, then transferred those marks with painters tape on the floor molding.

Step 4: Mix the Paste

Ok, it’s time to get started!

Follow the instructions for mixing your paste according to your instructions.

If you’re using Photowall’s paste, add 1 gallon of water (128oz) to your paste and mix well. Once it’s well mixed, let it sit for 5 minutes. You’ll see it get really thick, which is exactly what you want.

Tip: My bucket didn’t have a gallon mark, but I happened to have any empty milk gallon container, so I used that for an easy way to measure out how much water I needed for the paste.

Step 5: Apply the Paste to the Wall

Pour some of the paste into your roller tray, and roll the paste on the wall with your foam roller, starting on the left side of your wall. Make sure you apply a decent amount–not so thin that the wallpaper won’t stick to the wall, but not so much that it’s gloopy and falling off the wall.

Apply a little bit more than the size of your wallpaper, and don’t stress about putting it on more of the wall than you need. You can always add more paste over it for the next strip.

Step 6: Apply Your First Panel

Now you’re ready to hang your first piece of wallpaper with paste! Using your level line as a guide, press the first piece of wallpaper onto the wall.

You’ll want it to overlap a little at the top, on the corner (if there is one) and on the bottom. (This will allow for any give in your wall–no walls are perfectly straight, even if you’re home is newly built like ours. And, you’ll trim the paper to a nice crisp line at the end).

Once you press it all up, you’ll want to work out any bubbles in the piece. To do that, starting the middle of the piece and use your smoothing tool or a clean wallpaper brush to push any bubbles out to the sides. Work your way up the piece to the ceiling and down the piece to the floor molding.

And last step for this piece, use a barely damp sponge and clean off any paste that may have gotten on the wallpaper. It’s super easy to clean off now, but will be visible on the wallpaper when it dries.

That’s it–first piece done!

Step 7: Apply The Rest of the Panels

Now you’ll follow the same process with the rest of the pieces, with a few small differences.

Instead of lining up to the level line, you’ll line the next piece up so your pattern matches up together.

Do not overlap the wallpaper pieces. Instead, apply the next piece and press the edges up directly against each other.

And then, use your seam roller to run up and down the seam to ensure it seals well.

Repeat this process until you’ve hung all your wallpaper.

Tip: If you only have a little bit of wall to cover with your last piece, go ahead and trim that piece down before applying it to the wall (leaving a few inches of overhang for the corner). It makes it a lot more manageable when trying to hang it in the corner.

Step 8: Trim the Excess

Once you’ve applied all your wallpaper, you have just one step left and then you’re done!

Taking your razor and paint trim guard, trim the edges of your wallpaper along the edges of your wall. I started with the ceiling, then did the corners, then the floor trim, but I don’t know that the order matters.

Once I had everything trimmed, I looked closely over the wall to make sure I hadn’t missed any paste on the wallpaper or the wall, and if I found any, wiped it up with my sponge.

And, That’s It!

How easy was that?! You just learned how to hang wallpaper with paste and did it with ease!

Honestly, once I started prepping the supplies, my 8 foot wall took me about an hour and a half to complete, from start to finish.

The quality of wallpaper from Photowall, and their easy-to-follow numbering system system for the panels, made this wallpaper with paste install super easy!

I would 100% do this project again (and am maybe already brainstorming my next project with wallpaper).

Tell me in the comments below–have you installed wallpaper with paste recently? How was your experience? Any tips I left out?

Have Questions? Looking for More DIY Projects?

Check out our posts How to Apply Removable Wallpaper and Installing Board and Batten Without Removing Your Baseboards!

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