Wife asked me to paper a single accent wall in our powder room. A few supplies and some DIY videos later and here is the end result. I feel like the pattern matching at the seams isn't quite right, but maybe it's normal? I didnt overlap the paper and instead tried to butt the edges against eachother. Am I over thinking it?
by Dustbustin
4 Comments
You technically should overlap them so the patterns match but a guest using the bathroom won’t notice or care. If they do, f em!
This looks really nice. I’ve seen professionals do a worse job so I think you should be proud.
Well done, looks lovely.
You did an okay job for a first timer.
It appears your walls had some texture. That can make wallpaper difficult to do. Some tips for you:
I paint the wall the background color of the paper if it isn’t already fairly close.
With textured or uneven walls I often do a skim coat to smooth the wall beforehand. The last job I did, the wallpaper was almost $400 a roll, so it was worth the extra step to me.
I do not overlap paper, except in corners. I am also careful to not overwork or stretch it because as it dries it can shrink. Much depends on the quality of the paper. My expensive paper was quite thick and did not shrink, so unless the wall bowed out a bit, I could press seams together. I use a special roller at those seams to get them down tight to the wall. Be gentle though. Don’t leave marks with the edge rollers.
Most quality wallpapers are not designed to be overlapped; patterns won’t match well if you do that, and the bump. Pros would only do that with very thin papers where they have little choice for other reasons.
You definitely didn’t match the patterns well here, sorry. When walls are uneven I tend to get the match right at eye level, at least. If something will be off, I’d rather it be high or low on wall.
With most papers these days we paste the wall, not the paper. This is so much more DIY friendly. Anyone doing wallpaper for first time should be sure to use that kind.
But overall… not at all bad for a first time! I’m sure any issues won’t be noticed.