ArticlesHow to install your diy floral wallpaper

How to install your diy floral wallpaper

Floral wallpaper has become quite the craze, with more homeowners leaning on its soft yet elegant touch. After all, who would not appreciate bringing floral beauty indoors? It imparts calmness, beauty, and radiance in any space, making it feel and look relaxing. So, floral wallpaper will always come through, whether you are touching up your living room or giving your kitchen a facelift. 

Now, the work comes in when installing the wallpaper, as you must ensure that the work is impeccable. The good thing with wallpaper removable is that you do not have to ask a professional installer to do the job. All you need is to gather the required materials and rely on a few basic steps, as we will outline below. Let’s get started:

How to Install DIY Floral Wallpaper

DIY wallpaper is unlike the wallpaper that we used back in the day. You don’t need to create a paste or spend hours trying to glue the wallpaper on the wall. Instead, the wallpaper features an adhesive backing that allows you to stick the paper directly on the wall. Once you peel off the backing, your work is as good as halfway done. Now, here is how you can ensure that the installation looks and feels professional:

Step 1: Prepping the Walls

At this point, we will assume that you have chosen the best floral wallpaper for your home based on your aesthetic and functional needs. Given that the wall constitutes the foundation for the wallpaper, you must ensure that it is well-prepped for the paper. But how? Wallpaper adheres best to walls with semi-gloss, satin, or eggshell finishes. It’s always better to check what the manufacturer advises to avoid trying to install the paper on an unsuitable surface. Also, check if you need to acclimate the wallpaper to your environment to give it time before installing it.

To prep the walls, you must switch off the power and remove all the light switch plates and outlet covers. You will reinstall them once you have installed the paper. Gather the following materials to help you with both prepping the walls and installing the paper:

  • A sponge or soft cloth,
  • A mild cleaning solution,
  • A pencil,
  • A measuring tape, 
  • A straightedge,
  • A wallpaper, 
  • A smoothing tool (preferably plastic), and
  • A utility knife.

Dip the sponge or cloth into the cleaning solution and gently wipe the wall. Ensure that the solution and cloth are not abrasive to avoid stripping the wall of its texture or paint. Once you have cleaned and rinsed the wall surface, leave it to dry for at least 24 hours. Otherwise, the water could seep into the wallpaper, resulting in bubbles or misalignment. Please note that for freshly painted walls, you should allow the paint to dry for at least 30 days. 

Step 2: Guiding the Installation

Take out your wallpaper without removing its backing and measure its width using the measuring tape. Now take your pencil and, using a straightedge and level, draw a line from the ceiling to where you would like to cover. Ensure that you make markings along the line to help you gauge if the paper is in a straight line. Double check the markings.

Step 3: Installing the Wallpaper

You are now about to install the wallpaper- see how fast that was? When applying the wallpaper, do not peel it off at once. Doing so can cause warping, and you would have quite a mess to deal with, resulting in delays and even wastage. Instead, peel off about twelve inches (30 centimeters) of the backing and start applying the wallpaper from top to bottom. As you apply the wallpaper, press it against the wall and smoothen it. After you are done with the first twelve inches and everything looks smooth, proceed to the next twelve inches, following the same procedure. Use the smoothing tool to stroke the paper downwards to ensure it lies flat on the wall by removing the air bubbles. When the paper lies on the wall, use the straightedge and knife to cut along the outline and remove any excess paper to achieve a clean finish. You have now completed the first installation.

Step 4: Laying the Subsequent Papers

Once you have successfully installed one paper, the rest should come easy. However, you should ensure that the subsequent papers match the original one to create a sense of seamlessness. So, how do you do this? By using matching patterns. When using wallpapers with the same designs, the patterns will overlap, and you can use this to your advantage. This way, instead of placing the papers side by side, you can overlap the original one with a bit of the second one. Ensure that you smooth it over, so it lies as flat as possible on the other paper and the wall. You can then trim the excess and keep doing this for all the papers. Be patient and trust the process.

Step 5: Dealing with Openings and Protrusions

What do you do when installing paper around a power outlet or a window? You act like it does not exist and overlap it with the paper. Once you have smoothed the paper and it sits flat on the wall, you can use the utility knife and the straightedge to trim around the protrusion or opening. Then you can remove what lies on or inside the barrier to give you a nice finish. Once you install your switch plates and outlet covers, nobody will be the wiser about the apparent difference between the paper and the openings. It will be like what you see when you paint a room- everything seems to fall into place.

Step 6: Eliminating Air Bubbles

One common reason people hire professionals is to avoid the unsightly appearance of air bubbles trapped in the paper. By installing the wallpaper twelve inches at a time, you should avoid this nuisance. But if it resents itself, use a pin to pop the air bubbles and press down on the paper using the smoothing tool. That should get rid of any bubbles left inside the paper.

Now that you have these skills, you will hardly need to call a professional to install the wallpaper because you will be a pro at it. All the best!

Heather Jones
Heather Jones
Hello! I'm Heather Jones, a dedicated writer and expert in the fields of DIY projects, home improvement, and emergency preparedness. With over 15 years of hands-on experience, I'm committed to sharing practical tips and tricks to help you make the most out of your home and life.

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