Installing Your Mural

Wallpaper Mural Hanging Instructions

In the interests of providing plenty of information about installing your mural, the method for hanging the wallpaper is written in some detail here, and draws upon my own personal knowledge and experience as a professional decorator. Although it's not essential that you follow these steps exactly, keeping to them will give excellent results. It's really quite easy once you start, it just takes a little patience, but if you aren't feeling all that confident, you can employ a decorator and it should take them about half an hour to hang the paper. Do allow more time however if extra wall preparation is needed. If you have any more questions about the process, or anything else you would like to know, please use the "Contact Us" form.

1. CHECKING
When your wallpaper arrives, check each piece to ensure that all rolls are in good condition. Each sheet of wallpaper is checked before sending so they should arrive in perfect condition. Layout your mural to ensure that you are happy with the print and colour match and that it fits together correctly. We do not offer exchanges or refunds once you have hung any part of your mural.

2. PREPARATION
Walls should be clean, firm, dry and smooth.
New Plaster should be sealed, sized, and cross lined with a good quality lining paper, then paint with your choice of colour. Old walls should be made good.

3. POSITIONING
If you want to position the mural in the corner of a room, the first drop of wallpaper should be aligned into the corner, start there and work outwards with each successive sheet.

If you want the mural positioned into the centre of a wall, mark the centre position along the wall’s length, then use a plumb line (a length of string with a weight at the end) as a vertical guide. PLEASE NOTE many of the murals have an odd number of wallpaper strips, three or five, so to position in the centre of a wall, you must offset the guide mark you make by half the width of one wallpaper strip.

The easiest way to mark the vertical position is to cover the string in chalk powder, and when the plum line is settled, hold the weight still and “ping” the string against the wall.

4. PASTING
Ensure you choose the correct strip of wallpaper to begin with, remember it will be one of the middle ones if you are positioning in the centre of a wall.

Use a good quality, fungicide protected, medium ready mixed paste, or you can mix yourself if you have done before. Do not use a solvent based paste.

With the help of a pasting table, apply an even coat of paste to the back of the wallpaper, and allow to soak in for a minute. Add a little more paste if there are any dry spots after the soak in.

5. HANGING
Align the paper with the mark you made on the wall -OR- into the corner of the room. Slide into position so that the top will fold into the top corner. Each strip of paper comes with 3cm overhang top and bottom to allow for neat trimming. At the top, press into the corner and fold over.

Use a clean, soft decorator’s brush to smooth down the paper working from the centre to the edges to remove bubbles, and to push into the top corner.

Small positioning adjustments can be made by sliding the paper, for larger adjustments lift off and realign.

Peel back the top of the wallpaper and using a sharp pair of wallpaper scissors cut neatly along the fold. Alternatively, press a straight edge (eg. a wide metal ruler) into the corner and carefully trim the top with a sharp blade.

Butt the joins of the next sheet making sure they are perfectly aligned, and repeat until complete.

Trim the lower edges using the same choice of methods, scissors or knife, though use extra care if using a ruler and blade so as not to cut into the wall.

After 10 minutes use an edge roller to gently flatten down the joins and edges, but try and avoid squeezing paste out of the joins. Any paste on the surface should be wiped off immediately while it is still moist, using a clean, damp sponge. Do not rub edges. Any bubbles you notice as the wallpaper dries should disappear as the paper tightens when drying.

6. ENJOYING
This is the best bit…
Stand back and admire your handiwork.