Easy to wallpaper?

[WatermelonLou]

I'm a single parent who is quite creative, usually. I can paint and turn my hand to most small diy bits. I'm wondering about wallpapering? Is it really difficult? It looks fairly easy but not sure. Any tips would be greatly appreciated - thanks.

Buy good wallpaper and vinyl type wallpaper is a lot easier to work with

I've wallpapered. It's a skill, but doable. A table and ladder are what you need, and look at a few YouTube vi deos. Start in a small room if possible.

Get 'paste the wall' wallpaper, it's a doddle. I did 3 rooms last year, having never tried wallpapering before and I couldn't believe how easy it was.

You brush a good thick layer of paste directly on the wall then dust roll the paper down the wall and slice it off at the bottom. No need to soak the paper or anything.

Wallpapering is so easy. And so satisfying! Make sure you have a sharp blade for fiddly bits like around switches and sockets.

My outlook on any decorating, be that painting or wallpapering, is, if it goes wrong, hang a picture over it!

Whether it's easy depends on your room. Recessed areas require skill - like around a window frame or nook. Easier if your paper isn't patterned so you don't have to match up.
I tried earlier in the year - I'd done it before with a plain non-matched pattern and no nooks, no problem. The nook this time was really hard - worse than recessing for a window - I had to recess into a wall that would be the first thing that met someone's eye when walking into the room. It was a poor job and I couldn't look at it, so I took it down again and scrubbed the walls for painting, it hasn't put me off but I know where my limitations are now and I'd avoid 3 level recesses if you go for a patterned paper. It was an expensive lesson.

I always remember my dad saying you have to make sure the first piece goes up dead straight as it will effect the rest.

You have to be methodical and once you get into a rythym it's pretty satisfying. A single wall or chimney breast is a good place to start and the wonkier the walls, the more challenging it is and you may not have the skills as a beginner.

I'm wallpapering at the moment. I'd definitely go for 'paste the wall' paper (rather than 'paste the paper') as you can then manage without a pasting table.

Papering around 'things' are the hardest bits (light switches, windows, doorframes, etc.).

Absolutely drop a plumb line and pencil mark it. Wallpaper up to it not the corner..corners are rarely straight.

Amazing feedback and I'm truly grateful 🙏 What's a plum line and I'm googling paste the wall wallpaper..

String with a heavy weight to make it hang straight.

Spelt "plumb" line, not plum. Like plumber it's from the Latin for lead.

Plan where to start. Make a mark at the start and mark where each piece ends you as you move around the room - you don't want to start in a corner.

Mark the back of each piece of wallpaper to indicate which way up it is before you cut it from the roll. It is sometimes difficult to tell afterwards.

My husband just wallpapered using Woodchip and Magnolia wallpaper. It's expensive, but it was far easier than chep stuff, no shrinkage etc.
Each roll was number, so you knew which panel to use, the 2nd roll was even number 5 -8 so no chance of getting it wrong. He couldn't believe how easy past the wall was either. Literally paste the wall, no table, no moving wet sheets of paper off a table. A full wall went up in no time and it looks amazing.

@jackles tell the original poster, I know the correct spelling thanks

I can barely even paint but I have successfully wallpapered a wall. I pasted the wall first regardless of the style of wallpaper.

You can buy a plumb line from various diy shops. I think I got all my stuff from b&m or b&q.

Simple instructions on line.

It did take a lot longer than expected, I remember that.

You can make a plumb line with string and something heavy. We used to use the weight from the pressure cooker.

As others have said buy a good quality,paste the wall type paper and take your time.

Make sure you have plenty of space to work in too.

Never use a plumb line use a spirt level held up against edge of paper on wall

You can use a plumb line hands free. If you have a laser level you can set that up and use it hands free.

Just to add it really really depends on the paper. Some can be a real nightmare. As others have said here, paste-the-wall is amazing stuff and far and away the easiest. Any that you paste the paper, it's really important to get right to every edge and let the paste soak in properly - which takes longer than you'd think, so you don't get bubbles. I've found some of the most expensive papers are the hardest to hang - especially where you've got beautiful matt finish that will show every speck of paste you get on it. But a vinyl finish paper like you get from B&M or the DIY stores - paste will wipe right off with no ill-effects.

You also need to think about the pattern matching (the wallpaper roll will tell you the size of the pattern match). The bigger the match, the more wallpaper you can waste.

I'm currently hanging two wallpapers. One has a 6cm match; the other, 53cm.