You should always use two people when wallpapering the ceiling. Make sure you use heavy duty adhesive and give yourself plenty of time to complete the job. If you are using the same paper on the walls, paper the ceiling first and make sure to match the seams from ceiling to walls.

Step1: PRIME AND PATCH THE CEILING

Lay out the paper on the ceiling so that the strips will overlap the wall by about ½ inch. When you lay out the strip, hold a roll of paper against the ceiling at one side of the room. Now, mark on the ceiling ½ inch from the end of the roll. Go the the other side and make a similar mark.

Step2: SNAP A CHALK LINE CONNECTING THE TWO MARKS.

You will want to use blue chalk because red chalk will bleed through the paper. Cut a strip of paper to the exact length and then apply wallpaper paste activator.

Step3: WORKING IN SMALL SECTIONS, POSITION THE STRIP AGAINST THE GUIDELINE

Make sure you overlap the side wall by ½ inch and the end walls by 2 inches. Take a smooth brush and flatten the strip as you work. If you are going to cover the walls with the same paper, trim the ceiling wallpaper so it overlaps the wall by ½ inch. If you are not covering the walls then trim the excess by holding a broad knife against the corner and cutting with a razor knife.

Step4: CUT OUT A SMALL WEDGE OF WALLPAPER IN THE CORNER SO THAT THE STRIP WILL LIE SMOOTH.

Press the wallpaper into the corner with a broad knife.

Preparing the walls is as important as hanging the paper. If the surface is greasy or dirty, the paper won’t stick. Also, if there are irregularities in the wall, they may be visible on the paper’s surface. So be prepared: Wash, patch, fix, prime, seal, and size before you paper. The good thing is primers, sealers, and sizing are combined into a single product. Paint and plaster companies market many wall repair kits.

Step1: PATCH AND PRIME THE WALLS BEFORE YOU START

Primer can be white, clear, or tinted slightly to match the paper. When you have finished priming, look at the paper you selected. The pattern type determines how the strips are cut and glued on the walls. On straight-match and random-match papers, patterns along the left and right edges of the paper are the same, and the installation is straight forward.  On drop-match papers, the elements are staggered along both edges.  Aligning the pattern results in an uneven top edge, which get’s trimmed.  This will take more time and you will waste more paper but results in a  more interesting and fun patern. Cutting alternating strips from two rolls  of wallpaper will cut down on some of the wallpaper waste.

Step2: BEGIN IN THE LEAST-CONSPICUOUS INSIDE CORNER OF THE ROOM

You should position the first strip so that most of the paper is on the first wall to be pampered, with about 1/2 to 2 inches of the strip wrapping around the corner onto the adjoining wall. This helps hide the cracks they may develop in the corners. When you measure the strip, you will need to lay out the strip and measure it from the corner by the width of the paper minus the wrap. Draw a plumb line at this point, guided by a level.

Step3: CUT THE FIRST STRIP OF PAPER

You will need to cut it about 4 inches longer than needed so that it can temporarily overlap the ceiling baseboard. Then roll out the paper on a long work surface and cut the strip to length with scissors.

Step4: APPLY ACTIVATOR OR PASTE

It’s recommended to use a paste activator instead of soaking prepasted paper: It’s a stronger bond and it takes longer to dry so you can continue to move the paper around on the wall. Brush or roll on the activator. Make sure you follow the directions for the activator as well. Also, make sure you get paste ACTIVATOR not paste!

Step5: GENTLY FOLD THE ENDS TOWARD THE MIDDLE,

glued sides together with the patterned side out. The term used for this is “booking the strip”. Try not to crease the paper. Wait at least 1 minute so the paste has a chance to activate before hanging it.

Step6: HANG THE FIRST STRIP ALONG THE PLUMB LINE WITH A GENTLE BUT FIRM HAND

Start by positioning the middle of the strip, and work your way up to the top, sliding the paper to align it. Align the bottom and work it gently against the wall. Now, start from the top and work your way down the wall and smooth the paper onto the wall with a brush or a flexable plastic smoother.

Step7: HANG THE SECOND STRIP AND THEN TRIM THE FIRST

Allow the glue to dry on the first strip while you hang the second one. Then when you are done hanging it, you can go back and trim the first strip.

Step8: BUTT SUBSEQUENT STRIPS AGAINST EACH OTHER

When you have finished hanging a few strips, go over the seams between them with a seam roller to fix the edges in place. Be careful not to force too much paste out from under the strips or your seams will loosen. Use clean warm water and a sponge to remove excess paste from the wall. Do not use a roller on foils, flocked, or embossed papers because it may damage it. Instead, press along the seams with a smoothing brush.

Step9: PAPER OVER ELECTRIC SWITCHES AND OUTLETS

Cut away excess paper. Before you cut around an electrical box, make sure you turn the power off to the room. Make four diagonal slices, starting at the center of the box and working toward corners. Trim and make a rectangular opening, leave enough paper for the cover plate to conceal the edges.

Wainscoting. I picture something in a home out of the 1700s, say, Ben Franklin’s era. Would this work in my home?  Wainscoting (often mispronounced Wains-coating) is a facing or paneling, usually of wood, applied to the walls of a room.

The lower part of an interior wall, finished in a material different from that of the upper part. This is topped with a chair rail. It looks smart, and Wainscoting can add style to any room in your home.. Selecting the style, design and materials can be dizzying. There are so many options.

Choices range from simply cutting wall panel to the height specifications with a chair rail along the top, to fancier, pre-cut  hardwoods or the very durable, maintenance-free synthetic materials.

If you plan to DIY, you will need these tools:
combination square, level, tape measure, clamps, utility knife,  chop saw, hammer,  radial arm saw,  circular  or table  saw. Or use a coping saw, hand saw and miter box.

You’ll also want to have dividers, a cordless drill–driver, pneumatic nailer and jig-saw. There’s more: wood glue, construction adhesive, 8d and 4d finish nails, wood shims and wood filler Better to have these tools at the ready, rather than making extra runs to the hardware store during the project.

Sounds like a real chore, doesn’t it? Fear not! Variations on this process: paint the lower portion of the wall, instead of installing wood panels. Sponge painting that portion of the wall, with a chair rail dividing that and the upper wall, is a unique effect.

Otherwise, spend a Saturday afternoon selecting wallpaper, rather than paint. Line the lower wall with your choice of wallpaper. You may want to paint the chair rail to match one of the colors in the wallpaper.