Tips for Hanging Wallpaper plus Other DIY tips

All this week we have been following the progress of the woodland kids rooms that young couple, Christian and Dea Rust have completed in their historic mansion in small town Indiana. I have loved all of the details in this room and have been impressed at how well everything has worked together, but that's really no surprise after seeing the progress of some of the other rooms that have been reveled on the blog. The room still keeps the integrity of the historic home while updating the details to make it comfortable for this young couple as they look to one day expand their family to include children. In the meantime, this is a cozy space for their nieces and nephews to enjoy when they stay over or visit.

Today, we will be checking out some upholstered chairs and we will be taking in some wallpapering hanging tips from the pro. If this birch wallpaper doesn't tempt you a bit, I'm not quite sure what will! Come check out some of the details of this transformation!

Tips for Hanging Wallpaper

Wallpaper is making a come back in a big way. There are some really amazing new prints and patterns available. I recently wallpapered my teen daughter's room and the glam update is one of my favorite DIY's in our home to date. Dea is going to share some of her tips on how to hang wallpaper in a room.

Before you get started, finding wallpaper is the first thing you are going to want to do. This woodland themed kids room was inspired by the hanging bear head Dea purchased at Target, but it was also inspired by some birch wallpaper she had seen in an image on Pinterest. In an effort to save money, Dea found wallpaper that was similar on eBay from China. She ordered one roll as a sample to start just to make sure it was high quality and that the color was what she was looking for. In the end, make sure that you don't count this sample roll in the total order that you need since the color batch will likely not be the same and it will be obvious if you use it on the wall next to wallpaper that was ordered at a different date.

However, you can still use this wallpaper to line a dresser drawer or put it into the back of a bookcase. 

You're going to want to start by painting the wall underneath the wallpaper a similar color to the background color of your wallpaper. If there are any gaps in your wallpaper, the painted wall behind the paper makes this less obvious and will work to disguise your mistake.

Wallpaper Supply Essentials:

wallpaper paste brush

wallpaper smoother brush

wallpaper {similar birch paper}

level

smoothing tool

wallpaper adhesive

wallpaper scissors

straight edge

small hand roller

wallpaper sponges

Next, measure and cut wallpaper strips to your desired length. 

Hint: if the pattern is offset you will have every other matching at the top. If the pattern is a repeat match then you will cut the paper where the design is always the same at the top.

It's easiest if you mark a plum line the full length of the wall to help you line your wallpaper up straight. Paste the back of the your paper if it's not pre-pasted. If it is pre-pasted, you will find directions on how to soak it to activate the glue.

Line your paper up along the plum line you created or against the previous row. Make sure you check your plum line as you go and adjust as needed after rounding corners. 
Hint: if need to, leave a gap in an inconspicuous location like a corner or behind a door if your paper starts to shift a bit and is no longer straight. This is where the paint color will benefit you in disguising. Especially if you have a wallpaper that has a heavy background the way that this one does.
Once your paper is straight, flatten the paper working from the middle up and out and then down and out with a plastic smoothing tool. If you see any large air bubbles, pull the paper back to that point and then flatten it out again.

You can also use a wallpaper brush to make sure all of the air bubbles are removed.

Finally, use a straight edged utility knife to cut the excess from the top, bottom, or sides and around any windows or trim. Clean the entire piece of wallpaper you just hung with a damp sponge {make sure you clean the sponge often}.  This will remove any excess glue from the front of the wallpaper 

That's it! It's a process, but what a statement it makes in a room!

If you need to remove wallpaper first, follow these tips on how to remove wallpaper two different ways.

Another project in this room was the reupholstering of a set of chairs from Christian's great grandmother. They were very old and the upholstery was in rough shape, but other than that, the chairs were in beautiful condition with original caster wheels.

Through the wonders of the internet, Dea followed a YouTube tutorial on how to upholster chairs. She also paid attention as she deconstructed the fabric from the chairs to see how to put them back together. They look brand new and I love the indigo color she used to make these the perfect whimsical fit in the woodland bedroom.

The quilt and the pillow were made by Dea as well and are such a compliment to the room.

There you have it! The complete details of the DIY kids woodland bedroom. I just love this space and think that it will be a great neutral kids room for years to come.

If you missed any of the past room makeovers in this historic mansion, you can find the reveals by clicking on each of the individual images below to be taken to the post. 

          

                                

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