Wallpaper borders can really add a lot to the beauty and style of your room. The colors and designs available in borders is almost endless, so there’s sure to be something that will fit in with the rest of your rooms decor.

Borders can add definition to plain painted walls and be used as a separator instead of or even with chair rails. Borders were basically designed to be the matching accent for wallpaper, they were intended to provide a finished look at the top of the wallpaper where it meets the ceiling. But, now borders are even used on surfaces other than walls!

Wallpaper borders are still wallpaper, they come in the same materials and even come pre-pasted or unpasted just like wallpaper. You can find almost any design that you need and some will even have tear-away sections that will create scalloped edges or allow the main background of the wall to show through flower petals or other items on the border.

If you’re shopping for border, make sure that you measure your room and take the measurements with you. You can find various widths of border, but depending on the manufacturer the lengths will also vary. Some rolls of border are in 15′ lengths and some may be as long as 30′. The only way to make sure you buy enough is to know the size of your room.

Wallpaper borders are very easy to hang, you hang them in the same way that you do regular wallpaper. Except of course, they go on the wall horizontally instead of vertically. And, since they’re smaller versions of wallpaper, they’re not as difficult to install even by yourself.

Although, if you’re hanging the border by yourself, you really should cut it into sections. The weight of the wet wallpaper isn’t going to allow the paper to just hang there while you get down and move your step stool or ladder. The paper will fall pulling it all off of the wall.

Whenever I’ve hung wallpaper border I generally try to cut it in sections just a bit wider than my arms can stretch out. As long as you continue cutting the next piece off of the same roll, the cut ends will match up perfectly. And, once they’re dry you won’t even be able to see the seams at all.

You will need the same basic tools to hang border as you do when hanging wallpaper. A good sharp utility or wallpaper knife and a smoothing brush. However, if you prefer you can simply use a sponge to gently rub the border against the wall. I prefer the sponge, it’s lighter and just much easier to handle and as long as you rinse it in clean water now and then it works great.

If you bought border that has the tear away edges, you can either remove the edges after the paper is wet or before. My kitchen border had the tear away edge, it has sunflowers and the petals and some of the leaves extend out onto the painted section of the wall. I removed the tear away edge before I wet the border, just because I was afraid once the paper was wet it might tear when I pulled the edge off.

If you bought a pre-pasted border the only other thing you really need is warm water! But, if the border is unpasted, you’ll need to purchase wallpaper paste. You can buy it either pre-mixed or in powder form that you mix water with yourself. If you need to apply paste, you’ll need a large table or counter to spread the border out and you’ll need a brush to apply the paste, although a small, soft paint brush will work fine.

Most people generally wet the border and immediately hang it on the wall, I myself have been impatient and hung wallpaper or border to quickly. You want the border to book, I have no idea why it’s called booking. But, it just means that you want to fold the wet wallpaper so that the pasted sides are touching. You don’t want the pasted side to be next to the design on the border.

Booking is just a process that allows the wallpaper to relax. As the wallpaper or border relaxes it will swell and increase in size. If you don’t give the paper time to do this you’ll end up battling a lot more air bubbles and wrinkles when you hang it on the wall. If the border books on the wall, as it swells it pushes away from the wall and creates the air pockets and bubbles!

While I have always just pressed my wallpaper or border into the corners, smoothed it out and went on til I ran out of border, this isn’t recommended. You should cut the border just so that it reaches about 1/4 inch onto the next wall. Then start the next piece right in the corner overlapping the 1/4 inch you left on the last piece.

Doing your corners in this way will prevent the little gap in the main corner that will usually appear when the paper dries and shrinks! I have gotten lucky many times and the corners have stayed in place, but there’s also been times that if you looked close you could probably stick a pencil under the paper in the corner!

There are probably as many beautiful wallpaper borders as there are wallpaper designs. In fact, manufacturers realize that a border can give your wallpaper that added finishing touch and make borders that match almost of their wallpaper designs.

Of course, a border can add a lot of design, color or interest in a room that has painted walls. You don’t even have to wallpaper your walls in order to take advantage of the beautiful effect that wallpaper border can add to your walls.

Besides all of the gorgeous designs, wallpaper border comes in numerous sizes. You can find narrow width and very wide widths and lots of sizes in between. While a matching border does look great with your wallpaper, the uses for borders don’t stop there.

Several months ago I put some seashell border around the middle of my bathroom walls. Then I carefully cut out several of the groups of seashells to use for accents. I added one to the top center of the mirror and put one on the back of the wall above the tub.

I also placed one on the tank of the toilet and it’s actually stayed in place! Of course, if you do this, you have to be very careful when cleaning the area that you have the pieces of border.

There are literally no boundaries to the different things that you can do with wallpaper border! And, some of the decorative things that you can use border for aren’t even for walls! You can actually use it on any surface that will allow it to stick properly.

Wallpaper borders are a great way to add some proportion to your walls. You can use them to add grace, elegance, color and even humor to your room. There are many themed borders that are geared toward specific designs such as sports, racing, fishing, hunting or gardening.

While borders were designed to be used along the top of your walls to separate the walls and ceilings, there not only for those areas. Borders can be used to divide a room, separating wallpapers or can separate a half wallpapered, half painted wall.

They can also add a great look when used as a chair rail, or even just above a chair rail to emphasize the design in the molding. Wallpaper borders are also great replacements for wood molding around your windows and doors. They will create a beautiful frame all the way around your windows!

Borders are a great way to adorn your fireplace as well. They can be used to draw attention to your mantle or just make a plain fireplace pop out at you! You can even find many borders in silvers or gold tones that will blend right in with the metals that your fireplace screen or other accessories are made of.

If you really love the unique and unusual, create a box effect in your room with border! Apply the border all along the ceiling line, but add a strip down each corner! It will definitely add a lot of definition to your walls!

If you don’t have a headboard on your bed, you can create one to match your wall border with the same border! Measure how tall and wide you want the headboard to be and mark the outline with a pencil. Paint the inside of the square with a color to match the border and then frame the painted section with wallpaper border!

You can even accent your kitchen cabinets with border so that they will perfectly match your walls. I have even used wallpaper border to create a long, narrow frame on one section of the wall and then hung family pictures in matching picture frames inside the border box!

As long as you have the proper surface the only limits you have with wallpaper borders is the limits of your imagination! Borders are a great way to add fairly inexpensive accents to almost anything in your home!

Wallpaper comes in an unlimited amount of colors and designs and if you’re shopping for wallpaper you’ll probably find it hard to choose your favorite. The wallpaper that you use will quickly define a room, small floral patterns create a more casual and country look. While bold geometric designs make any room look more modern or contemporary.

Choosing the right wallpaper pattern involves much more than just loving the design. The pattern you choose can have both good and bad effects on the overall look of your room. For instance, only walls that are perfectly straight are going to look good with wallpaper that has stripes. If you’re walls are off even the slightest amount, the stripes will make the flaws stand out.

Wallpaper that has tiny prints, such as small flowers or leaves can even have two separate effects depending on the main color. If you use light colors with just slight texturing on both the walls and the ceiling, you’re room will appear to be much larger. Using dark, warm colors has just the opposite effect making your room look even smaller than it is.

Naturally, the larger the pattern is the more visual enhancement there is going to be added to your rooms. But, larger designs will also make your room appear to be much smaller. These types of designs are great however, if you have a large room and want to create a more cozy or intimate setting.

When wallpaper with large patterns is used in rooms that have white or light colored ceilings, the large design can add a sense of height to the room. However, keep in mind that while your ceiling might appear to be higher, the room will still appear to be much smaller than it actually is!

Geometric prints includes any design that is plaid or has grids. Having grids simply means that the designs are arranged in a pattern and flow in a lines across and up and down on the paper. Grids are basically just like checks or squares. These designs can be very bold if they’re quite large, or they can also be subtle if they’re small patterns.

Grids style patterns can also make the wall space seem continual. The eye will follow the design around the room and it will seem to never end. If you want your ceilings to look higher than they are, choose wallpaper that has strong, bold vertical lines.

If you have high ceilings and don’t care for the look, you can make them appear closer to the floor by using wallpaper with horizontal lines. They’re the perfect way to make your walls look much wider than they are. To add some direction or movement to your walls, choose wallpaper that has diagonal stripes.

Wallpapers that have a lot of texture can really add a lot of dimension to the room. They’re also a great way to cover up small flaws on the walls surface. As the light hits the texture you’ll see differences in the color shading and it will even produce shadows. Textures can create a lot of interesting effects on your walls.

Tiny prints are most often used in kitchens, bathrooms or bedrooms or any other area or room that is small. This design can be a great way to visually enlarge a small narrow hallway or even a foyer. And, if you have a small breakfast nook built off of your kitchen, a small design can make it feel like it’s not as closed in.

Wallpaper is a wonderful way to add beauty to your room. But, keep the effects that the design will create in mind when you’re shopping for that perfect pattern. Some wallpaper stores even have hangars where you can unroll the wallpaper and hang it to see what the entire design will look like.

While just seeing one strip won’t give you a complete idea of how it’s going to look in an entire room, it can at least give you something to go on. Just don’t forget that just because the wallpaper has a beautiful pattern that will match your furnishings, it doesn’t mean that it will look good on the wall!

If you’ve ever purchased wallpaper or even just shopped for it, then you have an idea of how much it costs. While you can find good deals, most wallpaper is fairly expensive. So instead of replacing your wallpaper, why not just clean it?

Wallpapers have been washable for around 25 years, but if you’ve ever tried to wash it you know there are still limitations to most types. All wallpaper should be labeled either non-washable, washable and now many wallpapers are actually labeled scrubbable. If yours wasn’t marked, try cleaning a leftover piece to see how well it holds up to cleaning.

Like any other item in your home, wallpaper collects dust and should be dusted or vacuumed regularly. Letting it build up will make it much harder to remove. You can use a long handled, soft brush or many times I’ve just fastened a soft rag to the end of my broom!

If the wallpaper you have was labeled washable, there was probably plastic coating applied to it. It is washable, but you don’t want to get it wet, the paper will come off the wall. You can clean it with a mild detergent in cool water, use a soft rag or sponge and make sure that you squeeze all of the excess water out of it before wiping the walls.

Gently wipe don’t scrub the wallpaper and use circular motions at all of the seams. It’s a really good idea to have two buckets, one for soapy water and one with clean water to rinse the walls. Once dried, soap can leave a film that will be very noticeable.

After you’ve cleaned a couple of strips of wallpaper, go back over it with a soft cloth and pat it to remove as much moisture as you can. If  you have stubborn spots that need to be washed again, let the paper dry thoroughly before re-washing.

Vinyl wallcoverings are generally labeled scrubbable and like the name implies are either made of vinyl or have vinyl in the paper. Scrubbable wallpapers are great for high traffic areas, since you can actually scrub them. They might have a higher initial cost, but they can look better for years longer because you can clean them much better.

You can use foam cleansers or mild soap with a cloth or sponge, but never use any type of cleaner that is abrasive. If you use a foam cleanser, follow manufacturers instructions and just spray and clean small areas at a time. Use a clean sponge in clear water to rinse the walls and pat them dry with a soft cloth.

While the purpose of vinyl wallpaper is that it is easy to clean, some vinyl wall coverings like grass cloth or burlap are still hard to get clean if they get stained. Regular cleaning is especially important on these types of materials. If they do get dirty or stained, clean in the same way that you clean vinyl wallpaper.

However, you can use a soft brush and gently scrub to get in between the material. For really stubborn stains, try a few tablespoon of non-chlorine bleach. Rinse well to help prevent streaks from forming on the wallpaper and pat it dry with a soft cloth.

Just because your wallpaper says non-washable, it doesn’t mean that you can’t clean it. There are wallpaper cleaners that you can purchase, they will come in a putty and you just rub it over the wallpaper. It’s very important that you follow the label directions exactly. You can use a vacuum or soft brush to remove any particles of the cleaner that stick to the wall.

Wallpapering is pretty easy to do, but sometimes things just seem to go wrong. The paper doesn’t seem to stick properly, edges won’t stay put and maybe you’ve ended up with a few air bubbles on your walls. Don’t panic, there are some simple solutions to most wallpaper problems.

Sometimes problems with your wallpaper occurs because you didn’t properly prepare your walls. Maybe you’re using wallpaper to cover up less than perfect walls that are badly flawed. And, sometimes the problems aren’t your fault at all, perhaps you just ended up with a bad roll of wallpaper that didn’t get the adhesive applied properly.

If you seem to have seams that just don’t want to lay flat, it could be because you didn’t get them wet enough. Another cause could be that they’ve just dried before you got the wallpaper on the wall. You can just use some commercial wallpaper adhesive to paste them back down.

I have often used a tiny artist type paint brush to apply extra adhesive just under the edges of seams. But, you can also just use your finger if you’d prefer. Just smooth a line of adhesive along the entire seam that keeps rolling up and use a soft, damp cloth to wipe and press the edge against the wall.

That same repair is what you do to any places where the top or bottom of the wallpaper won’t stick as well. If the whole strip of wallpaper is coming, then you will have to take it down and just apply a new piece. You probably didn’t get it on the wall fast enough and the adhesive became too dry to adhere.

You’ve worked hard to get all of the wallpaper on the walls and you’re standing back to admire your work. But, you see all kinds of streaks on the walls. Well, don’t fret, it’s most likely just adhesive that has gotten on the outside of the wallpaper during hanging. Use a soft cloth and some warm water to wipe it off, it’s usually very easy to remove.

If you end up with ragged edges when your trimming your wallpaper, your blade is just dull. Always use a sharp blade to cut or trim your paper. If it’s just barely noticeable, sometimes you can get it back in place and get it to lay down. But, if it’s really bad there’s no other option than to replace the whole strip of wallpaper.

If you see some shading differences when hanging natural wallpaper like grasscloth, try reversing the strips. Hang one the way it came off of the roll and then turn the next strip upside down before hanging. Of course, this only works with certain materials of wallpaper and the paper can’t have designs that need to be matched.

A design in the wallpaper that droops or rises at the ceiling is usually caused by a plumb line that isn’t exactly straight. It could also because the ceiling just isn’t completely straight with the wall. There’s really not a lot you can do if the problem is an uneven ceiling, but if it’s the plumb line that’s off, straighten it on the next strip.

If you’ve already gotten a whole wall or even a whole room wallpapered before you notice it, then you’ll either have to learn to live with it or re-do the whole wall. It’s a really good idea to stand back and check every strip you hang before hanging any more.

Another problem you might notice after you’ve finished and are looking at your walls, designs or colors underneath the paper are showing through! There’s really no simple repair for this problem, precautions need to be taken before hanging the paper to make sure this don’t happen.

If you’re using a thin wall paper or a really light colored wallpaper, if there are designs or dark spots on your walls use lining paper. You can also help prevent this from happening by using a good wallpaper primer on the walls before hanging any of the wallpaper. Once it’s all done, there’s little you can do but strip it down and start over!

Now for the air bubbles and blisters that can occur underneath your wallpaper. It’s usually because you just didn’t take the time to smooth it out well enough. But, hanging wallpaper in temperatures below 50* and not preparing your wall surface correctly can also cause this annoying little problem.

If the blisters are fairly small, you can sometimes prick them with a needle and smooth them out. If they’re to large to do that, then you’ll have to make a small slit in the bubble to release the air and smooth it down as good as you can so it won’t show. You might also need to add some more wallpaper paste inside the slit to make it adhere properly.