Bordering with wallpaper can add flair to a room. Popular as accents to paint or to divide coordinating papers or wall treatments, borders are especially effective along the ceiling line or at chair rail height.

If you’re bordering over a painted wall, prepare the wall first. If you’re placing a border between two wallpapers, use a primer-sealer just on the area the border will cover, and only after any new wallcovering has dried thoroughly.

Bordering at a Ceiling:

1. Draw layout lines If the border is to be applied over paper with a straight or drop match and the wall is not plumb, determine the shortest wall height, subtract the width of the border from that measurement, and then, using a carpenter’s level, mark a plumb line around the room.

2. Prepare the border strips Paste the strip with adhesive or soak it if it is pre-pasted. Use vinyl-to-vinyl adhesive when hanging over vinyl wallpaper. Book the border accordion-style without creasing the folds.

3. Hang the strips Unfold and tack up an arm’s length of paper at a time. Smooth the strip and wipe off the excess adhesive. If the design at the end of the first strip matches the beginning of the second, simply butt the strips together and continue. Otherwise, overlap the paper to achieve a match and then double-cut the seams. At inside corners, use lap seams