Applying wallpaper into and around corners requires special attention, especially since most walls are not plumb. Simply pushing a strip of wallpaper into an inside corner and continuing the strip on the next wall can result in puckered, crooked paper. It’s best to split the strip and hang some on each side of the corner, as shown in the illustrations at bottom.
Depending on how plumb an outside corner’s adjacent walls are, you can use either of two techniques. With walls only slightly out of plumb, slit the second strip halfway and overlap it on itself so its uncut edge aligns with a plumb line. Alternatively, simply hang the second strip parallel to the plumb line and use a lap seam where the two strips overlap.
If a strip ends at an outside coner, cut it back 1/8 to 1/4 inch to prevent the paper from fraying and peeling at the corner.
Covering Outside Corners
1. Measure for the second strip
After smoothing the first strip tightly to the wall, draw a plumb line on the second wall from the edge of the first strip equal to the width of a strip plus 1/2 inch. Measure the distance between the edge of the plumb line and the edge of the corner strip at three different heights.
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2. Set the second strip
If the distance from the plumb line to the previous strip is greater at the top of the wall than at the bottom, slit the next strip halfway from the bottom in a background area (if it’s greater at the bottom, make the slit at the top). Make the length of the cut as long as necessary to overlap the edges of the slit until the strip is plumb. Then double-cut the overlap (see the detail above). |
Covering Inside Corners
1. Measure for the first corner strip
Measure from the preceding strip to the corner at three different heights. Cut the strip 1/4 inch wider than the largest measurement. Do not discard the leftover paper.
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2. Set the first strip
After preparing the strip, butt it to the previous one and smooth it firmly into and around the corner. Trim at the ceiling line and baseboard.
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3. Measure for the second strip
Measure the width of the leftover strip. Draw a plumb line on the adjacent wall at that measurement plus 1/4 inch from the corner. Position the strip’s uncut edge next to but not on the plumb line, allowing the edge to overlap the previous one. Cover the overlapping section with a nonporous, vinyl-to-vinyl adhesive. Slight pattern misalignment generally is not noticeable in corners.
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