Jo Reynolds
Stairwell walls can be tricky to upgrade since they consist of awkward angles, tall ceilings and are often a heavy traffic area (especially in houses with kids). In our previous house we added wainscoting and a gallery wall up the stairwell.
This approach is always beautiful, but in our current fixer upper we wanted to try something different.
You activate the adhesive by spraying it with water No dipping the entire sheet, and no soggy paper.
If we found a dry spot we simply sprayed that portion of the wallpaper or wall. Admittedly we are still working on this (Covid hit me hard) so once I get my energy back I’ll finish the upstairs portion of the stairway makeover.
I opted for a more traditional wallpaper and pre-pasted seems much “sturdier” if that makes sense. Utility knife with extra blades Spray Bottle with water If an exterior or interior corner is level, many people choose to start there.
In our case we chose the outside corner at the bottom of our stairs and drew a line that was the exact width of our wallpaper.
Fold the paper from the bottom up (no creases) making it easier to to carry the wallpaper. Don’t try to carry an extremely long piece, lightly folding it this way will make the project easier.
Ensure your squeegee has no nicks or it could scratch or tear your paper. Use a Rubber Roller: This step finished your wallpaper application. We changed the blades often to ensure they didn’t drag and rip the wet paper. I’ve done this 3 times in 3 houses using a bucket of water mixed with Downy Fabric Softener along with a steam machine and a scraper.
80% of my Instagram followers DON’T wallpaper their light switches. Painting stair railings which has made a huge difference our foyer aesthetic.
I have a lot of tips for painting banisters making this go much faster (artist brushes, folks! We are so happy with our stairwell wall makeover, but expect more changes to this space and our upstairs landing.
