INTERIORS : Wallpaper Borders Make a Fine Line

Wall-covering borders can affect the mood of a room.

A border near the ceiling can make a room feel cozier. Installed at chair-rail height, it makes a room feel loftier. A border can also add interest to a plain room, particularly a child’s room. It can fill a narrow space between cabinet tops and ceiling, or frame windows and doors.

As with any wall covering, first take samples home so that you can check them with your decor and lighting.

To hang a border, you will need a compass with pencil to draw guidelines, a wallpaper brush for smoothing, a utility knife, a seam roller, a sponge, a carpenter’s level, a straightedge and a paste brush or, if the border is pre-pasted, a water tray or a thick paint roller.

Before you begin, establish both where you will start and finish hanging the border. Decide how you will handle potentially awkward areas such as corners and around windows and doors

Prepare painted walls by sanding them with fine sandpaper. Then wash away the dust and apply a coat of wall-covering primer. On covered walls, coat the area that will accept the border with wall-covering primer.

Apply a border over new wall covering only after it has dried for 48 hours. However, if you allow for the border while planning the wall covering layout, you then cut each wall-covering strip to allow the border to be inset above or within it. The method yields smoother seams, but it also can require more time and skill.

Borders are usually sold in five-yard rolls. Cut pieces the length of each wall, plus one-fourth inch to wrap into the corners.

At the ceiling, mark the width of the border around the room by using a compass and pencil. If the ceiling is irregular, use a level to determine a straight line and trim the excess from the top of the border.

For chair-rail height, mark a guideline around the room 30 inches from the floor. Use a level or straightedge to keep the line even. Install the border so that the lower edge falls on the line.

If the border will frame a window or door, it is best to select a random pattern. This will prevent having a directional pattern going sideways or upside down.

If the border is pre-pasted, re-roll it with pattern facing in and submerge it in a water tray for about 10 seconds. Or unfurl the strip on a table and wet the back with a water-saturated paint roller.

For a border without paste, use only an adhesive recommended by the border manufacturer. Place the border, with pattern facing down, on a table. Keep extra adhesive off the work surface (where it could damage the border); spread the adhesive by working out from the center of the strip toward the surface edge. Make sure to paste all edges completely.

When the border is wet or pasted, fold it loosely, accordion-style, so that the pasted surfaces touch each other. Be careful not to crease the folds.

Have someone help you hang the border sections. Push the border in place with your fingers. Smooth out air bubbles with the wallpaper brush.

To butt a seam, first overlap the ends. Cut through both layers with a sharp utility knife along a straightedge. Remove the wet pieces. Smooth the ends in place with a sponge. Wait 15 minutes, then roll the seam smooth with a seam roller.

To join borders that form a frame, make a miter cut. Overlap both pieces and cut through them at a 45-degree angle. Remove both waste pieces. Use a sponge to smooth the ends. After 15 minutes roll the seam smooth.