How To Install Peel and Stick Wallpaper:

It’s finally here! My long over do “How To Install Peel and Stick Wallpaper” post is about to go dowwwwn. 

If you followed our journey on Instagram at all, then you know that this was quite the process for my husband and I. I was heavily relying on Youtube and every DIY blogger that has done it before me for help. 

I wanted my wall to be PERFECT, so I put a lot of pressure on myself to get it right. Needless to say, nothing ever goes as planned, nor is anything every really perfect. BUT … we got the peel and stick wallpaper up with only a few tears and curse words.

Tools You’ll Need To Install Peel and Stick Wallpaper:

Choose Your Peel and Stick Wallpaper:

I went back and forth on what wallpaper I wanted for my office. I wanted something really bold and modern, but also not too feminine. The office is a shared space for my husband and I. 

After weeks of searching, I found this marble wallpaper on Wayfair that I couldn’t live without. 

It is a little pricey, compared to other peel and stick wallpaper options out there, but worth every penny in my opinion. 

Cut Your Wallpaper Panels 

I used several references online to help me figure out how to cut my wallpaper panels. You’ll want to make sure you know how tall your wall is and cut your panels a few inches longer so that you have some cushion to trim if needed. Something else that is very important when trimming your panels is to make sure you line up your design/pattern. This of course only applies if you’re dealing with an obvious pattern. 

Once you get your panels cut and in order, be sure to number them so that they don’t get out of order. I would also label the top and bottom so you don’t get that mixed up either. I had 7 panels total and having them numbered helped me out a lot. 

Time to get your wall ready! 

Have Textured Walls? Read This First … No Texture? Keep Scrolling

We have textured walls in our home and to be honest, this is what slowed down the process of installing the peel and stick wallpaper the most. I came across mixed reviews online as to whether or not a wallpaper liner would truly cover the texture.

Of course, I did not want to risk it or do the work of getting the paper up, only to find a few months down the road that the texture was starting to show through. 

As a result, I decided to board our walls with hardboard panels to cover the texture. There are other methods called skim coating that you can try, but I was worried that the peel and stick wallpaper would not adhere to this method.

For the boards, I saw a DIY blogger that I follow do this and she made it look SO EASY in her blog post! Um … I want to be the first to tell you .. it’s not! Ha! Thank goodness my loving husband helped me along the way and we got it done. If your walls are 8ft tall, you’ll be fine, ours are not, so we had to get several pieces cut to cover the whole wall. The boards are also very heavy. Silly me for believing the pictures I saw online of a single woman smiling with her nail gun! 🙂 I needed help! We made more trips to Lowe’s than I want to count. After going through this process, wallpaper liner is definitely A LOT easier than putting boards up on the wall to cover texture LOL! You know what they say …. hindsight is 20/20. 

We used these boards from Lowe’s to achieve the smooth wall look (linked). We then caulked the seams to ensure nothing would show through under the wallpaper.

Smooth Walls? Start Reading Here:

After that, we put up a wallpaper liner over the boards. If you have smooth walls, you can apply your wallpaper liner directly to the wall. I found a really good option on Amazon that was both affordable and had really good reviews. We ended up using 2 rolls on a 9ft X 12ft wall. 

Don’t be afraid of pre-pasted wall paper. I actually liked it over peel and stick! It was really easy to get it up on the wall and made a HUGE difference in applying the wallpaper. I love how you can move it around to the right spot while it’s wet. I used THIS website as a guide to help me because the instructions provided in the package assume you’re a pro and know exactly what you’re doing (I sure did not!)

Time to Install your Peel and Stick Wallpaper! 

Once your liner is up, it will take about 24 – 48 hours for it to dry. Don’t take any shortcuts, let it dry fully and you’ll be able to get your peel and stick wallpaper up in no time. 

Take your pre-cut panels and grab the first one. I used tape to affix it to the wall and make sure I had it lined up correctly/perfectly level before starting to peel the backing off. Once I had it straight, I started to peel off the back and used my smoothing tool to adhere to the wall.

Using the right tool makes a difference! I had a smoother that you use for caulking at first because it’s what we had around the house. When I went and bought the correct tool, it was a GAME CHANGER! My husband always tell me I make things harder than I have to sometimes, but hey, at least I made all the mistakes for you. You all will be pros at installing peel and stick wallpaper! 

Tip: When using your smoother to install your wallpaper, work from the middle of the wall and smooth OUTWARD. It will help to ensure you push any bubbles out of the wall and get everything really smooth. 

I used my XACTO knife to trim the ceiling pieces and baseboard pieces once I was finished. I also used it to cut my panel strips. I highly recommend having one for all of your DIY crafts.

Admire your work! You did it!  

If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably well on your way to installing your peel and stick wallpaper. It can feel like a daunting task, but once it’s done, it is the BEST feeling! I love looking at my wall every day when I am working in my office. It’s a daily reminder that I can do anything I put my mind to! 

If you’re thinking about tackling peel and stick wallpaper in your home, I say GO FOR IT! It’s the best way to really make a room pop. 

When you finish, shoot me a message. I’d love to see your finished product. 🙂

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you find this just a tad bit helpful! Even if it’s just a guide on what NOT to do haha. 

XO – Steph