Wallpaper Installation

Go With the Flow

Well, Spring still hasn't arrived at the shores of Lake Erie so, as promised, here are some more photos from Lapland.  The first photo is of the room sign outside an ice room at the Ice Hotel in Sweden.  Featured are the designers who created the room which is one of a select number of specially designed spaces. FLOW--How appropriate because it is the name of U.S. Wallcovering's new e-commerce website, For the Love of Wallcovering (FLOW for short).   The second photo shows the ice bed covered in reindeer skins and an expedition-grade sleeping bag.  You stay surprisingly warm.

Sleep Anyone

Wallpaper Installation

And, what you may ask, do photos of a Lapland Ice Hotel have to do with Wallpaper Installation.  Not much, except an ice hotel is probably one of the few places where wallpaper cannot be applied.  Otherwise, wallpaper is the perfect complement for any room or to cover just about any surface for that matter, except one of snow and ice.

In this week's blog we will start a series of tutorials on:
Advanced Techniques for Hanging Today's Wallcovering.

Our resident expert is Gary Levine, Owner of U.S. Wallcovering, a business devoted to all things wallcovering, wallpaper and borders. U.S. Wallcovering has been a leader in the wallcovering industry for over 105 years.  Gary grew up in the family business and has over 50 years experience working with wallpaper.  He has led seminars for thousands of people on 'The Advanced Techniques for Hanging Today's Wallpaper.'  In a recent interview, Gary revealed some techniques which are contrary to usual practices.  Let us start with Wallpaper Preparation.  At the start of a project, the roll of paper should be reverse rolled to take the tension out of the paper. And now,  it is time to 'book' the paper.
Booking Time.  Booking time refers to the time between when you apply activator or paste and the time you actually hang the paper.  Most instruction sheets suggest a 2-3 minute booking time but to quote Gary, "why manufacturers recommend 2 minutes is beyond us".  The appropriate amount of time for booking is 7-8 minutes in order to allow the paper to properly absorb the adhesive.

Stay tuned for additional Wallpaper Installation Tips in next week's blog.

Wallpaper Installation

Hanging wallpaper is a breeze

Honest, this is not some marketing tease

Just paste it up and smooth it down

You can do it all without a frown

Just pitch the roller and the tray

And be prepared to smile when visitors say

You did that perfect job without any help

Nary a scream, a shout or a yelp

And the resulting wall is a perfect '10'

Whether in a kitchen, dining room or den