Stairway Wallpaper: A Tutorial & Wallpaper Options

Okay- that was click bait. Sort of. This was my first attempt at wallpapering so I really am not qualified to be writing a tutorial. However, I am happy to share what I learned. This project was so satisfying, as the kids would say, but my favorite part was (and likely always will be) sifting through and choosing the perfect paper for the space.

**This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you click and purchase, I may receive some compensation. Thank you!

The Background

I had the help of my friend’s mom, who from this point forward will be referred to as My Expert Guide. Because that is exactly what she was and I could never have done this without her. I am so grateful to her for giving me her time and expertise! This, in fact, was not her first time helping me with wallpaper. She did our front vestibule and even flawlessly did the ceiling! (But told me Never Again lol after that one.)

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She also helped with our powder bathroom wallpaper. I love the print to this day; it was the perfect opportunity to Go Big or Go Home. Or do both, in this case.

Stairway Wallpaper: The Options

The stairway that we wallpapered is located across from our built in hutch painted in a deep dark green; it is the walk through between the kitchen and the dining room. The stairs themselves lead to our home office on the second floor.

I’m not sure when I decided that wallpapering the back staircase was something that needed to happen. I think it started when I wanted to do a secret passageway-type entryway to the back staircase, which, admittedly, functions mostly as an extra place to store things/Costco overflow. When it was determined that the space had too many nooks and crannies and oddities (as most 1920’s homes do) to make that happen, I moved on to wanting to create a camouflage sort of situation for our extras. As in… everybody will be so caught up in the beauty of whatever wallpaper I choose, they won’t possibly have time to notice that huge box of Honey Nut Cheerios.

So the search began. I did a tournament style wallpaper poll. Below are the two finalists. They have different vibes but I really like the dark and moody feel of them both. This one ended up winning the poll (64%) but this one did fairly well too (36%).

True to character, I then went on Lulu and Georgia’s website and ordered alllll the samples. Links to them can be found in my ShopMy here.

Of these samples, I was able to narrow it down to four. I ultimately couldn’t get my mind off of this one. It feels dark and moody (like our cabinetry), a bit modern (like our dining room finishes), and slightly playful (as wallpaper should be). I utilized the Chat feature on Lulu & Georgia’s website. Lo and behold, I got to email with an actual designer who helped me determine how many rolls I should order. I can’t believe he was able to correctly estimate it based off of my kindergarten measuring skills, but here we are with plenty of paper to finish the project and no extra rolls! (He did say I could return any extra rolls so that was a nice option.)

The Inspiration

I had toyed around with the wallpaper idea but even with samples and wallpaper ordered, I stilllll was dragging my feet. Then we visited a beautiful restaurant in Florida that had layers of wallpaper, fabric, (a golden disco ball!), artwork, mirrors etc., etc. Below is the board I made when I got home. (Sources are here.) I think that the process of adding vintage mirrors and the perfect artwork will be a slow burn that I am here for.

Stairway Wallpaper: The Prep Work

Okay- the next two sections are the nitty gritty of the process… I removed the handrail. (I left the main anchors because I’m always so worried that the plaster is going to crumble or leave a huge hole where the screws were.) I also made sure that the walls were fairly clean and then applied clear wall size using a roller. Wall size can be painted onto the wall 3-7 days before wallpapering. You just want to make sure it has enough time to dry but isn’t up long enough to collect dust. Wall size is like a primer for drywall and plaster. It seals up the pores so the wallpaper paste doesn’t absorb into the wall. It also helps with adhesion and limits air bubbles when applying the wallpaper to the wall. Sizing is nice in case you (or a future home owner) want to remove the wallpaper with more ease and without ruining the dry wall beneath the paper. Spoiler: I won’t be removing this wallpaper. Ever.

Stairway Wallpaper: The Process

Of course I took maybe two photos of the actual process. I am so thankful that I had my expert guide teaching and helping me every step of the way. It has been  about two weeks since we completed it but I think that I remember how it went.

Here are the supplies you will need:

Level, pencil, tarp, towel, wallpaper brush, wallcovering adhesive, bucket of water, sponge, snap off knife, pliers, scissors (You can get most of the tools in this kit and likely have the rest lying around at home.)

1- Decide where you are going to start and then using a level/plumb line draw your line. This line is important because it is your jumping off point for all future strips.

2- Spread a tarp and then a towel over the tarp for the pasting process.

3- You can either take the roll or measure how much paper you need for this first strip. Because of all of the angles of the staircase, we found it easiest to take the actual roll to ensure we had enough for the top angle and the bottom angle. (We also needed to make sure that the pattern was lined up properly, which can and did lead to a lot of extra wasted paper but such is the wallpapering process.

4- Paste the strip of wallpaper and let it set for a few minutes.

5- Line the paper up at your eye level first. This part ended up being so much fun! It was a bit like doing a puzzle.

6- Once the paper is all lined up, you can use a scissors to cut excess paper at the top and bottom to lighten the load. (Again, we ended up having quite a bit of excess paper because of all of the angles and matching the print.)

7- Use a damp sponge to get all of the bubbles out of the paper, finalize its place, and seal the seam. You may hear a slight highly satisfying popping that reminds you of bubble wrap. Wipe the paste from the ceiling and baseboards before it dries.

8- Use your snap off knife and a straight edge to cut off the excess paper. (Make sure you are using it such that you are cutting above the straight edge and not into the wall with paper, causing the wallpaper line to be below the actual crease. If you are cutting at the top, you push the snap off knife into the ceiling. If you are working into the baseboard, press into the wood of the baseboard.)

9- Start again. (You can skip the 1st step because you will just line your paper up with the strip you just pasted. For the staircase, we did end up doing Step 1 again when we started on the other side of the stairs.)

The End (-ish) result

I LOVE how it all turned out! I seriously couldn’t have done it without a lot of guidance and help and am so grateful to have had it!! This paper is so beautiful and I love all of the subtly elegant colors in it. It is brand new but also looks like it could have been in our colonial home from the beginning and that is always a good thing in my opinion. My expert said that it was a great pattern for all of the above reasons and also because in such an old home with plaster walls and uneven everything, it is very forgiving; a stripe or grid pattern would have made everything considerably more difficult. All in all, I am so glad to have tackled this project and am excited to keep my wallpapering skills fresh (or at least revisit them via this post lol).