Paste the wall or paste the paper? Plainly explained

Wallpaper hanging comes in two methods, and the label on the roll tells you which one you've bought. Paste the wall means you roll paste straight onto the wall and hang the paper dry. Paste the paper means you coat the back of each length, fold it, and let it soak before it goes up. They sound close. In practice they're different jobs, and using the wrong one for a given paper is one of the commonest ways a good roll ends up looking rushed. Here's what separates them, and how to know which one you're dealing with.

What the two methods actually mean

The difference is simply where the paste goes. With paste the wall, the adhesive is applied to the wall in the width of one drop, and a dry length of paper is smoothed onto it. With paste the paper, the adhesive goes on the back of the paper, which is then loosely folded paste to paste, a step called booking, and left for a few minutes to relax before hanging. That soaking time matters more than it looks, and it's the root of most of the practical differences below.

Paste the wall, and why it took over

Paste the wall is the newer method, and it has become the default for a lot of modern wallpapers. It's faster, because there's no soaking and no pasting table cluttering the room. It's cleaner, since the paper stays dry until it touches the wall, so less paste ends up on the front. And it's kinder to a first-timer, because the paper doesn't expand once it's up, which means the seams stay where you put them.

The catch is that it only works with papers built for it. These are usually non-woven papers, made with a fabric-like fibre that holds its shape when wet. If a roll is labelled paste the wall, trust it, and don't paste the back out of habit.

Paste the paper, and when it's still right

Paste the paper is the traditional method, and plenty of lovely papers still use it. Many hand-finished prints, traditional pulps, and some heavier or specialist papers need paste on the back and time to soak. That soaking lets the paper expand fully before it reaches the wall, so it doesn't stretch and then shrink back once it's up.

It asks a bit more of you. You need a pasting table, somewhere to book each length, and a bit of rhythm so every drop soaks for the same time. Give two lengths different soaking times and they can end up slightly different sizes, which shows at the seams. It isn't hard, but it rewards patience.

In short

• Paste the wall: paste on the wall, hang the paper dry. Faster, cleaner, more forgiving. Usually non-woven.

• Paste the paper: paste on the back, fold and soak, then hang. Traditional, needs a table and even timing.

• Same soak time for every length on a paste-the-paper job, or your seams won't sit flush.

• Never mix the two on one paper. The label decides, not the decorator.

How to tell which one your wallpaper needs

You don't have to guess. Every roll states its method, usually as a small symbol on the label or in the hanging notes in the pack: a brush over a wall means paste the wall, a brush over a length of paper means paste the paper. If you've lost the label, the product page will say. On our own listings the method sits in the spec table next to the pattern repeat and match type, so you can check before the rolls arrive. When in doubt, read it twice, because this is the one detail you can't fix once the paste is on.

A few things that catch people out

The most common mistake is pasting the back of a paste-the-wall paper because that's how someone was taught years ago. It turns a clean job into a wet, stretchy one. The second is rushing a paste-the-paper hang and giving each length a different soak, which opens gaps at the seams as the paper dries. The third is drowning either type in paste. You want an even coat, not a thick one, and any that squeezes out at the seam wants wiping off straight away with a damp sponge before it dries shiny.

None of this should put you off. Once you know which method your paper uses, hanging it is mostly patience and a sharp blade. If you're still choosing, it helps to know that a lot of our easy-to-hang designs are paste the wall, which is the gentler place to start. You can see the method listed on every design in our wallpaper range, right beside the pattern repeat, so you'll know what the job involves before you commit to a roll.