ABC: always be course-correcting
Wallpaper hanging is all about precision and the ability to course-correct. Either you are right on the money, or you are not, and you need to get back to something that makes sense.
We were hanging this hallway mural and the design on the wallpaper was like a very huge impressionist piece of art. This piece very much required our professional wallpaper installation skills. There was a half inch overlap at the edge of each panel, and we were tasked with trimming through both pieces of wallpaper, at the same time, the whole way down through just that half inch! This resulted in cutting off a quarter of an inch of the top sheet and quarter of an inch of the bottom sheet at the same time, to get the pattern to line up. It’s both kind of insane and also weirdly doable, and this vague, impressionist painting look was both forgiving and also challenging. See a condensed version of this process on Instagram!
Overall, the install came out awesome! There were some tense moments, though. We realized at a point about halfway through the length of the mural, that the image was drifting slightly downward. Not great. Not the worst, but not great! If we kept going as it was, we were going to run out of wallpaper at the top of the sheets before we got to the end of the wall.
Get this - there was a door in the middle of the hallway! Above the door was about 12” and the only thing within the mural image in that space was sky. Mottled, impressionistic, brushstroke-like filled sky.
So we took the opportunity as it presented to shift the next panel up. We took it up about four inches, and there was still sky and the vaguely defined pattern didn’t seem to mind at all.
It was such a relief to gain back our level image for the remaining length of the wall. I’m learning to accept experiences like these as powerful reminders of what can happen on a job. It’s not about being perfect but being resourceful. Having an understanding of the wallpaper, trusting the process, and being willing to pivot when needed, keeps me from crumbling and helps me stay in charge. There is always a way!
