Seamless Perfection: Tips for Hiding Wallpaper Seams

Even if you make a precise seam when installing wallpaper, it can come apart later. However, some methods can help you avoid this. You can also disguise a less-than-perfect seam with simple tricks.

Effective Ways to Achieve Flawless Seams During Wallpaper Installation

To achieve the perfect aesthetic of a space, learn how to hide wallpaper seams before installing them. Of course, there are ways to hide seams even if they have come apart. But the room will look neater and more cohesive if you follow these simple rules from the beginning of the wallpapering process.

Basic Wallpaper Pasting Techniques

Often, customers do not think about how they will connect the stripes of wallpaper while choosing one for their interior. They are more interested in color, pattern, texture, durability, and other issues. But when it comes to pasting, the key question is how to hang wallpaper without seams showing. Wallpaper manufacturers provide several ways to connect wallpaper. The choice of a specific one depends on the pattern, thickness of the wallpaper, the material from which it is made, and other factors.

• Butt Seam: a method of joining home wallpaper sheets tightly to each other.
• Overlap: one panel is placed on top of another. This option is only suitable for thin wallpaper that has an even thinner side strip. The technique is not working for thick wallpaper, although it is the easiest to perform. The joints will be visible regardless of whether your wallpaper is solid or patterned.
• Double Cut is a combination of both methods. First, you overlap pieces of wallpaper and then use a thin blade to run along the overlap to create a perfect seam.

Auxiliary Tools That Will Make Seams Invisible

When people paste wallpaper without the help of professionals, they can make the effect of wallpaper seams visible. The reason is not just in the rich experience that specialists have but also in the tools they use. You may need:

• A high-quality seam buster with a double-edged blade. It is used for accurate cuts and protection of the drywall, plasterboard, or other materials from damage. With its help, you will achieve a professional look of seams with the Double Cut method.
• Thin and clear plastic tape applied to the wall under the cut also protects the wall from damage. When making a Double Cut, it is important that the wall remains intact. Otherwise, the wallpaper may sag into the gap, and the seam will be visible.
• Thin blue tape protects the front side of the home wallpaper from excess plaster.
• A seam roller helps press the edges of the wallpaper tightly to the wall to achieve a better fit.

Additional Measures for Hiding Wallpaper Seams

You can try useful ideas to hide wallpaper seams to achieve better results. Take additional tricks in case the seams come apart:

• Paint or prime the vertical line on the wall where you will be joining the wallpaper. The color of the paint or primer should match the main tone of the wallpaper. The primer is needed to hide the layer that has come apart. It will help prevent this from happening. If you apply an additional layer of primer to the wall under the joint, it will hold the plaster and will not allow it to seep into the wall. As a result, your wallpaper will stick to it more tightly.
• If you have chosen colored wallpaper, you can carefully paint its edge with a pen or marker in the color of the wallpaper.

What to Do if the Seams Still Come Apart?

If you have taken extra measures and followed all the rules for joining wallpaper, the seams should be invisible. But sometimes, it is impossible to achieve perfection, especially when you are installing a new type of wallpaper. In this case, do not despair and decide never to resort to the DIY method again. It is better to learn how to hide wallpaper seams after installation.

• Method #1. The seams may come apart because the amount of plaster was insufficient. In this case, carefully bend the edge of the wallpaper and scrape off the dried glue. Apply a little PVA or the composition with which you glued the wallpaper. Press the edge and smooth the joint with a roller.
• Method #2. If the seams have come apart because the wallpaper has shrunk, the first method will not help. In this case, you can paint over the exposed seam with watercolor pens. But in this case, you should wipe the paint off the face of the wallpaper immediately with a damp soft cloth.

The Bottom Line

You can minimize the appearance of visible seams using paint, primer, or regular watercolor pens and markers. It will only take you a couple of minutes to apply paint/primer to the wall. Painting the edge of colored or dark wallpaper with a pen will also take no more than a few minutes. But the result will be a professional-looking seam. Also, invest in professional tools that will help you achieve perfect seams. They are not expensive but will come in handy every time you want to update your interior design.