Wallpaper borders: how to choose and use

Wallpaper borders are often used as an additional decorative element that completes the interior design. While some may consider them an outdated finish, wallpaper borders are still popular. Our tips site will tell you about them in as much detail as possible..

Borders are simply strips of wallpaper, most often with a pattern. Manufacturers often produce borders specifically for each type of wallpaper, offering ready-made combinations that complement each other. Therefore, there are usually no problems with the choice of borders – the store is always ready to offer stripes just for the wallpaper you have chosen. However, you can always choose another option from the extensive catalog of manufacturers.

Like wallpaper, borders for them are paper, non-woven, vinyl, as well as for acrylic, fiberglass and textile wallpapers. Accordingly, you need to select the border for the type of wallpaper chosen for the finishing of the walls..

There are several ways to use a wallpaper border:

• Stick at the top, at the junction of the ceiling and wall. In this case, the curb will replace the skirting board and hide the top edge of the wallpaper, completing the picture. The ceiling should be high enough, as the curb is able to visually make the room slightly lower.
• At a height of 1/3 of the floor. Yes, exactly at that height. Not in the middle of the wall! If you glue the border strictly in the center of the wall, the room will seem lower, it will look cut. Therefore, a height of 1/3 from the floor is optimal..
• As a border for a wallpaper panel. It will turn out to be a kind of painting on the wall..
• Around door and window openings to make them stand out.
• Vertically along the entire height of the wall. This technique helps to zone the space and dock two types of wallpaper, if they are used on the same wall..
• At the very bottom of the wall, in front of or instead of the baseboard. This is sometimes done if they made a mistake with the size of the wallpaper strips and there is a noticeable gap below.

If the border is glued to the bottom of the wall, then two types of wallpaper are traditionally used. And the selected strip connects them, making the transition harmonious. According to experts, this approach has a practical function in addition to the aesthetic one. At the bottom of the wall, wallpaper usually wears out faster. And if there is a border, only the lower part can be re-glued.

There are three types of wallpaper borders:

1. Self-adhesive. Nothing else is needed, just peel off the back layer and stick to the wall.
2. On an adhesive basis. They need to be dampened with water before sticking on the wall.
3. The usual ones are vinyl, non-woven, paper, and so on. They are glued to wallpaper glue, the technology is the same as with the wallpaper itself. You just need to buy glue specifically for the selected type of border.

If the strip runs clearly along the perimeter of the ceiling, but gluing it exactly will not be difficult. But in the case of placing the border at the bottom of the wall or vertically, you will need to first take measurements and make markings so that the strip lies perfectly evenly.

The width of the wallpaper border can be very different – from 2 centimeters to the size of traditional wallpaper. The standard roll is 5 and 10 meters long. There are embossed and smooth borders, patterned and solid.

Designers are sure that patterned borders should be used in conjunction with plain wallpaper. Many manufacturers offer the following option – the pattern on the wallpaper is small, and on the border for them – the same, but larger and more noticeable.

Important! Most often, the border is glued directly onto the wallpaper itself. You need to wait until they dry! The border is glued to the joint only with thick wallpaper, for example, made of foamed vinyl. Or with embossed wallpaper.

Borders for wallpaper are inexpensive, cheaper than the decoration itself. And they can look very stylish. It is not for nothing that the collections of many designer wallpapers offer ready-made combinations with borders. This means that this interior design option is still relevant..

The portal spoke in detail about how to properly glue the wallpaper yourself, without assistants..