How can you make a small room feel spacious, a large room seem cozy or the most drab and lifeless room come alive with depth and color? Aside from knocking down walls and raising the roof, wallpaper can do the trick. It comes in as many different patterns, materials, and finishes as there are tastes. Vinyl paper should be used in rooms where there is an abundance of moisture such as the kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room. Vinyl papers are the most moisture resistant and make for easy clean up.

Other types are fabrics, foils, flocks, grass cloth, and thin veneers of cork or natural wood.

As with painting, preparation is important. Great care should be taken to ensure that walls are smooth and clean prior to installing wallpaper. If the wall is papered, the paper should be removed for better adhesion and a better look.

If the wall has a smooth glossy finish, it should be washed with a solution of TSP, lightly sanded with 120-grit sandpaper, and painted with a coat of an oil-base primer/sealer. Unpainted plaster or wallboard, or latex-coated surfaces should be painted with an oil-base primer/sealer as well. The oil-base primer will seal the walls and minimize the amount of moisture absorbed by the wallboard from the paste.

Less-than-perfect wall finishes should first be covered with a lining paper. Lining paper serves as a foundation for the new paper. It will level out the wall and conceal blemishes. It is recommended for certain wallpapers foil and silk, for example.

Having the proper paper-hanging tools is essential. Many home improvement centers or paint and wallpaper specialty stores carry inexpensive paper-hanging kits. They go for less than $20, and contain a pasting brush, a smoothing brush, a razor knife, razor blades, a seam roller, and a plumb bob.

Other tools and equipment required to make the job go smoothly: a large pair of scissors, tape measurer, pencil, water trough, 5-gallon bucket, sponge, spring clamp, a 12-inch to 16-inch straightedge, a stepladder and a pasting table.

Start by setting up your work area. If you will be working in a room where the flooring is in place you'll want to cover it with a canvas drop cloth. Next, set up your pasting table. An old door placed on a couple of saw horses will do. Professionals prefer lightweight portable tables, but they are costly and will only pay for themselves if used often.

A plumb line establishing true vertical should be made on the wall as a guide for the first paper to be hung. This can be done with a plumb bob, a laser level or with a bubble level and a pencil. The line should be as light as possible since dark lines might show through.

Paper can be purchased pre-pasted or hung with paste. For the best bond we suggest that paste be used even if the paper is pre-pasted. Our preference is a mildew-resistant vinyl paste. It is stronger than most others and is especially durable in damp rooms.

Each length of paper should be cut about four inches longer than the distance from the ceiling to the top of baseboard. Once cut, pre-pasted paper should be rolled pattern side in and run through the water trough filled with warm water. The paper should then be laid on the pasting table with the pattern facing down. A spring clamp at one end will help to keep the paper from rolling up. Additional paste should be applied with the pasting brush or a heavy-nap paint roller. It is not necessary to run un-pasted paper through the water trough, although all other steps apply.

After the paper has been pasted, it should be folded over (pasted face to pasted face) so that the ends of the paper meet in the middle. This process called "booking" allows the paste to be evenly spread and the paper to expand to its fullest prior to hanging. The booked paper should be allowed to sit for about 10 minutes.

Now you're ready to hang your first piece of paper. Use the stepladder since paper is hung from the top down. Unfold the top section of the booked paper and place it against the wall with the palms of both hands while allowing about two inches of excess at the top. You'll find that the paper easily can be manipulated along the wall as you align it with the previously made plumb line. Once the top section has been aligned with that line, it should be smoothed with a damp sponge or the smoothing brush, working from the center to the edges. Repeat this process for the bottom half of the paper.

The second and each successive strip of paper should be prepared and hung like the first and should be butt up against the previously installed strip to form a neat and uniform seam. Special care should be taken to ensure that patterns match up at seams when patterned paper is used. Use a seam roller to set the seams after each strip of paper has been smoothed and all air bubbles have been removed.

Using a razor knife and metal straightedge, trim the paper at the ceiling and at the baseboard. Hold the razor knife firmly in one hand and the straightedge in the other, and carefully pull it along the straightedge. Once you have reached the end of the straightedge, move it to the next section to be cut, and carefully continue the process. You will find that changing blades frequently will make the job of trimming easier.

Finally, after all of the paper has been hung, it should be wiped down with a damp sponge and warm water. Wring out the sponge frequently.