Tips Help Smooth the Way to Wallpapering : Decorating: Prepasted and vinyl-coated coverings make the job simpler. Doing it yourself trims the cost.

You were born with a painter’s cap on your head and a roller in your hand. You can refinish an old bureau with the skill of a Homer Formby. You know your way around stencils and faux finishes. You’ve refinished your pine floors and still had time left over to run up some balloon shades for the windows.

Why, then, does the very notion of wallpapering send you running for the Yellow Pages?

Even staunch do-it-yourselfers tend to conjure up images out of Laurel and Hardy movies when they contemplate the job: impossibly long strips of paper peeling off the walls and entangling the hapless paperhanger, paste buckets upending at inopportune moments, air bubbles with minds of their own. That sort of thing. Plus more mundane worries that rolls of premium-priced paper can be ruined by a slip of a brush or an inexpertly wielded pair of scissors.

But isn’t wallpaper worth it?

The first wallpapers were developed as popularly priced alternatives to the tapestries, murals and frescoes that adorned the walls of the rich. But in the 18th Century, they became an aristocratic fad themselves when Madame de Pompadour ordered papers for Versailles.

They’ve gone in and out of fashion since then, but are especially favored these days as decorators discover that nothing else can unify a room with such style.

Paired with coordinating colors, fabrics and borders, wallpaper can make even rooms with awkward collections of angles and architectural features look like a harmonious whole.

Depending on the patterns chosen, papers can make your ceilings soar, expand a small space or add unexpected richness.

In addition, the paperer’s job has been eased by the introduction of prepasted papers and vinyl-coated wall coverings that are tough, scrubbable and reasonably kid-proof.

There’s a variety of price ranges, too, but papering can admittedly be an expensive proposition--all the more reason to learn how to do it yourself. A professional job can multiply your costs.

The following instructions are for hanging paper that is not prepasted. The same techniques apply for prepasted papers except that the work at the pasting table can be eliminated.

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You will need (in addition to the paper and paste) a drop cloth to protect the floors, a table for pasting (a board of the appropriate length and width, lain across trestles, is good), a brush for applying the paste, a bristle brush or soft sponge for smoothing, a plumb line, a folding ruler, a pencil or carpenter’s chalk, a pair of sharp scissors, an X-acto or utility knife, and a stepladder.

A bucket with clean water and a washcloth are helpful too; hands must be kept clean and free of paste to avoid smudging the wallpaper.

Some preparation is essential. It’s true that wallpaper covers a multitude of sins, but a smooth, regular surface will make your job easier. Old layers of paper should be removed, rough spots sanded, and holes or cracks filled and sanded smooth.

However, raw plaster walls can be a problem because the plaster can absorb the paste, resulting in paper that will not adhere. Before adding the paper, you may have to paint the walls with a coat of sizing.

Choose a starting point. One logical choice is to start to one side of the room’s largest or central window and work around the room to the other side.

Measure the length of your walls, add two inches to each end and cut enough lengths of wallpaper to cover the walls. Set the pieces aside. However, if you have to match patterns, it will be easier to cut as you go instead of cutting all the pieces at once. The short pieces above doors and windows should be cut just before you need them.

Subtract a quarter-inch from the width of your paper and mark that distance on the wall from the edge of the frame. Using the plumb line, draw a straight line through the mark.

Straighten the first length of paper, set it face down on the pasting table and apply paste to the back side with a brush. Apply a brush full of paste to the center of the piece and brush outward.

Fold the top and bottom of the paper toward the center (do not crease); the bottom fold should be twice as big as the top. Drape the folded paper over your arm and carry it to the wall. Using the stepladder, apply the pasted side to the wall, with the outside edge lined up with the straight line.

Flip up the top fold (the paper will overlap the ceiling a couple of inches) and smooth the paper down, then unfold the lower part and smooth against the wall.

Smooth the length with a bristle brush or sponge to remove any creases and air bubbles. If bubbles remain even after smoothing, you may have to carefully peel back the paper, sponge on a little extra water and smooth again.

Use a knife or the edge of the scissors to score the point where the paper meets the ceiling. Gently peel back the paper and cut along the scored line for a clean top edge. Making sure that the paper lies flat against the window frame, score the overlap at the frame as well. Carefully peel back the overlapping paper and cut off, working from the bottom up. Score and trim the bottom edge of the length as well.

Immediately clean up any paste that may have gotten on the woodwork. Fold any cut pieces of pasted paper and get them out of the way so they will not stick to things.

Continue pasting and hanging the paper lengths, lining each near edge against the edge of the length just hung so the joint does not show. Make sure the matching edge is correctly positioned before the other side is smoothed against the wall.

Professionals use a hardwood roller to roll the seams flat when the paste has partially dried. Don’t do this immediately, though, as paste may be squeezed out.

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Don’t attempt to turn a corner, as the paper can buckle if the corner is not a clean right angle. Instead, measure the distance from the edge of the last length to the corner and add a half-inch (or an inch if you are turning a convex corner). Cut the paper to this width. Paste and set in position, with the extra half-inch turning the corner. When you place your next length, begin at the corner, covering the overlap. Use the plumb line again to make sure the paper is laid straight.

To paper around the edge of a window or door, cut the piece to allow for the corner, allowing for a quarter-inch of overlap. Make a quarter-inch diagonal cut from the corner. Then paste the length of paper and set it in place, positioning the notched edge at the corner.

With the smoothing brush, smooth the paper into the crease around the frame. Score the overlapping paper with the edge of the scissors, then carefully trim it off.