Preparation is possibly the least exciting part of any interior design or DIY job – unless, of course, you have a fetish for sanding banisters – but it is also possibly the most crucial to get right. Sure, you can fill in any gaps in your preparation as you go along (sometimes literally) but on the whole, the quality and thoroughness of your preparation will influence your enjoyment of the job itself. Or to put it another way, more preparation = less frustration.

Getting Organised

Depending on your personality type you’ll either love or hate this next bit. If you’re the sort of person who likes to just grab a brush and a tin of paint and spontaneously change the colour of the dining room one morning, then you might find this difficult. However, if you like lists, structure and doing things in a certain order, this is for you. Sadly, unless you spontaneous types like a ‘spontaneous-looking’ result, you’ll need to do this too. The secret is: Plan, Buy, and only then DIY.

• Plan – Research, measure, estimate quantities. Go through the entire job – whatever it is – in your head first; imagine each stage and make a list of what tools and materials you will need. Allow your inner critic free reign here and let them point out all the mistakes you’re making and short cuts you’re taking as you do this imaginary job; for example, if you’re painting the ceiling, did you remember about dustsheets to cover everything up? Or is your imaginary antique desk now covered in imaginary emulsion? Take the critic’s feedback and amend your list accordingly.
• Buy – Now take your list and buy everything on it that you don’t already have. In fact, buy a little extra just to be on the safe side. If you’ve calculated that your room needs six rolls of wallpaper, get seven to just to allow for the inevitable mistakes and for pattern-matching (it won’t hurt to have some spare either for any repairs needed in the future).
• DIY – You’ve prepared properly, you have everything you need, you may start. Have fun!

Papering Over The Cracks

It’s fair to say that hanging wallpaper is a DIY job for which preparation has such an impact on the finished result that it’s worth a special mention here. If you don’t hang your paper on a good surface, it’s much more likely to look uneven or just pull away from the wall entirely. So good preparation for paper hanging is key.

First, use filler to repair any cracks or bashes (including those gouges you might have made when you were over-enthusiastic about taking off the old paper!). Sand the filler well, remember you’re aiming for a perfect surface; the more critical your eye at this stage, the happier you’ll be later.

If any of the plaster is blown or loose, then remove it and either fill or replaster depending on how big an area it is. Again, a nice, smooth finish is what you’re looking to achieve.

If you’re hanging on new plaster, you need to let the plaster fully dry out first otherwise the wall will just be too damp for a successful job.Depending on thickness of plaster and humidity, this could take up to four weeks. You’ll also need to coat the walls with either size or diluted wallpaper paste to seal them. Otherwise, the new plaster is ‘thirsty’ and absorbs too much of the moisture from the paste. Result? Your lovely new wallpaper peeling off the wall. Best not to skip this step.

If you’re hanging over gloss or semi-gloss paint, then lightly sand it down to roughen or key the finish and give the wallpaper paste something to get a grip on.

With your perfect wall surface, you’re much more likely to get that perfectly papered wall.Yes, there’s still plenty of challenges to overcome, but you’ve given yourself the best start.

Of course, all this – whether for wallpaper or any other DIY job – is assuming that you want an excellent result. You might be perfectly content – indeed, it might be your signature ‘look’ – to have pitted walls, painted-over window frames and varnish stains on the carpet. In which case, keep going as long as it makes you happy. If, on the other hand, you want as fine a result as possible then all the above applies, and you might want to bear in mind the 5 Ps: “Perfect Preparation Produces Perfect Presentation”.