Help to wallpaper top of wall with curve!

[huggpig]

Hi

I'm new to decorating, having only wallpapered one room before. We've bought a house and it has a lovely feature on the walls - the wall curves outwards at the top. I'd call it a cornice but its not, as its part of the wall, the plaster just curves. I've found it annoying but manageable to put Anagylypta up so farin the corners, but now I have come to do the Chimney breast. I can't manage to get the paper round the top edge (the edge that is sticking out). Everything I try leaves a mess, lumps and bumps where the paper is overlapping.

Any ideas how I could manage this? In the next room the previous owner has patched the paper, its ruined the pattern but that doesnt matter for me as its Anagylypta. Should I try that next?

If enclosed some pics to make what I'm writing make sense! I hope someone can help - I just want the place to look nice!

I've linked to flickr because I cant seem to upload pics to diynot! please have a look and any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/huggapig/sets/72157630197166688/

 

[vv2806]

I don't know what Anagylypta is but if it would look OK if you cut curved lines, I have an idea what you could do, although I am not a professional decorator.

Measure the wall at the ceiling (the widest part of the wall) and mark where the sheets of wallpaper should meet. Then draw vertical lines on the walls starting from that marks. Then buy a roll of the cheapest paper (lining paper perhaps) you can find and use it to make patterns. I can imagine several ways to do this.

1) Perhaps the easiest way is to hold a length of the scrap paper to the wall and transfer the line from the wall to the paper. Then cut the paper and try it against the wall. If it needs corrections, cut some more (or if have already cut too much, transfer you pattern to another length of scrap paper).

2) Place a length of paper against the wall, so that the edge of the papers is on the vertical line where the wall is straight. Mark the point where the line on the wall goes away from the paper. Measure the distance between the edge of the paper at ceiling level and the joint line at ceiling level. Cut a small piece of paper that will much exactly the part of the wall between the joint line and paper edge. Attach it to the length of scrap paper and you have the pattern.

3) You can split one of you vertical lines (only the curved part) to small sections (say an inch each) and draw horizontal lines for each section to the next vertical line on the wall. Measure the length of each horizontal line and transfer it to your scrap paper, keeping the distance of one inch between the lines.

Once you are happy with your pattern, transfer it to the Anagylypta wallpaper. I would imagine, when you get the curve right on one pattern, it would be easy to reuse it or to transfer the curve to the other lengths of wallpaper.

Another thing you can do, if the height of the ceilings allows - put a picture rail, so that the curves are above it and paint that part of the wall same as the ceiling. Wallpaper below the picture rail.

 

[huggpig]

Thanks for your reply! I shall give what you say a go - good plan to use scrap paper to make a template! I'm slightly concerned though that it may leave a loose 'flap' of paper along the line of the two walls meeting. We will be painting it though so this may not matter in the long run!

We already have a picture rail The plan is to do this Anagylypta wallpapering on the top half so that from then onwards we dont have to worry about this issue, we can just paint over always. thats the plan, at least!!

 

[vv2806]

Yes, I knew while writing that there was something wrong with the word pattern It should be template of course.

Are you sure there is a picture rail? Maybe it is a dado rail.

 

[dcdec]

If you have a picture rail the simplest solution is to paper up to it and paint above it the same colour as the ceiling. Thats a tricky angle to paper and TBH i'd have to sit and look at it for a bit to be able to work something out and really could do with a picture zoomed out a bit to get a general idea.

One thing though you will never get anything looking any good by trying to fold a piece of paper around the angle, i think i'd plumb both sides of the external corner at maximum width, so paper is 52cm wide i'd plumb 52 cm away from the widest point (where it flairs), then trim off with a very sharp blade following the angle and do this to both pieces of paper. So the paper doesnt technically actually meet but you'll get away with it because your painting it and there will also be some pattern loss but thats inevitable.
Hope that makes sense cos its tricky to explain

 

[vv2806]

I suppose a picture rail would be seen in some of the pictures, so it might be a dado. Completely agree with you dcdec, that if there is a picture rail, it is better to paint above it. Not only because it is easy but imho, it would look better too. The top of the chimney breast is beautiful and if it was my house, I would want it to stand up from the rest of the wall.

Another option if it is a dado rail, might be to paint the whole chimney breast in a different colour than the wallpapered wall.

 

[vv2806]

If the OP posts pictures of the whole room, it would be easier to come with ideas.

 

[huggpig]

thank you everyone for the ideas! I'm sorry I didnt reply sooner, I've been working late these past few days.

There is definately a picture rail not a dado rail in the room I am currently decorating. We want to paint above the PR the same as the ceiling but we cant just paint the wall as you suggest as the walls are to old and bumpy. Hence me wallpapering Anagylypta. From now on, whenever we need to decorate, we will only need to paint! thats the plan anyways!!

I post you a wider picture of the area when I get home from work tonight if you think it will help you for ideas. I really appreciate all the help you guys are giving!

So far I'm thinking patching the wallpaper is the only way to go, like the previous occupiors of the house have done in the other room with same problem (pic is there, on my flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/huggapig/sets/72157630197166688/ )

 

[StephenW]

I would start with the sides. A piece of paper will follow the curve so long as you don't try taking it around the corner onto the face. Paste a piece of the anaglypta to the side wall so that it is slightly wider and sticks out at the front edge. Then cut the paper so that it's maybe half an inch wider than the side wall and bend the half-inch round onto the face. At the top curved bit you will need to cut little triangles out so that the paper doesn't crease as you fold it round. Repeat with the other side wall. Now paper the face but with a sharp kife or wallpaper scissors trim it to the exact shape of the edge so that it doesn't need to go round onto the side. Then paint. I think that would work. Hope you can follow my thinking.

 

[huggpig]

thanks StephenW, i will bear that in mind too. Depending what time I get home tonight I will see if I have time to give it a go, and post results. Also post that wider piccy that the others wanted to see

 

[huggpig]

Hi everyone

I've updated my set on flickr to show you some wider shots, as requested. Thanks! http://www.flickr.com/photos/huggapig/sets/72157630197166688/

 

[dcdec]

StephenW has actually said what i was trying to say, its confusing showing the papered room without picture rail when what you're trying to do is paper with a picture rail. You wouldn't normally paper above a picture rail and i think it'll look a bit strange broken up by it. Get some toupret tx130 and skim the whole area above the picture rail, rub down and paint the ceiling colour.

If you do go ahead and paper its easier than i'd thought as its only a relatively short piece, as Stephen has said and i tried to say just use two pieces hung toward the external edge and run a knife whilst keeping contact with the edge down the angle. Do this on both sides and also try to work your paper out so that where it goes into the edge of the angle its blank background, although this wont matter to much on painted anaglypta, thanks for the extra pictures

 

[huggpig]

thanks dcdec, I'll let you know how I get on when I get round to it tomorrow evening. Other rooms in the house upstairs have wallpaper above the pic rail, and it looks fine. We did consider skimming it with that thick paint you can get as thats how it is in the bedroom but we dont like it all that much. there's no pattern to the Anagylypta so painting should be fine once its up

 

[huggpig]

Thanks again everyone, I have now finished the wallpapering above the pic rail and given it a paint and it looks really good. Thanks for all your suggestions, in the end I did as vv2806 first suggested with making templates for the two walls. I also wrapped the paper round about a cm and cut the triangles to follow the curve. Thanks again!

 

[vv2806]

Come on, post pictures, we want to see it too