How to Wallpaper a Hall, Stairs and Landing
Working safely over a stairwell, handling drops of four metres and more, where to start, how to measure three spaces as one job, and when to hand it to a decorator
Start with the longest drop on the stairwell wall and work outwards from it, using a properly built platform rather than a ladder on a step. Mark a fresh plumb line on every wall, work with a second person, and expect a stairwell to use paper roughly a third faster than a flat wall because each drop is so much longer.
This is the most rewarding wallpapering job in a house and the only one where the main risk is not the paper.
Access comes first
A stairwell means working at height over a flight of stairs, and the standard domestic step ladder is not the answer.
- Use a proper stairwell platform, or a scaffold board between a step ladder and a secure support on the stairs, set level.
- Never rest a ladder foot on a stair tread and hope.
- Have the board wide enough to move along, and check it is stable before you carry a pasted length onto it.
- Work with someone else. One person on the platform, one passing lengths up, is safer and considerably faster.
- Clear the stairs completely. No tools, no offcuts, no bucket on a step.
If you cannot make a genuinely stable platform, this is the job to pay a decorator for. It is not the wallpapering that is difficult.
Plan it as three spaces
A hall, stairs and landing is three areas with different heights, and they need measuring separately:
- The stairwell wall, with the longest drop, often 4m or more.
- The landing, at normal ceiling height.
- The hall, at normal ceiling height.
Averaging the height across all three is the classic way to end up a roll short. Measure each, calculate each, add them together, then add a spare roll.
Where to start
Begin with the longest drop on the stairwell wall. It is the most difficult length in the job, the one most visible from the hall, and the one everything else lines up from, so it wants your full attention and your freshest arms.
Mark your plumb line for it, hang it, then work outwards along the wall in both directions if you can.
Handling a long length
- Cut the length and fold it loosely, printed side in, in a concertina, several soft folds rather than one hard crease.
- Carry it to the platform folded, and let it out a fold at a time as you hang.
- Have your second person support the bottom of the length so it does not fall against the wall or the stairs.
- Set the top to the ceiling line and your plumb line, then release the folds downwards, smoothing as you go.
Never crease a fold flat. A crease in a length this long is permanent and will be at eye level for the rest of its life.
Trimming at the bottom
The bottom of a stairwell drop meets the raking skirting that follows the stairs, which is a diagonal rather than a horizontal.
- Let the length run long over the skirting.
- Crease it firmly along the top edge of the skirting with the smoother, following the rake.
- Cut along the crease against a broad knife, in short steady passes rather than one long one.
Blade discipline matters when you are cutting a line this visible.
Which paper to use
Heavy-grade. A hall and stairwell takes bags, coats, shoulders, prams and dogs, and it is the wall you least want to re-do. You have already read the section about the platform. Our 300gsm paper is vinyl-coated, wipeable and considerably more resistant to scuffing.
Working around the details
- The stair string and spindles: trim to them as you would to an architrave, with relief cuts at each change of direction.
- Light switches at the top and bottom: power off at the consumer unit, then use the standard method.
- Radiators in the hall: paper behind them without removing them.
- The understairs cupboard door: trim to the architrave, and consider papering the door itself.
How do I wallpaper a stairwell safely?
With a purpose-built stairwell platform or a level scaffold board on secure supports, never a ladder on a stair tread, and never alone.
How many rolls do I need for a hall, stairs and landing?
Measure the three areas separately, because the long stairwell drops use paper much faster than the hall and landing. Add them up, then add a spare.
Where do I start?
With the longest drop on the stairwell wall, hung to its own plumb line.
Can I do it on my own?
We would not. Long lengths and working at height over a stairwell are a two-person job.
Which wallpaper is best for a stairwell?
Heavy-grade, for the wear and the wipeability.
How do I cut to the sloping skirting?
Crease along the top of the skirting with the smoother, then cut along the crease in short passes against a broad knife.
