Dark wallpaper and moody interiors are very popular in the world of interior design and are making a bold wall statement, offering a unique way to bring character and sophistication to any space. Despite the belief that dark walls make a room look smaller, they can make it look larger. Unlike lighter hues, dark tones can create an ambience that is both dramatic and inviting, turning ordinary walls into statement pieces. Whether you’re drawn to rich blacks deep blues, or dark greens, dark wallpaper adds a layer of mystery and warmth that can make a room feel instantly more intimate and stylish.
In this guide, we’ll focus on how to hang dark wallpaper and share getting dark wallpaper on your walls without leaving you with any frustration. Those steps will help to decorate your room beautifully so you will enjoy your wallpaper for many years to come.
Jellyfish Wallpaper Living Waters by Good & Craft
Hiring a Professional Wallpaper Installer
The first step in getting your wallpaper installed nicely is hiring a professional and experienced wallpaper installer, regardless if your wallpaper has a dark background or not. Not only our wallpapers but any wallpapers should be installed by an experienced professional! Without offending anyone, generally speaking, the result when having wallpapers installed by a specialist is much better than attempting to install them by yourself or by a contractor/painter who claims to know how to hang wallpapers.
The second step to installing wallpapers nicely is to never hang them without reading through the wallpaper hanging instructions. Always hand the installation instructions that come with your paper to your installer. Dark wallpapers do need extra precautions before and during installation to achieve a great result. When rushing through the installation or not reading the hanging instructions things can go wrong! As wallpapers usually are an addition to your home intended to stay on the walls for many years to come, you should take time to source an expert who understands that wallpapering is a delicate craft. To find a professional who is providing high-end wallcovering installation in your area you can check with The Wallcovering Installers Association (www.wallcoveringinstallers.org) or for the area around London (www.renovart.co.uk).
Learn how to avoid visible seams
Regardless of the colour of your wallpaper, the reverse side of the paper is generally white, as is the nature of any paper that is printed on. This means that the sides of the paper are white as well. A common mistake when hanging dark wallpapers is that they are installed without taking any precautions. However, wallpapers with an overall dark colour are known for developing visible seams (white edges where the ends of the paper meet). In other words, the sides of the wallpaper can be visible as a thin white line. For light-coloured wallpapers, this effect usually isn't too obvious and not much of a concern. With dark wallpaper on the other hand the white paper sides highlight against the dark background, and this obviously can spoil the whole look!
Step 1: Colour the Edges of Dark Wallpaper
To avoid having visible seams that will highlight against the dark of the wallpaper, the edges of the wallpaper should be coloured with a decorator’s crayon in a similar colour to your paper before hanging. Never use greasy or liquid paint. Make sure the crayon or marker you use is not water-soluble, and always test on a sample first to ensure it does not leave any stains on the surface. We had good results with wax/ oil pastels such as Neocolor l by Caran d'Ache (make sure to go for No.l which is waterproof). Alternatively, a pencil crayon or marker will do the job (again, ensure that it is not water-soluble!)
Colouring the edges of dark wallpaper should always be done before hanging your paper and whilst the roll is in its tight form and you are starting to unroll the paper. Give just a slight colouring along the edges without adding too much pressure to avoid marking the front of the paper. We strongly advise darkening the edges of black wallpaper, but also highly recommend this method for other dark shades including dark green, dark blue, etc.
If you are dealing with a very busy pattern this might not be necessary as the pattern itself can disguise seams, however, the above step is even more important if your wallpaper has a pattern against a dark block colour. For some patterns, you might only need to partially darken the edges working with the pattern itself by only darkening those parts that are showing dark colour along the paper sides leaving out any lighter coloured parts of the pattern.
Not everyone feels the same about visible wallpaper edges of course (some might not be bothered), but we strongly recommend not cutting corners here and always following this important step. It will leave you with a much better result, helping to achieve a smooth overall look and only takes a few minutes! Dealing with visible edges once the paper is already on the walls not only requires the delicate work of a highly experienced professional and is a lot more time-consuming involving extra cost for labour, but in most cases trying to deal with visible seams afterwards also leaves you with a result that isn't as satisfying.
Video Good & Craft: Colouring the edges of the dark wallpaper Living Waters with a black wax pastel before hanging the wallpaper.
Step 2: Wall Preparation - Painting the Wall Dark
In addition to colouring the edges of your paper, you can paint dark vertical lines on the wall before hanging your wallpaper. This will help to disguise any small gaps between the wallpaper drops. For example, our Good & Craft wallpapers have a width of 52cm when going for a standard-sized wallpaper roll of 52cmx10m. So the seams of the wallpaper will meet at every 52cm. Paint roughly 5cm wide stripes on your walls in a matching colour to your wallpaper. You don't have to be too exact here, just cover some cm on either side of where your wallpaper seams will meet.
Depending on the style of your interior it might also look good to have the ceiling corniche and skirting board or wall panelling/dado rail painted in a dark shade to match your wallpaper. This is not only decorative, but it also helps to achieve a clean and more cohesive overall look.
Photo wall preparation for hanging wallpapers with a dark background,
(Left) Rio Wallpaper in Charcoal by Good & Craft
Step 3: Keep the Seams Tight!
Now that your wallpaper has dark-coloured edges and (ideally your wall dark stripes where the paper drops will meet), the wallpaper can go up on the wall. Again, it is very important to take time to get this right and not rush through the installation. We recommend pasting the wall to hang one length at a time, so you do not need to fear that the paste dries out on other parts of the wall whilst hanging. Our wallpapers are to butt-joint subsequent lengths, which means that the edges of two paper stripes just meet and do not overlap. The papers need to be joined carefully as closely as possible to avoid having a gap between the two paper drops. This is especially important if the wall has not been painted dark before as written above (and as shown in our video below. We managed to join the panels without any gaps). If you do skip painting the wall dark, keep in mind, that if a dark wallpaper is hung directly on a white wall even the smallest gaps between the panels will highlight against the dark wallpaper even if you have darkened the edges previously! Dark stripes painted on the walls or not, make sure that the seams are well stuck down to the wall.
Video Good & Craft: Keep the seams tight and make sure that there are no gaps between the paper panels.
Get Inspired:
How customers style wallpapers with different accessories, fittings and paint colours is the greatest inspiration. Below are two breathtaking dark bathroom projects by lovely customers using our jellyfish wallpaper Living Waters in Charcoal/Amber, combining the dark wallpaper with different shades of green wall paneling.
Above left: Aiden T. Interior Design, Photo taken by JYU Studio, Singapore, using Good & Craft jellyfish wallpaper paired with dark green paint Chimichurri CSP810 by Benjamin Moore. / Right: Ami F., Lancashire England using Good & Craft jellyfish wallpaper combined with grey-green paint by Little Greene.
Summary on Mastering Dark Wallpaper Installation:
A few extra steps that take only a few minutes of your time will help to achieve a smooth overall look, avoiding visible gaps and preventing dark wallpaper seams from showing.
Hire a professional and experienced wallpaper installer. Always hand them the wallpaper installation instructions that come with your wallpaper.
Take your time and do not rush through the installation. Preparation is key.
Colour the edges of dark wallpaper with a matching decorator’s crayon (or wax/ oil pastel) before hanging your paper.
Ensure that your crayon (or wax pastel) is not water-soluble and always test on a sample first to ensure it does not leave any stains.
For the best result paint dark stripes in a matching colour on your wall where the wallpaper seams will meet.
Keep the seams tight!
Comments