How to Wallpaper Around a Window

As you begin to master the art of hanging wallpaper, you may need to deal with obstacles such as recessed areas like windows and doors. While this might interrupt your flow slightly, it’s much simpler than you might think. For flush windows with architrave, it’s usually just the case of cutting your wallpaper to fit around them. For recessed windows, you’ll need to cut and folding into the recess.

For a more in-depth process, we’ve put together this simple step-by-step guide for professional-looking results.

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Tools needed for wallpapering around a window

Here’s everything you need for a successful wallpaper application:

How to measure for wallpaper around a window

While we recommend continuing to use the same length strips you have for the rest of the wall, you can ensure accuracy even more by measuring the wallpaper for around a window. Firstly, measure the full width and height of the wall, including the window area. Then, measure the width and height off the window recess before subtracting the window’s measurements from the walls. That’ll give you an idea of how much wallpaper you’ll need, but always allow for a little extra for matching patterns, trimming and any mistakes.

Preparing a window for wallpapering

Preparing a window for wallpapering is straightforward. All you need to do is:

Clean the window frame and surrounding wall, removing any unwanted debris
Fill in any cracks or holes
Sand the filler down for a smooth surface
Dry the area and remove any dust prior to wallpapering

How to wallpaper around a flush window

If your window sits flush with the wall with just an architrave around it, the job becomes much simpler. Follow these instructions:

Hang your wallpaper as usual, lining it up with your last strip from the top of the wall and dropping it over the window. Smooth down any larger areas with a smoothing tool or wallpaper brush, while making any cuts to accommodate the architrave before smoothing these parts.

For cutting wallpaper accurately around windows, press the wallpaper into the corner of the window architrave and make a diagonal cut towards the window into the excess paper using wallpaper scissors.

You can now smooth the paper into the gap, pushing it into the corner. Then, cut off the excess using a retractable blade, ensuring a straight cut into the recess between the wall and the architrave.

To wallpaper above a window, cut a piece that matches what you’ve already applied, leaving 1-2 inches at both the top and bottom. Then, smooth it down and trim the excess.

Do the same for the piece under the window, again making sure to match the pattern.

Finally, repeat steps 1 and 2 when you reach the other side of the window.

How to wallpaper around a recessed window

When wallpapering around a recessed window, you need to consider the reveal, as this might also need to be wallpapered. Because of this, you may face awkward corners that you’ll need to work around.

Hang your wallpaper as usual, lining it up with your last strip from the top and dropping it over the window. Smooth down any larger areas with a smoothing tool or brush.

Make a straight, horizontal cut into the overhanging piece, just above the window reveal until you reach to the wall. Do the same at the bottom, just below the reveal. Smooth the overhanging piece into the recess and trim any excess. If this piece of wallpaper isn’t deep enough, you may need to apply another small strip to fill the gap.

To wallpaper above the window, find a piece that matches the pattern against what you’ve already applied. Measure how deep the overhang is and add this to the height of the wall above the window. When cutting, make sure to leave 1-2 inches at the top and bottom of the paper.

Apply the wallpaper onto the wall and smooth it down into the recess, trimming the excess. Then, do the same for the piece under the window, again making sure to match the pattern.

Please note: You may not need to wallpaper into the recess at the bottom of the window as a window sill will more than likely be left un-papered.

You may notice that there’s a gap in the corner of the overhang. To fill this, you’ll need a small piece of wallpaper that matches the piece above the gap. Measure the un-papered area as accurately as possible, adding about 2 inches on the top to fold over the overhang. There will be a slight overlap between this wallpaper and the wallpaper above it, so you’ll need to make sure the pattern matches around 3 inches down from the top of your cut.

Again, make sure to leave 1-2 inches at the bottom for trimming. Then, peel off the bottom of the wallpaper piece above the gap and apply the new piece underneath, overlapping the wallpaper strips and matching the pattern. Next, smooth both pieces down, and the new piece into the overhang before trimming the excess. Lastly, use a seam roller to flatten the overlap and any seams between the wallpaper strips.

Repeat steps 1, 2, and 4 when you reach the other side of the window. The same techniques are then used if you come across a doorway too, whether it’s flush with the wall, or has a recess.

How to avoid wrinkles when wallpapering around windows

Wallpaper brushes and smoothers are the answer to reducing wrinkles in the wallpaper. For proper use, make relief cuts at the corners of the recess so the paper lays completely flat, and then gently press it into place without stretching it. You should take your time when doing this, trim any excess paper as neatly as possible and avoid over-wetting the paper to avoid bubbles too.

While a window may seem like a challenging obstacle when wallpapering a room, all it really requires is a bit of measuring, cutting, and folding to fill in any gaps. Here, pattern matching is important to make sure the wallpaper seamlessly flows around the window, giving you a flawless final result. If you’re not yet up to speed on the basics of wallpapering a room, check out our handy guide.