Interior Decorating Information

Using Wallpaper Borders for a budget kitchen backsplash

Add some splash to your kitchen without spending a lot of money. Using a simple wallpaper border for your backsplash. This can be a pretty good bargain by finding borders in the closeout bin at your local store or your home improvement center. Just make sure they have enough of the border you select to go around the whole area you want to cover.

Since most wall papers these days come pre-pasted, applying the border is that much easier. The typical backsplash area is usually small so this project can be done in one afternoon in most cases. While selecting your border, think about your overall theme or colors of the kitchen. You definitely want to pick something that complements the kitchen, be sure to pick one that is washable so that you can easily remove all the splashes that occur during normal kitchen activities.

First prepare your wall area for the wallpaper, clean the wall thoroughly first and let dry. Just wash them with soap and water but make sure you get any gunk or grease spots off or you will regret it later. If there are any holes in the plaster, you will want to patch them, but little holes are not bad and the border will cover them up. Remove any coverings to any light switches or electrical outlets, if possible turn off the power to these, if not be extra careful while doing so.

Take measurements for your wall paper so it is a couple of inches longer that the actual size of the backsplash and cut it. Apply the paper to the wall per the manufactures instructions. If your paper has a pattern, make sure you match the pattern. The bottom of the border should butt up against your counter. If there are any windows or moldings in the area, you will want to overlap any paper that is against them. Then make sure you smooth the paper out with a wet sponge or wallpaper brush to remove any bubbles and wrinkles after applying. When the border is up, take a wet sponge and smooth it out to the edge. Always move the sponge from the paper to the wall so that the edge doesn't buckle. Make sure the edges have enough paste on them so that they don't peel back later. Cut off excess paper around any moldings, windows and in the electrical outlets and or switches.

Then you are done! These look great and as long as you used the right type of paper it should give you many years of enjoyment.