How-To Guide

How to Wallpaper Around Windows and Awkward Corners

Window reveals and corners are where most first-time wallpapering projects go wrong — not because the techniques are difficult, but because they're the parts of the job with no straight run of wall to fall back on. A flat wall forgives small errors; a window reveal or a corner shows every one of them. Understanding a few specific techniques before you start — rather than improvising at the moment you reach the window — is the difference between a neat finish and a visibly patched one.

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Papering a window reveal: the two approaches

There are two accepted ways to handle a window reveal (the recessed sides, top, and sill of the window opening). The simpler approach is to paper up to the edge of the reveal and paint the reveal itself in a coordinating colour — this avoids any pattern matching inside the recess and is the more forgiving choice for a first attempt. The more finished approach is to wrap the wallpaper into the reveal itself, papering the top, sides, and sometimes the sill in the same pattern, which gives a more considered, professional look but requires more precise cutting since the reveal depth is rarely a clean multiple of your paper width. If you're using a bold pattern, papering the reveal in the same paper is generally worth the extra effort — painting it out can leave an odd blank frame around a busy pattern.

Cutting around a window frame

Hang the paper down over the window opening as if the window weren't there, smoothing it into place above and to the side of the frame. Once it's positioned, make a diagonal cut from the corner of the window frame outward at roughly 45 degrees, which allows the paper to fold back against the frame edge without tearing or bunching at the corner. Trim the excess against the frame with a sharp blade and a straightedge, working from the centre of each edge outward toward the corners rather than starting at a corner, which reduces the risk of an uneven cut where two trim lines meet. Change your blade frequently — a dull blade is the single most common cause of a torn, ragged edge around a window.

Internal corners: never wrap a full strip

An internal corner (where two walls meet, forming an inward angle) should never have a full-width strip of paper wrapped around it — walls are rarely perfectly square, and a full strip taken around a corner will hang slightly off-plumb on the new wall, throwing off every strip that follows. Instead, cut the strip so that it wraps only 15–20mm around the corner, then start a new strip on the following wall, overlapping the 15–20mm return by a small margin rather than trying to butt-match the pattern exactly at the corner. This technique sacrifices a small, usually invisible amount of pattern continuity right at the corner in exchange for every subsequent strip on the new wall hanging plumb.

External corners: wrap and double-cut

An external corner (a corner that projects outward into the room, such as the corner of a chimney breast or a door reveal) behaves differently and can generally take a slightly wider wrap — up to 25–30mm — because the paper is less likely to crease or lift on an outward-facing edge. For a genuinely neat external corner in a highly visible spot, some installers use a double-cut technique: overlap the new strip over the wrapped return by a couple of centimetres, then cut through both layers simultaneously in a straight vertical line with a sharp blade and straightedge, remove the two offcuts, and press the two now-butted edges down. This produces an almost invisible seam directly on the corner, but it requires a very sharp blade and a steady hand, so it's worth practising the technique on an offcut before attempting it on the wall.

Sockets, switches, and other fixtures near a corner or window

Fixtures that fall close to a window reveal or a corner compound the difficulty because there's less flat wall to work with around them. Always turn off the power at the consumer unit before working near a socket or switch, then loosen (don't remove) the faceplate screws, hang the paper over the fixture, pierce a cross-shaped cut centred on the fitting, and trim the flaps back to just inside the faceplate before retightening — this hides the raw cut edges under the plate. If a fixture sits within a few centimetres of a window reveal or corner cut, plan the order of operations before you start: it's usually easier to complete the corner or reveal cut first and handle the fixture cut as a secondary, smaller adjustment once the strip is otherwise in place.

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Common questions

How do you wallpaper around a window without it looking patched?

Hang the paper over the window opening first, then make a diagonal cut from each frame corner outward at roughly 45 degrees before trimming against the frame with a sharp blade and straightedge. Decide in advance whether you're papering the reveal itself in the same pattern or painting it — mixing the two approaches on the same window is what usually looks patched.

Should you wrap wallpaper around an internal corner?

Only by 15–20mm. Walls are rarely perfectly square, so wrapping a full-width strip around an internal corner leaves the next strip hanging off-plumb. Cut the strip to leave a small return, start a fresh strip on the next wall, and overlap the return slightly rather than trying to match the pattern exactly at the corner.

What's the neatest way to finish an external corner?

For a highly visible external corner such as a chimney breast, the double-cut technique gives the neatest result: overlap the new strip over the wrapped corner return, cut through both layers at once in a straight vertical line, remove the offcuts, and press the two butted edges down. It requires a sharp blade and a steady hand — practise on an offcut first.

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