What Can I Do With A Wallpaper Border?

Wallpaper Trim Ideas with Wallpaper Borders

When it comes to decorating, borders have no boundaries. They enhance wallcoverings, accentuate windows and doors, give walls proportion, and gracefully decorate any room in the house. In fact, few design tools are as easy to use or as effective as a well-placed border. With borders, expressing yourself has never been so easy!

Wallpaper borders in a kitchen could include country styles or a burst of color. When it comes to wallpaper borders for bedrooms, you might be looking for something warm and inviting. Wall borders offer one more way to put your personal signature on your décor.

20 Tips to Use Borders to Create a Fresh Look!

1. Add a designer touch by using a border as a chair rail — a horizontal line about 30 inches from the floor.
2. Emphasize wood molding with a complementary wallpaper border.
3. Create architectural detailing throughout your home with a border application around doors and windows. If you have a wide, flat molding around the window or door, consider applying a thin strip, cut from a decorative element of the border, around the outside edge.
4. Highlight the often overlooked area around your bar or counter.
5. Focus the interest on your fireplace with a border applied around the perimeter or above the fireplace mantel. This treatment works just as effectively with windows and mirrors or wherever your imagination takes you.
6. For an unusual design effect, apply a border around the top of the ceiling line and down the corners of the walls.
7. Trim window shades, containers, and shelves to coordinate borders for living rooms.
8. Accent your stairway or architectural details such as dormers and soffits with a border application.
9. Create a headboard with bedroom borders or a "paneled" door.
10. Give your bath or kitchen cabinets a fresh new look.
11. Trim the edge of an open shelf with a decorative border piece cut to fit its width.
12. Create a "frame" on a wall in a foyer or alcove by using borders with corner medallions.
13. Break up a large wall area by using a border between two different wallcoverings.
14. When using the border around doors or windows, you can either overlap the corners or miter them, depending on the effect you want. To miter, simply overlap the ends and make a 45-degree diagonal cut with a straightedge and a razor knife.
15. Want to visually heighten your doors or windows? Overlap the corners of a border with a vertical piece over the horizontal piece. Overlapping in the opposite direction will visually widen a door or window.
16. To visually lower a room's ceiling, place a border on the wall at a pleasing level below the ceiling.
17. To give a "dimensional" look — this works beautifully with a chair rail — apply a border to a 1.5-inch board, then attach to the wall.
18. You can also make your own borders by cutting a favorite wallpaper. Stripes and floral strips are timeless options!
19. When applying borders to a slick surface, lightly sand the surface where the border will cover to increase adhesion.
20. When applying borders over a vinyl wallcovering, use a vinyl-to-vinyl adhesive to ensure adhesion.

And that’s only the beginning! Borders are the perfect way to add a special touch to your next project. How will you use borders to bring your room together?

Ready With Your Exciting Ideas?