Blind Wallpaper Hangers

Yes, they exist--and they wallpaper as well, and more easily than any one-armed paperhanger, providing they make appropriate decisions when choosing their wallpaper!

The information below is not designed as a class in hanging wallpaper. Instructions for that can be found on every roll of wallpaper to be bought. This information includes a few tips that have made it possible for me, as a blind person, to hang wallpaper successfully.

All people hang wallpaper in the same way. They put wet, sticky strips of paper onto walls and trim--and they do this as neatly as possible, taking into account and making adjustments for windows, doors, light switches, and electric outlets.

The difficulty for the blind paperhanger is not in hanging the paper itself--but in getting it in the right position on the wall in relation to the piece of paper that is immediately next to it. This problem arises because most wallpaper is patterned. After all, if it didn't have a pattern why not paint?

If an entire wall could be papered with just one piece of paper, one wouldn't need to worry about matching until he starts on the second wall. Then the two walls need to match at the corner. But since an entire wall can't be papered with one sheet of paper, the patterns on the strips must match each other.

An entire wallpaper pattern might be comprised of a row of yellow roses with a row of red roses below it. This pattern will repeat itself over and over for the entire length of the roll of paper. As each piece of paper is hung, the row of yellow roses must be placed evenly with the row of yellow roses in the piece of paper next to it. By matching the pattern in this way, as much of a "one piece look" as is possible can be achieved.

Needless to say, because color is a visual thing, a blind person can't match the roses very well. There are some adaptations, however, which can be made so that patterned wallpaper can be hung, successfully--but it is difficult.

One thing a blind person who wishes to use wallpaper instead of paint can do is to choose a paper that has an "all over" pattern. These papers can look very rich and need no matching at all. If this sort of paper is chosen, the blind paperhanger can do just as well as the sighted one.

"Just as well," however, does not necessarily mean "just as easily."

There are two jobs connected with wallpapering which are difficult for the blind. One is cutting the paper straight, and the other is placing the first piece so that the side edge is straight from top to bottom. To deal with these challenges, here are a few suggestions I have that tried which have proved successful.

I am a bit uncomfortable saying you don't have to worry whether the side edge of your paper is straight from top to bottom (particularly when all instructions for paper hanging seem to stress this point so much), but I have found it's true that you don't have to worry about it. You do, however, need to know whether your ceiling wall corner is level. If it is, and the top edge of your paper has been cut straight, the side edge of the paper will be straight enough for all practical purposes.

Use the floor (or a table that is somewhat larger than the piece of paper you want to hang) on which to cut your paper correctly and easily. This large surface will allow you to even the edges of the paper without wrinkling them. To achieve as straight a cut as possible between the strips of paper, measure the desired length very carefully and fold the paper back on itself. Make an inch long crease at the edge of the paper at the point where you want to start the cut. Even out the top and bottom pieces of paper as exactly as is possible from the crease along the entire length of the strip to be cut off. Fasten the two edges together, at about one-foot intervals, with clothespins.

Check the edges on the other side edge of the paper to make sure that they are also even. Pin these edges together, too. Crease the paper, across the top edge, starting from the inch long crease originally made which marks the cutting line. Now, cut along the crease with a knife, not scissors. Remember that after you have cut the paper and have two pieces, the bottom of the first piece is against the top of the second. Be sure to turn the second piece around so that the tops will be together. Turn it around unless, of course, the instructions say to reverse each strip. Mostly, just keep track of which end is which.

If you want to try patterned paper, ask someone to clip at the beginning of the pattern that will start the strip. Then, you can use the cut as the marker for folding each strip. If you want to match your corners, you are on your own. I say this because I have two friends who wallpaper and I have heard compliments from many others that both do very good work. One matches her corners; the other one does not. I don't match mine because I can't make a cut eight feet long which is reliably straight. In addition, I would have to wait around until I could get somebody to tell me where to make the cut.

Good luck, and remember that the first piece is the scariest piece!

Contributor: Kathey Wheeler