How do I wallpaper a door?

Dear Marina,

thank you for your question. Many people ask me about this topic and there are two main reasons: They either would like to renovate the look of their tired doors, or they have wallpapered the walls around them and want to complete the job by making their doors “invisible”. Let’s look at your question in detail:

Can I put up wallpaper on my door?

Wallpapering the doors of your home is certainly possible in most cases. How to go about it will depend on the material the doors are made of:

• Wooden doors
  In many older houses (as well as some newer ones), the doors are made of wood. Whether it is solid wood, wood fibre blends or MDF, these doors are still most common. If this is your situation, too, you are in luck as wood is an easy material to wallpaper over, just as long as the doors in question have a fairly flat and not overly ornate surface.
• Glass, metal or plastic/PVC veneer doors
  Newer houses often feature doors made in a variety of materials and surfaces. Plastic veneer doors are fairly common options as they are light, relatively inexpensive and provide good soundproofing. Glass and metal doors are also sometimes used instead of wood. All these materials are not porous and do not absorb standard wallpapering paste. To wallpaper these doors, you will need dispersion adhesive.

Which doors should not be wallpapered?

Not all doors are suitable to be wallpapered over. You will need to think of alternative solutions if you have one of the followings:

• Doors with non-removable décor
  Big wooden doors with complex decorative profiles that cannot be removed are often found in turn-of-the-century houses and flats. They look fantastic, in my opinion, but their surface is not suitable for wallpapering. Consider painting them over instead.
• Doors with glass inserts
  While wallpapering doors with multiple glass panels is technically possible, it is a complex job often beyond the skills of the average DIYer. It requires cutting multiple strips around the glass panels and dealing with many seals and edges. I tend to discourage it as it is likely that you are not going to be satisfied with the end results.

Note: If the door only has one or two large glass panels, it is possible to hang wallpaper on them. Check my instructions to find out how to wallpaper over glass.

How do I wallpaper a wooden door?

Putting up wallpaper on a wooden door requires the following preparatory steps:

• Remove door from hinges
  Make sure you are not doing this alone, especially if you are dealing with solid wooden doors as they are much heavier than you might think! Open the door at a 90-degree angle, so you can place a hand between the edge of the door and the door frame. Place the other hand at the opposite end of the door to get the best possible grip to pull the door out of the hinges. If it doesn’t come out easily you can try spraying some rust remover on the hinges beforehand. Remember to place some old towels under the door to prevent any damage to the floor.
• Place door on a working surface
  While technically you can work directly on the floor, your project will be easier if you use a couple of folding trestles. These can be purchased at a low cost from any DIY shop. Your back will thank you!
• Remove door fittings
  Before you get started, you need to remove door handles and other fittings. If the door has removable decorative profiles, you should take them off as well. You want to work with a flat surface which is as smooth as possible.
• Prepare door surface
  Move your hands over the surface and check for bumps or imperfection. Any hole or crack should be filled and sealed. If the door is lacquered, it would be a good idea to sand it down. Once you are done, wipe away the dust, clean the surface with a mild detergent and allow it to dry completely.
• Add a coat of primer
  For optimal results, and if you want to be able to easily remove the wallpaper in the future, paint a coat of latex primer on the door and let it dry for at least 24 hours.
• Measure your door and cut the strips
  It’s time to measure the width of the door. As it will be larger than the standard width of a wallpaper roll, two strips will be required. You will need to decide where the seam (the point where the two strips meet) will be on the door. Depending on the pattern on your wallpaper you might prefer having it in the middle of the door, or instead using the full width of one strip and a narrow section of a second strip. This is entirely up to you. When you cut your strip, always allow for a 2 cm overlap, which you can trim later.
  Another option would be to look for wider wallpaper rolls. However, these are not very common, i.e. the pattern options are limited, and they tend to be quite pricey.
• Apply wallpapering paste
  Assuming you are working with a “paste the wall” wallpaper (which is what I would recommend), apply a thin layer of wallpapering paste on the surface, up to the edges of the door, to ensure that the entire wallpaper strip will stick to it.
• Hang your wallpaper
  Work your way from top to bottom. Take your time, don’t rush it and make sure you immediately remove any bubbles or creases. Then cut the overlap off with a cutter knife.

Notes:

• Whether your door is solid wood, hollow or another kind - as long as the surface of the door is wood, the process will be the same.
• If you plan to hang the same wallpaper you used on the surrounding wall to make the door “invisible”, pay attention that you match the same pattern repeat already installed above and around it, otherwise you will end up with an ugly visual clash. To ensure there are no differences in colour and print, use a roll from the same batch as the one on the wall. Click here to find out more about batch number.

How do I wallpaper a metal, glass or plastic veneer door?

Hanging wallpaper on a metal, glass or plastic veneer door requires the same steps highlighted above, but with a couple of important differences:

• No sanding the surface
  Cracks and holes are uncommon for these materials. Make sure you clean the surface of the door thoroughly, removing all traces of grime and oily fat that might have accumulated over time. While the surface of plastic veneer doors could potentially be sanded down to expose the wood underneath, it is very labour-intensive and I wouldn’t recommend it.
• No primer, use dispersion glue instead
  Most primers don’t stick well to non-porous surfaces. I recommend using a dispersion adhesive. This is a ready-to-use synthetic glue designed to stick to almost any surface, including non-porous ones. Dispersion adhesive can be used on both paper and non-woven wallpaper types. Remember that - as it is much stronger than normal paste - removing the wallpaper in the future might be tricky.

Can I wallpaper the door frame?

Flush wooden frames, without ridges or decorative patterns can definitely be wallpapered. Don’t forget that the pattern will need to match both the wallpapered door and the wall. However, if the door frame present grooves, ridges or other decorative patterns, you should leave them as they are. Grooves will need to be first filled and then sanded down. This will permanently damage the frames and I discourage you from attempting it.

Can I make my door disappear?

A better solution for those wanting to make their doors truly invisible is to invest in a frameless door. Thanks to their minimalist design and the absence of protruding parts, frameless doors blend into the overall pattern and practically disappear when wallpapered over. They are relatively easy to install and a great, if costlier, solution.

Can I just wallpaper the door panel?

This is certainly possible. In fact, it is a popular option, as the frame around the panel makes the wallpaper look like artwork. Furthermore, if your door presents fixed decorative profiles with flat panels, this might be the only solution available to you. Installing wallpaper on a door panel follows the same process described above, but some special care is required when cutting out the wallpaper. Make sure to:

1. Measure the door panel accurately
2. Lightly outline the panel shape on the face of the wallpaper
3. Cut out the required shapes
4. Mark with a sticky note where each shape will go, and which end will be at the top of the door

Which wallpaper material should I use for the doors?

While you can decorate your doors with most types of wallpaper material, I suggest you opt for non-woven models. They are easier to handle and also more robust than paper-based models. Doors undergo much more daily friction than walls: they are opened, closed and touched multiple times a day. For this reason, it’s preferable to avoid wallpapers with delicate surface materials.

Can I wallpaper a sliding door?

You can hang wallpaper on a sliding door in the same way you can with a normal door. However, the following precautions should be followed:

• Check how much space there is between the door and the wall
  Wallpapering a sliding door will increase its overall thickness and might impair the sliding mechanism, as well as potentially damaging the paper surface. Consider the thickness of your wallpaper of choice and how much of a margin is available before embarking on this project.
• Make sure you know how to remove and reinstall the sliding doors
  If the sliding doors were installed by a contractor, you might not know or remember how to detach them. Check the brand and look the instructions up on the internet.

Can I wallpaper the main door of my house?

Sure you can, as long as we are talking about the inside part of the door. The outside part, particularly if it leads directly outdoors, should be left as is.

Can I use peel-and-stick wallpaper to wallpaper doors?

You most definitely can! Peel-and-stick wallpaper models come with a self-adhesive backing that adheres to most surfaces. As they don’t require additional paste and can be detached and reattached multiple times, they are very popular options for wallpapering doors. I always recommend cleaning the door surface with a mild detergent beforehand. Removing all traces of dirt and grease will guarantee a good adhesion and greater longevity.

Your wallpaper expert
Isabel