How to Wallpaper Around a Window and Reveal
Hanging over the opening, making the relief cuts, trimming to the frame and papering the reveal, plus how to handle a bay without the pattern running away from you
Hang the length straight over the window opening as though the window were not there. Smooth it down, then make diagonal relief cuts into each corner of the reveal, fold the flaps in, crease them against the frame and trim. Never try to cut the shape out before the paper is on the wall.
It looks like the most difficult part of a room and it is really just three cuts made in the right order.
Before you start
- Decide whether you are papering the reveal, meaning the returns and the underside of the head, or painting it. Both are perfectly normal; papering makes a small room feel more enveloping, painting keeps more light in it.
- Take down blinds and curtain poles.
- If a radiator sits under the window, deal with it as part of the same wall, working around it rather than taking it off.
- If the window dominates the wall, consider centring a length on it so the design sits symmetrically above the opening.
Step 1: Hang the length over the opening
- Paste the wall as usual, taking the adhesive right up to and around the reveal.
- Hang the length to your plumb line, over the window, and smooth the part that is on the flat wall.
- Leave the section covering the opening loose. Do not press it against the frame yet.
Step 2: Make your relief cuts
A relief cut lets the paper fold into the opening without tearing.
- Feel for the top corner of the reveal through the paper.
- Cut diagonally out from that corner, at roughly 45 degrees, about 5cm long.
- Repeat at the bottom corner of the reveal, cutting diagonally down and out.
- You now have a flap that folds into the reveal, and paper above and below that folds around the head and onto the sill.
Cut carefully and no further than you need to. A relief cut that runs past the corner shows on the finished wall.
Step 3: Fold in and trim
- Smooth the flap into the reveal so it wraps round the return.
- Crease it against the window frame with the back of your smoother.
- Trim along the crease with a sharp blade, using a broad knife as a guide.
- Do the same above and below the opening, folding onto the underside of the head and down onto the sill.
Blade discipline matters more here than anywhere else in a room.
Step 4: Fill in above and below
The short sections above and below the window are hung as ordinary lengths, cut to size, pattern matched to the length beside them, butted at the seam. Match the pattern to the full-height length next to them, and check the match on both sides before you commit.
This is where a straight match earns its keep: because our designs line up horizontally at the same height on every length, a short piece above a window drops straight into the sequence.
Step 5: Paper the reveal, if you are papering it
- Cut a piece for each side return, about 1cm wider than the depth of the reveal, and long enough to run from the sill to the head.
- Paste the reveal and hang the piece so the extra 1cm turns onto the underside of the head.
- Cut a piece for the head last, so its edges cover the turned-up 1cm from each side.
- Match the pattern where you can. On a deep reveal it will not always line up, and it is not conspicuous once the curtains are back.
Bay windows
Treat each face of the bay as a separate wall: mark a fresh vertical line on each one, and turn each corner as an external corner rather than trying to wrap a full width around it. Turn about 2cm around each external corner.
Work outwards from the centre face so the design stays symmetrical across the bay.
Common mistakes
- Cutting the opening out before hanging. The paper will never sit where you expect it to, and there is no way back.
- Relief cuts made too long. Cut to the corner, not past it.
- Trimming before creasing. The crease is the guide; without it you are cutting freehand.
- A blunt blade on damp paper. Snap the blade on every few cuts.
Do I paper over the window opening first?
Yes. Hang the full length over the opening, then cut. Cutting first is the commonest reason people end up short.
What is a relief cut?
A short diagonal cut into a corner that lets the paper fold around a change of direction without tearing or creasing.
Should I wallpaper the reveal or paint it?
Either. Papering the reveal makes the pattern feel wrapped around the room; painting it in a colour drawn from the design keeps a small or north-facing room lighter.
How do I get a clean line against the frame?
Crease firmly with the smoother, hold a broad knife along the crease, and cut in one steady pass with a fresh blade.
Will the pattern match above and below the window?
Yes, if you match each short length to the full-height length beside it before cutting. Our designs are a straight match, so the sequence continues across the opening.
How do I handle a bay?
As three or five separate walls, each with its own plumb line, working outwards from the centre face.
