While peel-and-stick wallpaper is DIY-friendly compared with other wallpapers, you are still taking on a sizable project, especially if you’re wallpapering a large or tall area. “It requires a lot of extra effort in the front end to make it work,” said Kelly Finley, owner and principal designer at Joy Street Design in Oakland, California, and a self-professed lover of wallpaper. “Give yourself grace. It’s not going to be perfect.”

Picking a pattern

Color and motif: “If you don’t like green, don’t put green wallpaper in your house just because you heard that green is going to make a space feel calm,” said designer Shavonda Gardner. “You’re going to hate it.” Instead, she said, “make it something you love,” whether that’s a color or a motif.

Pattern density: Consider how much “white space” in white, cream, or pastel colors it has, since sparse patterns don’t mask errors (like wrinkles and wall imperfections) as well as dense patterns do. If you know you’ll be annoyed at misalignments, seams, and lines that are meant to be perfectly straight, interior designer Kelly Finley advises that you steer clear of stripes, grids, and anything super high-contrast, geometric, and macro-scaled. Organic and randomized patterns, especially those that are more densely packed, will be better at disguising misalignment.

Ordering

Price: Even when you’re not paying an installer, the price of any type of wallpaper, removable or otherwise, can add up quickly, depending on the area you’re working with. The peel-and-stick wallpapers we tested range from about 75¢ to about $5 per square foot. That means it could cost more than $2,000 to wallpaper a 10-by-12-foot room with 8-foot ceilings (especially if you buy extra to ensure pattern-matching, as is recommended), compared with a few hundred dollars for paint and primer. Very generally speaking (because prices vary widely), traditional or unpasted wallpaper is usually less expensive up front. But a true comparison is hard to gauge because you have to account for the cost of adhesive and installation, which you will most likely need for traditional wallpaper.

If you have a tighter budget but still want to wallpaper, don’t be afraid of covering a smaller area. “Every space, no matter how big or small, deserves to have a special moment,” said Gardner, who lives in a small house and designs small spaces. Gardner frequently uses pattern and color for big impact in forgotten, ancillary spaces like hallways or mudrooms, “particularly because those spaces get neglected.”

Quantity: All of our picks include online calculators or instructions on how to measure your walls and estimate the number of rolls or panels to order. Some of these calculators already factor in additional material. But in case one doesn’t, you should always order extra—especially if your wallpaper has a pattern you’ll have to stagger or it’s a large-scale print—so that you have enough pattern to match. I learned this firsthand when I installed a test in my kitchen: I thought I had more than enough lemon-printed paper but I needed more pattern repeat to avoid a mismatched seam and a disjointed lemon. Don’t assume you can just order more later; many companies print on demand, and there may be slight color variations between orders. Those variations will show up on the wall.

Installing

Prep work: How good your wallpaper looks on the wall depends on this step. If you’ve recently painted, confirm that the paint has dried and cured completely, which can take several weeks. Before you begin, remove nails and outlet covers. Lightly sand down paint drips that might puncture or cause bubbling in your wallpaper. Finally, wipe down your wall with a damp cloth, and allow it to dry before proceeding. To be extra safe, you can use a 1:1 solution of water and rubbing alcohol to remove spots that look sticky. Some manufacturers, like Livette’s, suggest that applying a coat of primer is the best insurance against paint stripping during wallpaper removal.

Tools: You’ll probably want a reliable stepping stool or step ladder (depending on the height you’re hanging), a craft knife (like an X-Acto or Olfa) for trimming excess on the wall, a screwdriver to remove outlet covers, a straight edge (like a ruler) for trimming against and tracing guides, and a level or combination square (we recommend the Irwin 1794469). Consider investing in a ruler with a built-in level to trace guidelines for yourself, especially if you plan to work alone. (Unless the pattern you chose is super freeform, don’t count on simply aligning your wallpaper with corners, ceilings, or molding; few rooms are perfectly square.) A smoothing tool, like a soft-edged squeegee or rubber bench scraper, may come in handy (some people suggest using a credit card, if you have nothing else on hand). We found that a clean, dry palm often worked just as well.

Pacing: Finley suggests using a pencil to draw guide lines on the wall. “Peel the wallpaper off in [smaller] sections, start slowly, and smooth it out as you go,” she said. Spend extra time getting the first panel right, since it will act as a guide for the rest of the job. For the remaining panels, try not to peel off the backing completely before hanging, since the paper may stick to itself. Some of our picks’ websites include installation how-tos. We found the sites for Tempaper, Wallshoppe, and Livette’s to be especially helpful. And if you can enlist someone to assist you, we highly recommend it.