There was a moment in home design history when wallpaper was everywhere! Remember when we all started tearing it out and painting over our walls? Whether or not you like it, it’s back, and I think we learned our lesson about throwing it out completely. Wallpaper can be a timeless design choice, and I am learning to lean less into trends and more into classic design that will stand the test of time. Unfortunately, wallpaper comes with a cost, though. Whether you’re DIY-ing it or hiring it out, it’s nice to know what to even budget for! So how much does it even cost to install wallpaper?

DIY-ing vs. Hiring Wallpaper Installation

We’ve done our fair share of DIY wallpaper installs, but now that we can hire out more, we do it as often as we can because the professionals are so much better and faster than we could ever be. Before even beginning to install the wallpaper, there’s prep work involved, which involves priming and de-texturizing walls (exhausting). In our experience with hiring installers, they do the prep work! Thank you very much. However, if you’re willing to put in the work, it could save you a nice chunk of change.

How much does it cost to hire installers?

Striped Back Hallway Wallpaper

According to this article on Angie’s List, the normal range for hiring wallpaper installers in the US ranges from $312-$792. Most installers charge based on the square footage of wallpaper, the complexity of the space, and the wallpaper material. For example, grasscloth wallpaper is notoriously tricky to install. And for some reason, striped wallpaper is also challenging to get exactly right, so although our back hallway downstairs is a fairly small space, the cost of labor was $550. The same installer also did our powder bathroom, and he charged $400.

Shop the Powder Bath

Since the mural wallpaper in the study was a much bigger space, the cost of labor was $650.

Shop the Laundry Room

The laundry room wallpaper installation cost $500.

Shop Polly’s Room

And Polly’s room was $550.

It’s really validating to see that our numbers aren’t all over the map and that they’re right in the “normal” range! Have you ever hired out wallpaper installer or ever done it yourself?

Where do I find installers?

When we lived in Idaho and were looking for installers, we actually went to Sherwin Williams and asked if they could recommend anybody, and they had a whole list of installers! So start with your local paint store or home goods store because, more often than not, they know contractors who specialize in wallpaper! Another great place to check is your local Facebook group. Word of mouth means so much these days, so if you can find a few neighbors who would recommend somebody, chances are you’ll be in good hands. I know other people have had good luck with apps like Thumbtack and TaskRabbit, although we haven’t ever personally used them. You can also reference this post, “How do You Find a Contractor?“

For quick reference, here’s all the wallpaper we’ve used (so far) in this house!

1. Farrow & Ball Block Print Stripe (Modern Colonial Powder Bath)
2. The Mural Source Derbyshire Antiqued (Modern Colonial Study) 
3. Farrow & Ball Ranelagh (Modern Colonial Faye’s Room)
4. Magnolia Home Black/Off White Floral (Modern Colonial Laundry)
5. Morris & Co. Owl & Willow (Modern Colonial Polly’s Room)
6. Aegean Stripe Navy by Holli Zollinger (Modern Colonial Hallway off Kitchen)

While I don’t have numbers to compare to, I still wanted to show all of the wallpaper installs from our last house. Some we did ourselves, and some we hired, but all of them we loved.

Girl’s Office

Shop the Cottage Girl’s Office

Playroom

Shop the Cottage Playroom

Faye’s Room

Shop Faye’s Cottage Room

Polly’s Room

Shop Polly’s Cottage Room

Greta’s Room

Shop Greta’s Cottage Room

Cottage Bathroom

Shop the Cottage Bathroom

1. Stripes Away (Modern Cottage Playroom)
2. Scalamandre Raphael Wallpaper (Modern Cottage Girls’ Office)
3. Cole & Son Florencecourt Charcoal (Modern Cottage Master Bathroom)
4. Hawthorne Black Linen (Modern Cottage Faye’s Room)
5. York Wallcoverings Meadowfield (Modern Cottage Greta’s Room)
6. Farrow & Ball Brockhampton Star (Modern Cottage Polly’s Room)