Dean hangs lining paper and wallpaper in homes across Dallington, about 1.3 miles north-west of Northampton town centre. In the old stone cottages that usually means lining first and planning the pattern around walls that lean; in the new Dallington Grange houses it means waiting for the plaster to cure.
Why papering a village cottage starts with lining paper
The oldest houses in Dallington, round the green and up Raynsford Road, were built from sandstone rubble in the 17th and 18th centuries. Inside, the walls wander. A plumb line dropped from the ceiling in rooms like these can show a clear gap by skirting height, and corners may lean in different directions.
Hanging a decorative paper straight onto that kind of surface shows every hollow. A cross-lined or vertically lined base gives the face paper something even to bond to, bridges hairline cracks in old plaster and helps the seams sit tight. On walls that need to breathe, we also think about what goes underneath: a heavy vinyl over damp-prone solid stone is asking for trouble in a brook-valley village, so a breathable paper and paste may be the better route.
The general process, from stripping to trimming the final length, is set out on our wallpaper hanging service page. Here we focus on what Dallington’s houses change about it.
Choosing a pattern when the walls are not straight
A strong vertical stripe or a tight geometric will exaggerate a leaning wall in an old cottage. The eye reads the pattern as true and the wall as wrong. Dean will talk you through this on the visit, because it affects what you buy:
- Loose florals and random-match papers forgive a wall that is out of true and suit cottage rooms well.
- Bold stripes work better on the straighter walls of 20th-century houses along Harlestone Road or in a Grange new build.
- Large drop-match designs need more rolls in rooms with lots of short drops around small windows and doors, so order extra.
We also decide where the pattern starts. In a room with an uneven ceiling line, the design is usually centred on the main feature, such as a chimney breast, with any mismatch hidden in the least visible corner.
Tall rooms and stairwells in converted flats
Dallington Hall’s apartments and the flats at Dallington Court bring a different problem: height. Georgian rooms are tall, and a stairwell drop can run well beyond a standard roll length, so each drop is measured individually and pattern repeat is allowed for on every length. Work in shared areas is arranged with the management company, and inside the listed hall it is worth checking with the conservation officer before removing any historic wall finish.
Dallington Grange: give new plaster time
New houses at Dallington Grange are finished in fresh plaster. Paper hung before that plaster has fully dried can trap moisture, lose adhesion or show bubbling at the seams. We check the walls, seal them with a size or suitable primer, and only then hang. If you have just moved in and want a feature wall in the first few months, a coat of paint now and paper later is often the wiser order.
On the bungalows off Bants Lane and Brook Lane, rooms are compact and usually rented, so papering there is arranged with the landlord, and a hard-wearing, wipeable paper tends to make more sense than a delicate one.
Not sure what your rooms need? Book a visit and you will get a written quote. Our cost guide explains how papering is priced (see the cost guide), and other Dallington services are listed on our Dallington page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
