Redecorating can be tricky. A high degree of accuracy is needed to make sure you end up with the right look. Wallpapering is a good example. Hang the first drop of wallpaper slightly skewwhiff and all the rest will be off as well. Accuracy is really important when painting too. You have got to make sure you don’t get any on surfaces that you aren’t painting, and that the edges are sharp. The easy answer to this is to use decorators tape.

Types of Decorators Tape

There are a few different varieties used, but the most common is masking tape. It’s usually a neutral coloured tape made of easy to tear paper so that there’s no need to use scissors to cut it. It’s generally available in standard and low tack varieties. They are made to peel off surfaces without leaving a residue behind, making it the ideal thing to use for wallpapering and painting.

How to Use Masking Tape for Decorating

It may sound like something that needs no explanation, but there are actually a wide range of uses for decorators tape. Here are a few of them:

• Mark out straight lines with it when applying wallpaper – First use a spirit level to determine a straight line, then mark it out with masking tape. This allows you to ensure your first drop of wallpaper goes on perfectly straight. You can leave the masking tape on the wall underneath the wallpaper, or remove it if you like.
• Line out panels – Masking tape can mark out panels on walls for painting or wallpapering. This is really helpful when creating feature areas on walls, which are very fashionable currently.
• Protecting cornices and skirting boards – You can mask of the edges of cornices or skirting boards to make sure they don’t get paint or wallpaper paste on them.
• Holding dust sheets in place – Masking tape can be stuck to the edges of dust sheets to make sure they don’t move during redecorating. There’s nothing more annoying than taking the precautions to stop mess getting onto your furniture, only for it to happen anyway because a dust sheet didn’t stay in place. 

Masking tape and other types of decorator’s tape have these and other uses, and are a must have item for professional and novice decorators alike.