Wallpaper Glossary

A glossary of wallpaper terms used across the trade. Every entry includes a one-line definition plus a link to the detailed guide when one exists. Bookmark this page for measurement, install, and material discussions with a contractor.

Installation Methods

Peel-and-stick wallpaper: Pressure-sensitive adhesive backing. Peel and apply directly to the wall. No paste, no brushes. See our guide on applying peel-and-stick wallpaper.
Paste-the-wall: Modern non-woven wallpaper install method. Paste goes on the wall, then dry paper is hung over it. Most premium contemporary wallpaper uses this method.
Paste-the-paper (unpasted): Traditional install method. Paste is applied to the back of the wallpaper, the wet paper is folded (booked) for several minutes, then hung.
Prepasted wallpaper: Wallpaper that ships with dry adhesive already applied to the back. Activated by dipping in water or running through a water tray before hanging.
Booking: The 5 to 10 minute resting period after pasting unpasted or prepasted wallpaper, during which the paper expands and the adhesive activates before the strip goes up.

Wallpaper Types and Materials

Non-woven wallpaper: Modern wallpaper substrate made from synthetic fibers and cellulose. Dimensionally stable (does not expand or shrink with water). The premium standard for contemporary wallpaper.
Vinyl wallpaper: Wallpaper with a vinyl or PVC face. Most washable and durable category. Subcategories include solid vinyl, vinyl-coated paper, and paper-backed vinyl.
Grasscloth wallpaper: Wallpaper with a natural fiber face, typically jute, sisal, or arrowroot, hand-bonded to a paper backing. Tactile and color-varied. Should be installed by experienced hangers only.
Paper wallpaper: The traditional wallpaper substrate. Less dimensionally stable than non-woven. Includes hand-printed paper, mass-printed paper, and flock paper.
Flock wallpaper: Wallpaper with a raised velvet-like texture created by adhering short fibers to the paper face. Common in 18th and 19th century interiors; less common today.
Mural wallpaper: Large-scale wallpaper designed as a single scene that fills an entire wall, rather than a repeating pattern. Sold by the panel set sized to the wall. Browse our mural collection.
Anaglypta: Brand name and category for paintable embossed wallpaper. Designed to be installed white and painted to match the room.

Pattern and Design Terms

Pattern repeat: The vertical distance after which a wallpaper pattern starts again. Affects how much wallpaper you need to order. See our pattern matching guide.
Straight match (set match): A pattern where the design lines up at the same height across every strip. The simplest match type to install.
Drop match (offset match): A pattern where the design offsets vertically from one strip to the next, usually by half the repeat height. Requires more wallpaper to order because of the offset waste.
Random match (free match): A pattern that does not need to line up at the seams (textures, vertical stripes, or non-directional designs). The least wasteful match type.
Toile: A pattern style featuring single-color pastoral or narrative scenes on a light ground. Originally Toile de Jouy from 18th-century France.
Damask: A formal symmetrical pattern style using tonal contrast within a single color family. Origins in woven textiles imitated in wallpaper.
Ditsy: A scattered small-scale floral or motif pattern. Reads as texture from a distance, reveals individual elements close up.
Trellis: A repeating grid-like pattern, often based on garden trellis structures. One of the most enduring wallpaper pattern families.

Measurement and Ordering

Roll: The unit of wallpaper purchase. A standard American single roll covers 28 square feet; a double roll covers 56 square feet. See how to measure for wallpaper.
Panel: A single rectangular sheet of wallpaper, typically used for peel-and-stick or mural sales. Sold by panel size or by panel count for full murals.
Bolt: An older trade term for a roll of wallpaper. Some commercial wallpaper is still sold by the bolt.
Run number (batch number): The production batch identifier printed on every wallpaper roll. Rolls from the same run color-match precisely; rolls from different runs may have subtle color shifts. Always order all rolls for a single job from the same run.
Square footage: The total wall area you need to cover, calculated as width times height for each wall and summed across the room. Standard wallpaper estimating unit in the United States.

Tools and Supplies

Wallpaper paste: The water-soluble adhesive used to bond traditional wallpaper to the wall. Includes starch-based, cellulose-based, and synthetic polymer formulations.
Wallpaper primer (sizing): A specialized primer applied to walls before wallpaper hangs. Seals the wall surface, provides uniform absorption, and gives the wallpaper paste something to bond to.
Lining paper: An unprinted blank paper hung horizontally on rough or uneven walls under the finish wallpaper. Provides a smooth, uniform substrate.
Smoothing tool: A plastic or felt-edged tool used to press wallpaper against the wall during install, removing air bubbles and ensuring full contact with the adhesive.
Wallpaper scoring tool: A tool with small spiked wheels used during wallpaper removal to perforate the wallpaper face, allowing stripping solution to penetrate the adhesive layer underneath.
Plumb line: A vertical reference line marked on the wall before the first wallpaper strip goes up, ensuring all subsequent strips hang truly vertical.

Install Quality Terms

Butt seam: The standard wallpaper seam style. Adjacent strips meet edge-to-edge without overlap. The correct technique for nearly all modern wallpaper.
Overlap seam: An older seam style where one strip overlaps the edge of the next. Now considered incorrect for most wallpaper types except specialty installs around inside corners.
Pattern match (at the seam): The continuity of the pattern across two adjacent strips. A perfect match shows no visible discontinuity at the seam.
Air bubble: An unintended void of trapped air between the wallpaper and the wall. Almost always caused by insufficient smoothing during install. See how to fix wallpaper bubbles.
Seam curl (lifting): The wallpaper edge or seam lifting away from the wall over time. Usually caused by poor surface prep, humidity, or end-of-life adhesive failure.

Removal Terms

Wallpaper stripping: The process of removing existing wallpaper from a wall. See our how to remove wallpaper guide.
Wallpaper glue residue (paste residue): The opaque film of dried adhesive that remains on the wall after the wallpaper itself has been removed. Requires its own removal step. See how to remove wallpaper glue.
Wallpaper steamer: A heated water steamer used to soften wallpaper adhesive during removal of stubborn or old wallpaper.
Stripping solution: A liquid wallpaper remover (DIF, Piranha, or homemade vinegar/dish soap mix) applied to wallpaper before scraping to dissolve the adhesive.

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