Materials: plastic dropcloths, masking tape, strong household detergent, spackling compound, fine-grit sand¬paper, sizing as recommended by wall paper dealer, wallpaper, wallpaper paste as recommended by dealer.

Time: about 1 day per room for patch¬ing and sizing, 1 day for papering. Choose paper with a slight texture to disguise ceiling flaws. The classic is white, but feel free to use colors and patterns. If the paper you like is prepasted, use wallpaper paste to put it on the ceiling-after soaking, most pre¬pasted paper is too heavy to handle or to stick well to a ceiling. Make sure the paper is pretrimmed.

Figure the square footage of the ceil¬ing and buy paper accordingly; most rolls of paper cover about 30 square feet. Buy at least one extra roll. Ask the dealer how much paste and sizing to buy.

Paper the ceiling before you do the walls. Before you start to paper, make sure the ceiling is clean. Move all furni¬ture, rugs, drapes, and pictures out of  the room; cover the floor with plastic dropcloths and secure them at the edges with masking tape. Wipe the ceil¬ing with a wall-cleaning sponge. If it is very dirty or greasy, as in a kitchen, wash it with a strong household deter¬gent and let it dry. Remove light fixture covers.

Prepare the ceiling by patching any cracks or holes; fill them with spackling compound, smoothed on with a putty knife or scraper. Let the compound dry and, wearing safety goggles, sand it smooth with fine-grit sandpaper; re¬move the plaster dust with a wall ¬cleaning sponge. Work from a scaffold made with a plank set across two step¬ladders. Vacuum the room.

Coat the ceiling with sizing, applying it evenly with a large brush. Apply one or two coats, as recommended by the manufacturer. Let dry completely.

Mix the paste as directed. Cover your work table with a clean plastic dropcloth and unroll a strip of wallpaper on it, face down. Measure the width of the ceiling across the chalk line and cut the strip of wallpaper about 4 inches longer than this, using a sharp scissors. If you’re using a paper with a definite pattern, cut the strips for the entire ceiling at this point.

Match the patterns exactly before cutting each strip; cut all strips about 4 inches longer than the measured width of the ceiling where they will be set into place. Unpatterned paper can be cut all at once or strip by strip, as you prefer. Adjust the first strip on the table, still face down, so that one end lies flat and the other hangs over the table edge. Brush paste evenly onto the strip of paper with the paperhangers’ paste brush. Fold the pasted strip accordion¬ style, paste to paste, in folds about 18 inches long, lifting the paper at both edges and pulling it toward you to make each new fold. Be careful not to crease the paper at the folds, or the creases will show on the finished ceiling. Slide the piled-up paper to pull the dangling end of the strip up onto the table; paste this end and continue folding until the entire strip is folded together.

Position the stepladder scaffold under the chalk line so that your head clears the ceiling by about 6 inches. Start at the right corner if you’re right ¬handed, the left corner if you’re left¬ handed. Stick the smoothing brush in your pocket. Use a roll of paper to support the folded strip. Lift the roll of paper and the strip, being careful not to let the paper slip off the roll.

Choose paper with a slight texture to disguise ceiling flaws. The classic is white, but feel free to use colors and patterns. If the paper you like is pre¬pasted, use wallpaper paste to put it on the ceiling-after soaking, most pre¬pasted paper is too heavy to handle or to stick well to a ceiling. Make sure the paper is pretrimmed.

Figure the square footage of the ceiling and buy paper accordingly; most rolls of paper cover about 30 square feet. Buy at least one extra roll. Ask the dealer how much paste and sizing to buy.

Paper the ceiling before you do the walls. Before you start to paper, make sure the ceiling is clean. Move all furni¬ture, rugs, drapes, and pictures out of the room; cover the floor with plastic dropcloths and secure them at the edges with masking tape. Wipe the ceiling with a wall-cleaning sponge. If it is very dirty or greasy, as in a kitchen, wash it with a strong household deter¬gent and let it dry. Remove light fixture covers.

Prepare the ceiling by patching any cracks or holes; fill them with sparkling compound, smoothed on with a putty knife or scraper. Let the compound dry and, wearing safety goggles, sand it smooth with fine-grit sandpaper; re¬move the plaster dust with a wall-cleaning sponge. Work from a scaffold made with a plank set across two step¬ladders. Vacuum the room.

Coat the ceiling with sizing, applying it evenly with a large brush. Apply one or two coats, as recommended by the manufacturer. Let dry completely.