How to Wallpaper Around Sockets and Light Switches
Turning the power off, cutting the cross, trimming the flaps and tucking them behind the faceplate, and what to do when the socket stands proud of the wall
Turn the power off at the consumer unit. Hang the length straight over the socket, smooth it down, then cut a diagonal cross over the faceplate from corner to corner. Trim the four flaps back to about 5mm inside the plate, loosen the faceplate screws, tuck the paper behind and retighten.
It is a two-minute job on each socket, and it is the difference between a wall that looks papered by a decorator and one that does not.
Safety first, and this one is not optional
- Turn the power off at the consumer unit before you loosen any faceplate, not just at the switch.
- Keep it off while you are working with wet paste near the fitting, and until the paper around it is dry.
- Never paper over a socket, a switch or any other electrical fitting.
- If you are not confident loosening a faceplate, trim around the outside of it instead, using the method below, or ask an electrician.
Flush-mounted sockets and switches
The common type, where the faceplate sits nearly flat against the wall.
- Hang the length over the fitting as though it were not there, and smooth the paper down around it.
- Feel for the corners of the faceplate through the paper.
- Cut a diagonal from each corner of the plate outward, forming a cross over the fitting. Cut only as far as the corners, not past them.
- Fold the four triangular flaps outward and crease them against the edge of the plate.
- Trim each flap so about 5mm of paper remains inside the line of the plate, enough to tuck and not enough to bunch.
- Loosen the faceplate screws just enough to pull the plate a few millimetres off the wall.
- Tuck the flaps behind the plate with something thin and blunt.
- Retighten the screws. Firm, not forced. Over-tightening cracks the plate and squeezes damp paper out at the edges.
Leave the power off until the paste around the fitting has dried.
Surface-mounted sockets and pattress boxes
Where the fitting stands proud of the wall on a box, you cannot tuck anything behind it. Trim around it instead.
- Hang the length over the fitting and smooth the paper up to it.
- Cut a cross over the box and fold the flaps out.
- Crease the paper tight against the edge of the box.
- Trim along the crease with a fresh blade so the paper meets the box cleanly on all four sides.
Work slowly here, because this cut is visible, so it wants to be straight.
Peel and stick
The same sequence, but do the cutting before you press the paper down hard around the fitting. Peel and smooth down to just above the socket, make the cross cut, trim the flaps, tuck them behind the loosened plate, then carry on down the wall.
Other fittings on the wall
- Thermostats and alarm sensors: treat as a surface-mounted fitting and trim around them, or take the cover off if it comes off cleanly.
- Wall lights: power off at the consumer unit, loosen the fitting, tuck as with a socket.
- TV and aerial points: as a flush socket.
- Curtain pole brackets and shelf fixings: take them off before you paper, and mark their positions in pencil on the wall so you can find them again.
Common mistakes
- Cutting past the corners. The cut shows outside the faceplate and cannot be hidden.
- Trimming the flaps flush. Leave 5mm to tuck; cut level with the plate and any shrinkage opens a gap.
- Leaving too much. A big fold behind the plate stops it sitting flat.
- Working with the power on. Wet paste, metal screws and a live fitting.
Do I have to turn the electricity off?
Yes, at the consumer unit, before you touch a faceplate and while you are working with paste around it.
Can I paper over a socket?
No. Never cover an electrical fitting with wallpaper.
How much paper should I leave to tuck behind the plate?
About 5mm on each side.
What if the socket is surface-mounted?
Trim neatly around the box instead of tucking. Crease first, then cut against a broad knife.
When can I turn the power back on?
Once the paper and paste around the fitting are dry and the faceplate is properly refitted.
What is this called in the US?
Outlets and light switches, and the method is identical.
