The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Interior Decorating

While the scissors are in use they should frequently be wiped clean with a piece of old rag as most kinds of paste quickly corrode scissors, and they will lose their sharp edge.

Roller. The professional decorators uses a roller for pressing down the seams of adjoining pieces of wallpaper, also for neatly shaping the paper at corners and edges. A boxwood roller ot the type illustrated in Fig. 16 is quite inexpensive, but a suitable substitute can be made from a smooth chair castor. After using the roller each time, the rolling surface should be wiped dean with a piece of rag.

Smoothing Brush. A smoothing brush of the type illustrated in Fig. 16 is used for smoothing the paper on the wall to eliminate wrinkles and cracks. An 8 to 10 in. is suitable for the amateur home handyman's requirements. The brush should be kept clean in use and if only a small amount of work is being done a suitable substitute for the smoothing brush is a clothes brush, provided it is clean.

Dusting Brush. An ordinary distemper brush may be used for coating the backs of the strips of the wallpaper with paste. The brush should be clean, and after use it should be immediately washed to clean the bristles.

In addition to these main tools, the amateur home decorator will require some items of a general nature that are to be found in most households. A 2 to 3 ft. rule will be required, a pencil, and a good supply of old rags for wiping up spots of paste etc.