TL;DR: A typical single feature wall takes a few hours; a full room usually takes most of a day. Your main job is preparation — clear the room, make sure walls are dry and sound, and flag any damp or flaking paint before the day rather than on it. Installers work from the wallpaper roll batch, so keep offcuts for future repairs.
Korean wallpaper has become one of the most popular ways to change a room in Singapore, largely because it delivers a dramatic result in a single day with none of the mess of a repaint.
But most people book it having never seen the process, and the questions start the night before: do I need to move everything? Will it smell? Can I sleep in the room tonight?
Here’s how the day actually runs.
Before the day: what you need to sort out
1. Confirm the design and quantity
Wallpaper is manufactured in batches, and colour can vary very slightly between them. This is why quantities are calculated upfront with a margin, and why ordering more later is not always a perfect match.
Take the recommended quantity seriously. Ordering exactly enough with no allowance is the most common cause of problems mid-installation.
Browse the Korean wallpaper range or customised wall murals if you’re working from your own image.
2. Check the wall condition honestly
This is the single biggest factor in whether the day goes smoothly. Wallpaper needs a sound, dry, reasonably smooth surface. It will follow the contour of whatever is underneath rather than hide it.
Look for:
- Damp or water staining. This must be resolved before installation, not covered. Wallpaper over active damp will bubble and lift, and you’ll be redoing it.
- Flaking or peeling paint. Needs scraping and sealing first.
- Cracks, holes, or previous repairs that stand proud of the wall.
- Existing wallpaper. Say so when booking — removal is a separate job with its own time requirement.
- Freshly plastered or newly painted walls. New surfaces need curing time before wallpapering. Flag the date the work was done.
If anything on this list applies, tell the team when you book, not on the morning. It’s the difference between a planned extra step and a cancelled appointment.
3. Plan the room around it
Installation needs clear access to the full wall from floor to ceiling, plus floor space for cutting and pasting.
- Move furniture away from the wall, ideally to the centre of the room or out entirely
- Take down pictures, mirrors, shelving and curtain rails on the affected wall
- Clear the floor along the wall
- Make sure there’s a power point available
- Arrange for someone to be home for access
If you need help moving heavy items, arrange it beforehand — installers are there to fit wallpaper, not shift wardrobes.
On the day: how it runs
Setup
The team arrives, protects your flooring, and confirms the design, orientation and exact wall placement with you. This is the moment to speak up. Confirming which wall, which direction a pattern runs, and where the feature sits is far easier before any paste is mixed.
Wall preparation
Minor surface issues get addressed — light sanding of rough patches, filling small holes, and applying a primer or sizing coat where needed. Sizing helps adhesion and makes future removal cleaner.
Walls with significant issues may need to dry after preparation, which extends the timeline.
Measuring and cutting
Strips are measured, cut, and matched. Patterned wallpaper needs pattern alignment between strips, which is why patterned designs take longer than plain textures and why offcuts are unavoidable.
Application
Paste is applied — to the wall, the paper, or both depending on the product type. Each strip is positioned, aligned to the previous one, and smoothed to remove air bubbles. Edges are trimmed at skirting, ceiling and around switches and sockets.
This is skilled work. Watching an experienced installer align a patterned seam is the clearest demonstration of why professional installation is worth it on anything other than a plain texture.
Finishing and cleanup
Seams are checked, edges trimmed, excess paste wiped away, and the floor protection removed. Walk the wall with the installer before they leave, in good light, and raise anything you’re unsure about while they’re still there.
How long does it take?
Guidance rather than a guarantee, since every wall is different:
- A single feature wall, plain or lightly textured: a few hours
- A single feature wall, patterned or custom mural: longer, due to alignment
- A full bedroom: typically most of a working day
- Multiple rooms: usually scheduled across more than one day
Add time if walls need significant preparation or if old wallpaper is being removed first.
Can I use the room straight away?
Generally yes, but with two caveats.
Give it time to cure. The adhesive needs to dry fully. Avoid pushing furniture hard against the wall, hanging anything on it, or scrubbing it for the first few days. Your installer will give you a specific timeframe for the product used.
Airflow, but not a gale. Some ventilation helps drying. Blasting air-conditioning directly at a freshly papered wall, or having strong direct sun on it, can dry it unevenly and cause lifting at the edges. Moderate is better.
Modern wallpaper adhesives are low-odour, so the smell is usually mild and clears quickly.
What can delay or complicate the job
Being upfront about these avoids surprises:
- Damp discovered during preparation — the job stops until it’s resolved. This is the right call, not an inconvenience being invented.
- Walls far more uneven than expected — extra preparation time.
- Old wallpaper that’s difficult to remove
- Access issues — no lift booking in a condo, blocked loading bay, no one home
- Insufficient material — why the quantity margin exists
After installation: keeping it looking new
Keep your offcuts. Store leftover wallpaper flat, somewhere dry, labelled with the batch. If a section is ever damaged, matching material from the same batch is the only way to repair invisibly.
Cleaning. Most Korean wallpaper handles a gentle wipe with a barely damp cloth. Don’t scrub, don’t soak, and don’t use solvent cleaners. Blot spills quickly rather than rubbing.
Watch the humidity. In Singapore, bathrooms and kitchens are the high-risk areas. Persistent moisture behind wallpaper causes lifting at seams. Good ventilation in those rooms protects the finish.
Furniture placement. Avoid pushing furniture hard against papered walls, and keep chair backs from rubbing repeatedly at one point.
What if you’re doing the whole room
If wallpaper is part of a broader refresh, it’s worth sequencing the work: wallpaper generally goes up before blinds and curtains are installed, and before new furniture is delivered — so the wall is clear and there’s nothing to damage.
If you’re coordinating a full room, our team can help sequence wallpaper alongside blinds and curtains, bed frames and other furnishing so nothing arrives out of order.
Also read: A BTO Bedroom Makeover Example That Feels Bigger Also read: Combi Blinds vs Venetian Blinds for Your Home
For BTO and condo owners furnishing from scratch, our group buy programme bundles wallpaper with furniture across a whole home, and the 0% interest instalment plan spreads the cost.
Also read: BTO Group Buy Furniture for a Better First Home
See the textures in person at our Ubi wallpaper shop
Korean wallpaper is textured, and texture is the one thing a screen cannot show you. A design that looks flat in a photograph often has a subtle relief you only notice with your hand on it — and that texture is usually the reason people choose Korean wallpaper in the first place.
Visit the Catnap Lair showroom at 33 Ubi Avenue 3, Vertex, #01-16 to browse catalogues and feel the finishes, or get in touch to discuss your walls and get the process explained for your specific room.
Browse the wallpaper collection online first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Korean wallpaper installation take?
A single plain feature wall typically takes a few hours. Patterned designs and custom murals take longer due to alignment, and a full bedroom usually takes most of a working day.
Do I need to move furniture before wallpaper installation?
Yes. Clear the wall completely from floor to ceiling and move furniture away from it, ideally to the centre of the room. Also remove pictures, mirrors and curtain rails on that wall.
Can wallpaper be installed over damp walls?
No. Wallpaper applied over active damp will bubble and lift. Damp must be resolved before installation — flag any water staining when you book rather than on the day.
Can I sleep in the room the same night?
Usually yes. Modern adhesives are low-odour. Avoid pushing furniture against the wall or hanging anything on it for the first few days while the adhesive fully cures.
How do I clean Korean wallpaper?
Wipe gently with a barely damp cloth. Avoid scrubbing, soaking or solvent cleaners, and blot spills promptly instead of rubbing them.
Why should I keep leftover wallpaper?
Wallpaper is produced in batches with slight colour variation between them. Keeping offcuts from your batch is the only way to repair a damaged section invisibly later.
Where can I see Korean wallpaper in Singapore?
Visit the Catnap Lair wallpaper showroom at 33 Ubi Avenue 3, Vertex, #01-16, where you can browse catalogues and feel the actual textures before choosing.