Wall Border in Kids' Room

When we put up a border, we took a ruler and marked a dot at an exact certain point down from the ceiling. Then we took a straight edge and drew a straight line (in pencil) from dot to dot across all the walls. We used this line as the guide for the bottom of the border. This will add an extra step (plus moving the ladder, etc!) but our border is absolutely perfect.

You might wish to get a laser level. We've hung borders in both of our kids' rooms and it was wonderful. We also used it for two-tone painting and for hanging pictures. It isn't terribly expensive and although you won't use it a whole lot it will really save you a ton of frustration.

We used traditional borders. Started in the bath tub by submerging/soaking them, then brought them into the bedrooms to hang. I also kept a basic kitchen sponge handy during the hanging to push out the bubbles. With the laser level, all you have to do is slide the top of the border to match the red line and it'll be even (provided you sit the level on a piece of furniture that is level). We went with the traditional border so that we had a little 'wiggle' room when placing it on the wall; if it wasn't in the right place, it doesn't adhere immediately and we could just slide it into position. I'm not sure if the peel and stick ones can be moved/removed as easily (never worked with them so I don't know).

I did a wall border when we first moved into our current home. My brother took a tape measure and marked off every few inches, measuring from the trim up 4 feet (we had it almost half up the wall. I was then able to put the border up. And yes, it did seem crooked at some spots mainly due to the way the wall and corners were. When I took a level against the border edge, it showed it was even. I prefer peel and stick because it is easy to change and when I did start going off the mark, I was able to easily position it correctly.

I agree with Laura! I put up self-stick border in my daughter's room & it fell quicker than it went up! My best experience has been the traditional border, which you'll have a bucket of water by your side for. It sticks much easier!
As for keeping it straight, I used a laser level & marked a line around the room, every few inches. That way it will be level as long as you continue to use the markings. I suggest marking every 4-6 inches, that way you can apply the water at that time.
Good luck!
J.

I would go with traditional. I put up a peel and stick and it fell after 2 hours. I complained to the store and got a replacement. The 2nd was put up with spray adhesive as well as the peel and stick and that lasted a couple of months. When I put up traditional border I used bucket of water in the room it was being and did one wall at a time. To make it straight I just marked every few inches at the designated spot and then once it was up used a level to check before the adhesive dried in case adjustments needed to be made.
Good luck.

Your border will also depend on the wall and ceiling being straight. Even if you apply it straight your eye may deceive you because wall height is not the same on different sides of the room. Your border may look like it's going up and down around the room. Also if you have texture on the walls it will complicate the process and may not look straight from a step back. Borders overall tend to make rooms look smaller because of the shorter ceiling effect. The closer the main color of the border is to your paint color the more forgiving it will be to work with.
Hope this helps. Good luck!