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I don't get much call for pattern wallpaper, not sure why really but I do a fair bit of lining paper. If you're taking it on in bits then you'd want to do whole walls at a time, get them nicely finished and then move on to the next part. You probably wouldn't suffer to much if you didn't get a whole wall done.
There's a strip of thin plastic you can buy that you put under the wallpaper where you want you make a join at a corner, you overlap the wallpaper and then cut through both layers with the plastic strip underneath. You can't just go round most corners with a full sheet as the wall is not exactly a right angle all the way down and the wallpaper will crease or end up out of line. So just 15-20mm round the corner and splice it.
Read the instructions on the paste, you need to prime the wall before you paste it, if you have filler on the wall use a sponge to feather the filler. Get all your filler sorted before you open the wallpaper and clean the skirtings, anything that gets behind the paper slows you down and messes with the glue.
Don't let the paste get too dry when you hang the paper, especially at the joints. There's a plastic wallpaper smoother available for a few quid which does a great job, you'll also need a snap off blade knife, a small olfa one will do, snap the blade off nearly every cut or you'll screw up the edges. That is really important, never touch the paper with a blade that can't cut it cleanly.
Don't panic if you get a few bubbles, they develop about 1/2 an hour after you've smoothed it and they settle down after a few hours, don't try dealing with them while you are papering the wall, likely they won't show the next day anyway. You'll probably get some joints that don't stick, deal with them the next day, you can use a syringe to put a bit of glue in them, sponge then wipe off the excess.
If you're doing stairs you need a decent stair ladder as you have to get right up to the wall/ceiling join. You can't do this balancing on the bannister.
Use a decent sponge and lots of clean water to take of the excess glue, check that the print doesn't react with the glue and wiping the surface when it's wet etc. Some prints are not fixed that well or the surface will show dried glue if you don't wipe it completely.
Like I said, you're in at the deep end. Prepare properly and it's a quick job, rush the prep and its a disaster waiting to happen. Try the small areas first obviously.
Forgot to mention, use a laser level or plumb bob to get your first upright, don't rely on the corner of the wall.
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Airhead
CYOA
Thanks @Bernhard @frankenbike and @Airhead
re. pattern I assume the pattern repeat is a vertical 53, yes. From the website:
Product type Wallpaper
Width 0.53 m
Length 10.05 m
Repeat 0.53 m
Composition Paste the wall
Wallpaper type Standard
@Airhead I kind of assumed finishing the job later would lead to bits that looked or dried differently and figured you'd get the best results all in one fell swoop? Also if I stopped mid way I think there's a 95-100% chance of me never starting again.
I'd anticipated 5 x rolls. Would that sound like it SHOULD be enough? Not worried about any pattern matching above and below the stairs (if that helps)? It's not that expensive as wallpaper goes and I can return any spares "without quibble" according to wallpaperdirect.com but I'm loathe to over-order by more than one roll.
Anyone want to do it for me? I'll give you about 8 pounds in coppers, a half finished packet of baby rusks and any leftover wallpaper. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal tbf...