We have provided two different files, one for letter-sized paper and the other for A4 paper: click the appropriate graphic on the right for the page to be launched. You will need the Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have the reader, you will need to install the free program before proceeding. There should be a 1/2" (12mm) border between the dots and the top and sides of your paper; if your printouts are giving less than this, make sure that the "Fit to page" option is unselected in the dialog box that appears after you click on 'print'. If you are having any other difficulties with the download or printout, you should visit the Adobe Reader troubleshooting page.

Now that the sheets are printed, they need to be cut. The printouts should include a thin line directly below the 10,000 dots which serves as a cutting guide; you can cut just inside of the lines so they will not appear on your wall. It is tempting to cut huge batches of paper all at once, but we urge you to refrain from doing this unless you have a high-quality paper cutter. If you are using scissors or a knife and a straight edge, do one at a time: your patience will pay off.

Now we are going to paint the wall. A contrast between the color of the wall and the paper sheets provides significant visual interest to this project. You'll need to tape off a large square using the dimensions shown below. You will probably want to position the display on a free wall, one without obstructions (windows, doors, outlets); you may also want to center it vertically so that it is evenly spaced between the floor and ceiling. To mark off the area you can use a level or a plumb bob on a string. Make sure you firmly press the edge of the masking tape against the wall to ensure that paint will not be able to creep below the tape and therefore outside of the masked area. Here are the dimensions you will need to mask off:

• Letter size million wall requires: 90 1/2" painted square
• A4 size million wall requires: 2243mm painted square

Next, following the paint manufacturer's instructions, paint the square inside the masked area. If you are using a dark color over a light background you may need two coats. Check the design considerations section at the end of this plan for more ideas for this step. To save paint, we simply painted those areas that will appear between the sheets: if you choose to use this method instead of painting the entire square, it is critical that your paper is opaque enough to prevent the paint color from showing through.

Once the paint is thoroughly dry, we are ready to paste the sheets into place. Before you begin pasting, however, you need to mark out the location of the sheets in the square you just painted. You cannot paste a row of sheets and then move over the gutter dimension and paste the next row: if you are off by even the smallest amount, the errors will add up and by the time you reach the tenth row, there will either be too large or too small a border. You need to measure and mark for all 100 sheets before pasting a single sheet. Note that making the marks by snapping a chalk line is not recommended because the chalk will mix with the wallpaper paste and change its color.

Once the paint is thoroughly dry, we are ready to paste the sheets into place. Before you begin pasting, however, you need to mark out the location of the sheets in the square you just painted. You cannot paste a row of sheets and then move over the gutter dimension and paste the next row: if you are off by even the smallest amount, the errors will add up and by the time you reach the tenth row, there will either be too large or too small a border. You need to measure and mark for all 100 sheets before pasting a single sheet. Note that making the marks by snapping a chalk line is not recommended because the chalk will mix with the wallpaper paste and change its color.

We used a pencil and a measuring tape to mark the corner locations of of each sheet. As we progressed through this marking step, we constantly checked our progress by measuring the distance between our mark and with the other edges of the painted square - this allows you to minimize any accumulation of measurement errors.

Once the locations are properly marked, you can begin to paste the sheets. It is best to keep the masking tape in place during this step. We found it easiest to apply the wallpaper paste to small sections of the wall and placing the sheets on top of it. Then we brushed additional paste on top of the paper to saturate the paper and guarantee good adhesion. This technique provides an interesting matte finish because the paste doesn't dry completely clear. If you are not interested in a matte look, you can apply paste to the back of the sheets and apply them to unpasted walls, but this is much more difficult. You can use a wallpaper brush to remove any wrinkles or bubbles in the paper. We noticed that some small wrinkles that could not be brushed away tightened up and disappeared during the drying process.

Optional: When the wallpaper paste is completely dry (per the paste manufacturer's directions), you can coat everything with polyurethane: this will seal the surface and will make it easier to clean. Most retailers offer matte, satin and gloss polyurethanes so you can choose the finish you prefer.

Once everything is dry, you can carefully remove the masking tape: it may help to run a hobby or utility knife along the edge to make sure that paint is not lifted off with the tape. We recommend that you do this slowly and methodically.

Design Considerations

size and shape

• Instead of painting a large square background, you can paint an entire wall with that color.
• Arrange the sheets in a different orientation than 10 x 10; for example 4 x 25, 5 x 20, 2 x 50, 1 x 100. With some calculation, you may be able to arrange a 2 x 50 stripe around the perimeter of a room.
• You can orient the pages as a diamond instead of as a square; simply follow the directions in the plan above but rotate everything by 45 degrees. Note that you will need a taller wall to accommodate for a diamond orientation, specifically 10' 8" (3172mm).

color

• In the plan we used black paint, but of course you can use any color you want.
• An interesting alternative is to paint the square by swirling paint on with a sponge using a faux technique: much of this will be covered by the sheets but the small gutters and borders that remain become very interesting.
• You can use alternative color papers and you can use more than one color paper making a checkerboard pattern, for example.