Hi there - this is my first post so hope I'm posting this in the right place! I'm currently decorating my dining room and would like to use wallpaper. The issue (?!) is that I have both a dado and a picture rail in this room which means I've got 3 separate sections of wall horizontally.

Due to this, I think that papering the bottom section (below the dado) will look strange so am thinking of papering the middle section (between the dado and picture rail) and then painting the top and bottom sections in the same colour to tone with the paper. Has anyone done this before and if so, how did it look? Do you have any pictures?

I can't really afford the time or money to get one of the rails removed which i'm sure would make life easier.

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks

Can look nice but it all depends on taste!

Why not paper under the dado with a complimentary paper. It used to be that stripes were commonly used on bottom halves and a less fussy pattern above!

Thanks - that might work, although my style is quite minimalist so would probably go for a plain paper on the bottom. I really need some pics of anything similar if anyone has any. Struggling to visualise it!

No.
Dreadful.

Take the dado rail off and fill the damage.
Emulsion ceiling and frieze, then paper under the picture rail to the skirting.

Oh dear, what's dreadful? Papering between the picture and dado rails or using 2 wallpapers...or BOTH?!
I'm too scared to pull anything off the wall in case half the wall comes down with it (old house)! I'm trying to do the room on a budget and can't face having to get a plasterer in...

old house, original features? keep them

paint the ceiling drop to the picture rail in white same as the ceiling.

Depending on how the dado if fixed it should not take more than a crowbar to remove it and a bit of polyfilla to patch up the holes, wait for filler to cure, sand smooth then paint/paper.
If the dado has been fitted with screws and the screws filled over you should be able to prise the filler out with a screwdriver and then unscrew the screw, this way less damage will be caused to the wall and you will only have the screw holes to fill.

Thanks everyone!