One of my favourite additions to any space is wallpaper. A lot of clients shy away from this due to past experiences of wallpaper being old fashioned, hard to install and even harder to take down. Today’s wallpapers have endless patterns, textures and finishes to suit any style and are now strippable, requiring less elbow grease and damage to your walls.
Patterned – Geometric, traditional, graphic, and floral are a few of the patterns to choose from, in an array of choices. There is truly something for everyone, every home and every style. Choosing something that is patterned but more tone on tone is a more transitional application that will stand the test of time and be more cohesive over time with your existing items and new items added to your space. A bolder and colourful style can create a mega feature in a space, enhance and/or create a focal point and add major personality.
Textured – Grass cloth, woven linen, metallic and paintable wallpapers are some options when pattern is just a little too much for you or if you are just wanting to add some depth and dimension to a room. Textured wallpapers catch light differently depending on the time of day; can add a metallic quality to your more contemporary space or an earth natural texture for a more rustic space.
Installation – a lot of wallpapers come pre pasted for easy installation and the glue also now gives you a lot more time to maneuver the paper to get in perfect place. Larger scale patterned papers are easier to install due to a large pattern repeat which makes it easier to match up side by side. Take down is done with a wallpaper steamer and should roll off in strips rather than in small pieces where you take a ton of time scraping away like with older wallpaper. Depending on the size of the repeat, you should always factor in 15-20% of extra paper to account for mistakes and extra cuts needed for pattern match.
There are also so many other uses for wallpaper with both left overs or just to add a touch to your space. Using wall paper behind shelves for a peek-a-boo effect, lining drawers with scraps for inexpensive art work are always great uses for this new and improved design feature for your home.