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Wallpaper
Why Wallpaper Makes Sense
There are dozens of choices when it comes to finishing a wall, from paint to textured cement to mirror to wainscoting and to tiles or marble. Wallpaper is a rather inexpensive type of wall covering that can create a very unique look for a room. Also, wallpapers last much longer than paint so the investment cost per year could be lower than painting. Maintaining the wallpaper is easy. Most wallpapers can be wiped clean whereas some paints do not stand up well to cleaning and scuff mark removals. A badly damaged piece of wallpaper could be replaced, to add many years of service to the entire room. Keep a small percentage of the wallpaper you use, just in case you need to patch or replace a section.
LOW SURFACE PREPARATION NEEDED
Wallpaper is a forgiving material and does not need a perfect surface to be installed on. However if you have a particularly rough surface to work with, instead of replacing the drywall, you may be able to use a wallpaper liner. The wallpaper liner is effectively a thick layer of paper that can cover wall imperfections and smoothen the wall surface to prepare it for the decorative wallpaper. There are two types of wallpaper liner: blank-stock liner or bridging liner.
Blank-stock liners are thinner but still smoothen the wall surface for the wallpaper. The bridging liner is a thick paper and can cover the more major wall defects such as larger screw holes and wall cracks. The wallpaper liner is attached to the wall, must be allowed to dry, and then the decorative wallpaper is attached over the liner. You can expect a longer service life from wallpaper that is installed atop of a liner.
STYLE & DESIGN
Wallpaper comes in a huge variety of styles, from Bohemian to Coastal to Country styles. Pick from an incredible variety of patterns, colors or textures. Bring the beauty of a forest or the sunny shores of a white sandy beach right into your living spaces. You can go for a glam look, a rustic feel or a tropical feel. Give your kid’s room a teenage romance look or catch Superman in action or showcase the picture of an elephant walking through the wall, right into the bedroom. The choices are endless. Everyone can have the freedom to express his or her own preferred decor in one part of the house with a personalized and customized design.
While there is always a place for the simple beauty of the painted surface, sometimes, you may prefer a more elaborate design, a soft suede finish, a chintz texture or a breath-taking panoramic mural. It is rather costly to create a special design or achieve a special look with paint. It requires patience, expensive material, specialized technical skills and artistic talent. Wallpaper can deliver striking beauty with little cost and no unexpected surprises. If you have an expensive wooden floor and dread the idea of getting micro-splashes of paint all over it, or if you have an allergy to the smell of paint, fear no more: wallpaper can beautify your walls without the mess.
With literally thousands of choices of wallpaper types and designs, you can create the perfect look and that special feel for your home. Want to apply the wallpaper to just half the height of the wall and let paint highlight the wallpaper? Easy! Install the wallpaper, use a laser line to mark the horizontal edge and cut the excess wallpaper with a sharp blade knife at the exact height you want. Layering paint is not as easy. It uses a lot more time and getting that perfect separation of colors is a bit hard. Never try to layer the paint unless the first color is completely dry. You need to tape the edge of the dried paint before you paint the second color. Getting that to be perfect takes a lot of skill.
Most types of wallpaper deliver a good finish but like all things, there are quality differences. Some wallpapers are made of new and purpose-built materials (for bath use for example) and others are intended for use in normal traffic, dry areas. One must choose the best wallpaper for each room paying attention to cost, traffic, humidity, lighting, durability, washability and ease of removal in the future.
Vinyl Wallpapers and Printed wallpapers
Typically, Vinyl wallpapers and Printed wallpapers are low cost whereas you would expect to spend more for the foil wallpaper. Vinyl wallpapers are easily washable and come in vinyl-coated fabrics or solid sheets or a vinyl-coated papers. Typical solid sheet vinyl wallpapers are highly durable and contain PVC. The Vinyl-coated fabrics or papers are often used in high traffic areas such as corridors, kitchens or bathrooms.
Printed wallpaper
A Printed wallpaper is a decorative, coated paper. If it has a self adhesive backing, then the rear layer is peeled and the wallpaper is installed. A second type of wallpaper may have pre-applied glue at the back. By applying water, the glue is activated and the wallpaper can be hung. Some wallpapers are not self-adhesive type and do not have pre-applied glue at the back. In this case wallpaper adhesive must be applied to the backing to allow you to hang it.
Textured wallpapers
Textured wallpapers are found in some of the most impressive homes, commercial buildings and hotels. These wallpapers offer a unique level of luxury, velvety fee and fascinating style. Some textured wallpapers represent the look of a pattern such as tiles, wood or stones. These have a flat or smooth surface and use the underlying design, selected colors and representation of lighting to create the unique look and feel. Sometimes they project a three dimensional ambience.
Light textured wallpapers
Light textured wallpapers feature an embossed surface that is perceptible by touch. Light textured wallpapers include fabric wallpapers, glass bead wallpapers, grasscloth or natural textures and flock wallpaper. Fabric wallpapers can range from printed multicolored cotton fabrics with a glazed finish, to a lustrous soft silk with striking red, blue, green, gold or a choice from a myriad of colors.
Woven basket grasscloth wallpaper
Light textured wallpapers feature an embossed surface that is perceptible by touch. Light textured wallpapers include fabric wallpapers, glass bead wallpapers, grasscloth or natural textures and flock wallpaper. Fabric wallpapers can range from printed multicolored cotton fabrics with a glazed finish, to a lustrous soft silk with striking red, blue, green, gold or a choice from a myriad of colors.
Glass bead wallpaper
On a Glass bead wallpaper, various sized glass beads and shapes are attached to the wallpaper surface. This creates a raised surface in areas where the glass beads are attached. They can be used in any room. Envisage a wall covered with shiny shades of blue glass beads beautifully adorning one of the walls in your bathroom. Shine a spotlight on it and you can have a winning design. With a little imagination, glass beads can make for spectacular effects around any type of property.
Foil wallpapers
Foil wallpapers can be stunning. These are made of thin shiny layers of metal sheets. Best used for accent walls, they come in a variety of styles including embossed patterns, plain metallics, repeat patterns and brushed metal look. They can add extra dimension and pause for admiration from onlookers. The foil wallpaper is best installed by a skilled, professional because even small defects in the wall surface or any poor installation will vividly show.