How different Wallpapers can transform your home
The world of interior design is a fickle place; fashions change, tastes shift and opinions sway in the breeze. In recent years the wallcovering of choice has been paint in its many guises. Versatile and practical, painting walls with brush, roller or spray in a rainbow of shades was how it was done.
Not any more. The writing is quite literally on the wall for paint. The interiors mood has well and truly changed. Maybe sumptuous wallpaper designs with their luxurious finishes have seduced us as we crave opulence in our lives? Who knows the reasons behind this realignment in favour of wallpaper, let’s just be thankful for changing attitudes? It means saying ‘goodbye’ to pallid minimalist interiors and ‘hello’ to energised, vibrant rooms with style in abundance.
There are so many advantages to using wallpaper as a surface covering. Practical considerations are important when re-decorating a home and when flawless plaster surfaces are absent, wallpaper hides a multitude of sins. However, perhaps the most exciting element of wallpaper as a material is its ability to totally transform a space in an instant. Whether it’s just an accent covering on the chimneybreast or a total refurbishment of every wall in the room, wallpaper can make a massive difference.
Don’t make the mistake of dismissing wallpaper as boring, striped stuff in your grandmother’s sitting room. Wallpaper has travelled a long way in recent years. Choose from textured finishes that give depth and interest to a room, bold trellis designs, large print floral motiffs, rich damasks and luxurious bird designs that sing with style. There are even wallpapers that emulate finishes such as glass, marble and wood, opening up a new world of creative options to the enthusiastic home decorator.
Add to this vast array of self-adhesive vinyl wallcoverings, and the choices really start to stack up.
Those struggling to achieve the authentic style of a french interior should consider a traditional Toile wallpaper design as a quick, easy and totally convincing short cut. Try designs such as Cotillion or Vauxhall Gardens to give a room instant Gallic charm. A boudoir furnished sympathetically with a chaise sofa, elegant commode and armoire, allows the perfect revolution to take place with minimum fuss.
Rooms crying out for a bold statement would benefit from wallpaper murals. Advances in digital photography mean that fresher images can be expanded for use on a large scale. The current hot trend of botanics in interiors can be referenced with dramatic floral murals such as Hortensia in vivid blue; a wonderful , feel-good image that just makes a room. Contemporary interiors with an urban feel are lifted by the addition of a cityscape mural, giving the impression of hovering over a modern skyline. For a quick injection of elegant , neon lit sophistication,try out this Metropolitan mural for size.
The Variety in wallpaper designs is enough to inspire home decorators into giving a room a complete facelift. From delicate rose bud prints, to ornate Chinoiserie, pastoral scenes in french toile, exquisite flora and fauna designs, formal geometrics, regimental stripes, hunting scenes – there’s something to appeal to all tastes. It seems that for the foreseeable future,the answer to interior wallcoverings is definitely on a ‘ Roll ‘.
By Aimee Claire