Decorating with Wallpaper

Anyone under 30 would most likely be thinking of a picture on a computer screen or telephone rather than something you stick on the walls of your home.

I remember as a child, everyone I knew had highly patterned paper on most of the walls of in their home. As the years went by, people used to paint over it so you lost the garish pattern but still kept the texture.

Over the years it has had a bit of a fall from grace and is now less frequently used in modern homes.

As a bit of research for this page I have been having a look at some of the ‘how to’ sites on the internet and the massive list of things you will need to have to hand and vast number of steps you need to follow to paper a room probably explains why it is not as popular as it used to be and is a bit of a dying art.

That said, there are a number of specialist companies like Osborne and Little creating beautiful designs that would create a stunning impact in a room if used sparingly and personally I would never use patterned paper for more than one wall or the alcoves on either side of a fireplace.

I have done a little bit of wallpapering myself - and I didn't make a complete mess of it! - and my top tips would be:

Use a thick paper (possibly a vinyl) rather than a cheap, thin paper as it is a little more ‘forgiving’ and much easier to handle when wet. Some of the more modern papers require that you paste the wall rather than the back of the paper and although I haven't yet tried this myself, I understand that this is easier.

Sometimes there is a slight color variation between two rolls so double check the batch number if you are buying more than one roll.

If you are doing any painting in the room as well – round a window frame for example – do that first.

Most rooms are better suited to a bold pattern rather than a small one - especially if you are aiming for a contemporary look. An entire room papered in a bold print can be overwhelming though so I would suggest you use wallpaper on one accent wall and paint the remaining walls in a co-ordinating color. It will not only look better but will save time and money too.

As with any DIY job, the important thing is to have the right tools for the job. This video clip goes into greater details about the tools and equipment you will need to achieve a professional finish.