Definitely. You can do so much more with wallpaper than with just paint. I don't use wallpaper in every room of my house, but I have either wallpaper or a border in many of them. Am especially proud of my laundry room (1st floor, back door--that everyone uses--opens into it) at the country house. The tile is peach and rust. I found a lovely, tiny rust/green plaid for the walls, and added a really cute border a couple of inches above the tile--it's old fashioned cats in aprons, washing, ironing, etc.

Wallpaper is a bit of work--you have to pull off the old, clean the walls, and it's more involved to apply than just painting, but IMO--it's worth the effort.

I have one bedroom that I painted peach, then I got a wallpaper of huge palm fronds. I cut out the individual leaves, and used them around the top of the room, so it looks like you're in a tropical verandah at sunset, with leaves hanging down over the edges. My husband is so cute--he LOVES that room and is so impressed that I came up with the concept.

But then, I should probably add, I'm the granddaughter of a professional paperhanger. He was an artist--working for the upper class, creating his own borders and artistic appliations in the days before borders were even thought of commercially

I love it. Not for every room though.

I am a wallpaper fanatic, always have been! The wallpaper they have now (and always) is just so stunning for any type of decorating.

I have wallpaper in my dining room and bathroom.

It's also pretty in those small powder rooms.

If I had a large bedroom I'd definitely put wallpaper in there!

For my computer? Yep. For my home.....I like grass cloth or a wainscoat border.

I can appreciate it in other people's homes, but don't like it for mine.

I didn't answer my own question, but I have the same answer as joann23456...I don't care for wallpaper in my own home, but I do appreciate it in other's.

So far, I have never bought a house, where I liked the wall paper and I left it on.

Thus, I can only say: NO!

Cause taking it off was a B*TCH each time.

Moni

Yes, I love wallpaper and have hung a lot of it in several rooms of my house.

But I don't understand the need for granite countertops. Now THAT is a waste of money!

no, thank you!!

I love wallpaper, but when we moved here this house had borders around the ceiling in every single room. It looked good with her color scheme of pink/black flowers but awful with mine. The bedrooms and baths had different icky borders so I spent a lot of time getting them off. I only kept the kitchen border, which is roosters and kinda cute.

Sherrmann, have you ever had granite countertops? If you did, you'd know why people like them. Plus they add a lot to the resale value of your home. I wouldn't trade my Silestone (quartz) for anything! But, to each his own.

I'm with nicole - only on my computer, and I change that often.

I have found very few wallpapers over the years that I didn't despise. The former owners of the house my wife and I bought in March was definately a fan. There are only a few rooms that don't have it. I spent this weekend attempting to strip some wallpaper in the kitchen and it was abysmal. Nothing would touch it at all. Neither steaming or chemicals or anything. After much deliberation, I ended up priming a few coats, sanding down the seams, then painting a few coats. I'm happy with the finished results, but it was a real PITA to get that far. If I ever move again, my next house better be wallpaper free.

Not anymore. I think I'll stick with paint, makes it easier to change. Azzalea, I would love to see your rooms!

"I can appreciate it in other people's homes, but don't like it for mine."
I agree.
I put some up in our old house, and I was getting really
tired of it after a year or two. And downstairs, I had to
take it off the wall in the basement... they ran out
and did only half of the wall... plus, big blue flowers with silver accents in a family room? lol
they pasted it right to the paper on the drywall..
what an awful mess.

forgot to mention that the previous owner put wallpaper on some of the closet shelves. I started to peel one of them off and it took forever. So, I'm just going to buy more to put over her's. One of the guys is here to finish my closets so I can put all my crap back in the closets. They weren't even going to come today after promising me they would be finished today.

There is no wall paper in my home, I have plaster walls that have swirl design, so it is just paint for me. Some I do like though for other people. I like borders better. Oh the bathrooms are smooth, but no paper on the walls.

Sue

No, it makes the room look too busy.

Also, it would be a huge turn off if I was looking for a house again. In one house we owned we tore out and then replaced sheetrock in the kitchen. The previous owner had put up 7 (yes I said 7 layers) of wallpaper on one wall. Believe me, we took a photo showing the 7 layers exposed. It was easier to rip down the wall than to get all that off. In our current house the previous owner had put up paper and borders up before the paint had cured properly. As we removed it, the paper layer on the sheetrock came off, leaving huge gouges that we had to fill.

Fool me once, fool me twice, but NEVER again!

To watch the houses being sold on the HGTV shows one would think that having wall paper in your home was something akin to living in a shack. Oh, and god forbid that there would be anything other than granite counter tops & stainless steel appliances. But I digress.

I have some in my home but am thinking of changing it out to paint. (Musta watched too much HGTV, eh? LOL)

Funny thing about those HGTV shows. I swear they've turned me into a kitchen snob. Granite just looks soo much better to me now. I'm redoing my kitchen and that was one thing I had to have. Laminate just looks so boring to me, and if I was buying a house where I had a choice between one with laminate and one with granite, the one with laminate better have something else that completely wows me!

Yes, I love it. Of course, it depends upon the wallpaper and the room; there are some that are butt-ugly and others that are beautiful. I have a mixture of paint and wallpaper in my house and am very happy with it.

I just redid my bathroom and the magnolia wallpaper (red background) absolutely make it.

I going out on a limb here and making a prediction: TV shows, sit coms, dramas, DIY shows will start showing wallpaper and everyone will be posting about how much they love it, and granite will be replaced by some other must-have surface. I give it less than five years until that happens.

Someone above asked if I've ever had granite. Not in my own home, but I spent several months in my son's home taking care of his family while his wife was recovering. They have granite that I used every day for baking bread, pies, making all the meals, etc. I could see or feel no difference in how the granite worked compared to my own laminate, and I considered it a maintenance nightmare! Always smeary unless rinsed and wiped dry. It just isn't for me.

I think you are exactly right Sherrmann, in your predictions. Ya live long enough & everything goes in circles it seems.

I've also heard of some who disliked granite. I'm guessing that people are mainly attracted to the look rather than the functionality. But I sure don't want something that looks cr@ppy if I don't give it the high maintenance treatment.

Not any more. I used to like it and had in it my bedroom and kitchen for many years. Now I don't care for it in my house. I don't like granite counter tops or stainless steel appliances either because they are too trendy. You know how we say now that a house is too 70s or 80s. I think in 20 years people will be saying that granite and stainless steel are too turn of the century.

I prefer paint rather than wallpaper. I like to make changes to my decor every now and then, so paint is much easier to change. I like to get my punches of color with fabrics/pillows and such.

20+ years ago I was a wallpaper and stencil fanatic, so I think I burned myself out on it. I often go on house tours and have seen some stunning wallpaper.

Not any more. I got it out of my system when I bought some really pretty designer papers and did the entry wall, the powder room and ceiling, and the family room. Then a few years ago it was time to change the look after 25 years, and I had it removed. I live in a large house with large rooms, but I could not believe how much larger the rooms looked without the various wallpapers, and they were not heavy looking papers either. I will never use wallpaper again. I love the feel of the larger rooms so much better.

No, and pretty much only because it's a pain in the arse to remove...totally destroyed my bathroom walls when we took down the heavy duty vinyl paper that was up..I had to have them retextured..should have just put up new sheet rock.. they don't look so good.

At times yes I like it. I have had it in my home before but don't have any right now. We do have some grasscloth in the dining room and hallway.

I don't get why people think granite is so hard to maintain. You wipe down your kitchen counters once a day at least anyway? Don't get why it is a big deal. I love mine.

I also don't call ss and granite trendy. SS has been in kitchens for generations. Love mine

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen

I feel the same about wallpaper as I do about tattoos. Personally I'm not into making permanent statements with either my walls or my skin. But every once in a while, I see an example that is so creative, so appropriate and tasteful, and applied with obviously expert craftsmanship that I can't help but admire the effect. Some of the borders and ideas expressed here sound delightful.

But mostly, I think of horrid wallpapers inherited by friends or family and thank goodness for plain old paint.

I agree with those who say wallpaper is a pain to remove. It took me years to get all the layers of wallpaper out of my house, and I finally finished up last winter, after 15 years. And I HATE when people paint over wallpaper and make it almost impossible to remove.

I agree with kacee2002 on granite and stainless. Good grief - the Brady Bunch kitchen had stainless appliances. I wanted stainless appliances for 25 years before I got them five years ago, so I doubt they're going anywhere soon.

Marble and soapstone are timeless, and I think the only reason granite wasn't is because it's a harder stone and more difficult to cut. With modern tools, though, that's no longer a concern.

And I agree that granite isn't at all tough to maintain. I use a spray-on stone cleaner just like I would use 409 or Fantastic. If you have to seal your granite, which I don't, that's a quick wipe on-wipe off maybe once a year.

I like wallpaper and borders, but I don't like other people's wallpaper and borders. I don't like the teardown of other people's wallpaper and trying to get the walls to where I can paint them. I've noticed that some of the new houses have very rich wallpapers in the powder rooms.

I'm not a huge fan of granite either, but I have it in my new house we just built because you're expected to have it if you live in this neighborhood and need it for resale. Dh picked out our granite and it is beautiful with a lot of character. I noticed when we walked through the granite warehouses that I gravitated to the really expensive, but unique granites with unusual colors. I loved one that looked like the background with the blues and lines of Van Gogh's "Starry Night".

Kacee--if that is your kitchen, I'm moving in!!!

I like wallpaper,I just found a website of 1800 patterns Im gonna order one I like for my bedroom,my house is 1700.

hate it - but 'bad' wallpaper (old, curled edges, dated/busy patterns, etc) gives all wallpaper a bad name to me I think. wouldn't want any in my home- just can't stand those seams~

Merry, if your wallpaper is properly applied you really SHOULD NOT see any seams. I'd defy you to find any in my house--I'm pretty fussy about that, and know the tricks to getting paper and borders to match correctly.

whoever said they have swirly plaster and can't use wall paper? My new house had textured plaster applied to the walls. It's GORGEOUS with wall paper over it--has so much depth and character than wall applied over flat plaster (and believe me, I've done both in 37 years of marriage!

As to removing wall paper? only time I've ever had a problem with removal was in the living room of our first house--but there were TWELVE layers of wallpaper, one on top of the other, many painted over. it was literally as thick as sheet rock, and there was no way to get moisture down to the lowest leve in one shot. Otherwise, I find it's not that difficult to remove--and I will not ever paint or paper over old paper. As a matter of fact, my bathroom? When I decide to change the wallpaper, which I do every year or two, it's only a morning's work to remove the old, clean the walls and put up the new.

I really think many have been scared off wallpaper--it's really easy to deal with.

As to trends? Totally agree with whoever said that Stainless, granite and 'no' wallpaper will be out in 5 years. Of course, you'll still be able to buy stainless and granite, but they 'experts' will have everyone convinced that they're old-fashioned. That's how they keep selling us more and more expensive stuff. If they can get only a few people to run out and needlessly replace stuff in their homes, it's extremely profitable for them. And, of course, there's the issue that this sort of proclamation makes people doubt their own ability to make good choices--oops--more work for the professional advisors (decorators, personal shoppers, etc).

I love wallpaper. I had it it in every room in my home up until 2 years ago,and I did it always myself. I prefer wallpapering to painting anyday.So a decision was made to strip all the wallpaer off and paint, pull up all the wall to wall carpeting and go with refinnishing the hardwood floors and painting the walls. It's fine...but I really prefer wallpaper.I think it makes a room much wwarmer looking. paint ,to me, is cold.

I haven't experienced problems removing wallpaper, either. I guess it all depends upon how it's put up in the first place. If the wall's prepared (sized), the wallpaper comes right off. I haven't, though, had the hassle of taking off someone else's layers and layers. And I never, ever paper over paper.

To remove it, I just find a corner and lift it up, then tear as much of the top layer off as will come, and keep doing that. Then, when only the paper part is left on the wall, I fill a bucket with warm/hot water and apply that with a sponge to an area. Let it soak in for a few minutes, then the paper comes off simply. Sometimes I use a scraper to take of long strips at a time. Simple, and actually, kind of mindlessly theraputic, in a weird way!

As stated before it depends on the room and the wallpaper. Personally, I love wall paper. All of my bedrooms are different designs but have the same pattern wall paper and window treatments. They are beautiful. In one of the big master bedrooms I have a fainting couch in the same fabic as the wallpaper and window treatment. Kind of a navy blue with lavender flowers. The carpet is lavender. My two story foyer is done with a white brocade (for lack of a better word). The wall paper girl stood on scafolding to hang it. Every room including dinning room has a different but same wall paper and window treatment. I have Corian countertops when are pretty but think if I ever build again I will use granite.

Yup Bearcat that's ours.It's a joy to cook in!

Like others, it depends on the room and on the wallpaper.

When I was a boy, my mother and I wall papered many rooms in old farm houses during the 1940s. That was the standard at that time. Dry wall construction and painted walls became very popular following WW2.

Frankly, having lived with both paper and paint, I prefer paint. It is easier to repair, does not peel, and leaves a clean wall. It retains a good appearance for a much longer time than paper.

Once you have applied paper to the walls, you have a mess when it is time to do over. It is very difficult to clean off all the paper. Small bits will stick to the wall. New wall paper will cover these minor imperfections, but if you decide to paint instead, these bits will stand out.

One upside for paper vs paint is that it is rare to ruin a carpet while papering, but very easy to do when painting.

We have a little wall paper in selected places. Do not put paper in a bathroom with a shower head, or at least, keep the paper away from the shower area. (Don't ask how I know.)