Which Wallcovering Is Right for You?
Transform a Space With a Wall of Wood, Paper, Fabric, Maps and More
Vanessa Brunner
April 25, 2011
Houzz Contributor
The world of wallcoverings is an area of interior design that has exploded over the past several years. Finally, stucco walls and other unfortunate trends have been rejected for chic patterns and sleek colorways. The innovations on the application end are just as impressive, as many products now allow homeowners and renters the ability to experiment and install different types of wallcoverings on their own. Temporary wallpaper, stencils, painting styles, tile techniques, natural wallcoverings, and even playing around with curtains have all become creative and simple ways to completely change a room.
Before deciding on how you want to change your walls, first figure out what you want to do with the room. What type of space do you want to create? If you want a room to feel cozy and a bit smaller, use darker colors. If you want to open it up, look for lighter colored options. Can't decide? Think about doing a bit of both! Wallcoverings today are all about mixing it up. Wood paneling is a beautiful way to add a touch of warmth to a room. Doing a small section cuts the cost pretty drastically, and means you can make a DIY project out of it.
If you're wavering between a color or type of wallcovering, make sure to take time to play around. Order samples of wallpaper, paint sections of your wall, and observe how they look at all hours of the day and in all kinds of light. If you're looking for something a bit more subtle, installing a woven wallcovering is a great way to go neutral without feeling drab. This woven seagrass wallpaper has a great texture that's interesting to the eye, but can go with any furniture color scheme.
If you've decided to apply wallpaper yourself, be sure to take your time after picking out your paper. Measure the space you're covering carefully and correctly — the full distance from the baseboard to the ceiling. Nervous your measurement isn't quite right? Remember, too much is better than too little. Overestimate if you're worried. Before cutting my hair, my mom would always say, "You can cut more, but you can't cut less." I feel like this is applicable to wallpaper too.
The range of modern wallcovering styles is absolutely inspiring. Open up any wallpaper site, and you could easily spend hours poring over the thousands of photos. Try narrowing down what look you're going for before attempting to choose a paper. It'll save a lot of time staring at your computer screen if you know right away that you're looking for a golden, more traditional style, or a darker, more eclectic look like the photo above. See more of this house
I love the look of this crafty wallpaper. The great thing about this project (besides being extraordinarily cheap — just make a quick trip to a used bookstore) is that the messier it is, the better it looks. With more traditional wallpaper, you have to be extremely careful to match the pattern strip by strip as you're hanging it (which is much trickier than it sounds). Collaging your wall with various types of paper is not only a completely customizable look, but allows for a greater margin of error.
Doing the same look with a variety of maps is a great idea too, and adds a pop of color in an otherwise neutral room. If you're a renter, there are many ways to apply this temporarily (double-stick tape anyone?) so you don't have to deal with removing stronger adhesives before you move out.
Bathrooms are a bit more difficult when it comes to wallcoverings, since anything that you apply has to be able to withstand a good amount of moisture, heat and frequent cleaning. Vinyl wallpaper is definitely a potential choice, but double check with the store or manufacturer that it can withstand the wear and tear of daily bathroom use. In this bathroom, the designer paired a shell-inspired paper-backed wallpaper with tile, allowing for easy cleaning and maintenance.
Tile is a great choice to cover an entire bathroom wall, although it's definitely much more expensive. The benefit of course is the tile's durability, and the various types of materials — ranging from ceramic to glass. Of course, if you're not quite ready to invest in tile or wallpaper, simply painting the walls in gloss or semi-gloss paint (for easy cleanup) is another cheap and effective way to spice up the space.
Painting your walls doesn't have to mean settling on a single color applied uniformly over the space. There are endless ways to use paint to add depth or warmth to your space. And of course, it's much easier, faster, and generally cheaper to use. The wall in the photo above got its textured look from a technique called Venetian plaster. An expert applies thin layers of plaster to a wall or ceiling, and then burnishes it to smooth the surface, while giving the illusion of texture.
Want to stick to a quick and easy project you can do on your own? Use stencils on a blank wall. There are multiple sites online that sell various types of stencils, much like the photo above. But it's also incredibly easy to make your own custom stencil — all you need is a piece of posterboard or cardboard and a utility knife.
Blount Architectual and Interior Design
Stripes are such an easy and classic update for bare walls (especially if you plan on keeping the base coat the same color). Just mark off large sections to paint using painter's tape, a yardstick and a level. (I love how these walls complement those chic black-and-white curtains!)
Curtains themselves can be used to add a defined sense of drama and texture that can't always be achieved with wallpaper. I'd never seen curtains draped over a wall with a door before — but it's great how making room for the door allows it to function more as a wallcovering than a window shade.
More:
DIY: Wallpaper Goes Mobile
How to Use an All-Over Wall Stencil
Warm Up Your Walls with Woven Wallcoverings
DIY: Vintage Book-Page Wallpaper
More:
DIY: Wallpaper Goes Mobile
How to Use an All-Over Wall Stencil
Warm Up Your Walls with Woven Wallcoverings
DIY: Vintage Book-Page Wallpaper
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First, the wallcovering that is right for me, or at least my fireplace surround, is the <a href=" http://www.designpublic.com/inhabit-wall-flats" target="_blank">Architect Wall Flats by Inhabit</a>. Btw, Design Public offers a discount on purchases of 5 or more boxes. I anticipate having this project wrapped up in another week or so and will be posting in-depth how-to instructions for those who may want to make an attempt at DIY installation.
Secondly, I have been undertaking DIY projects for many years now and would like to let everyone who reads this know:
YOU can hang wallpaper! YOU can paint a wall, including textural and faux techniques like in photo 9! YOU can apply a wall stencil, even an all-over pattern! YOU can tackle MOST house projects where safety concerns are not an issue, such as electical, plumbing, stuctural, etc. projects. But, even in some cases with adequate research and precautions, YOU can tackle these too!
I am not at all trying discourage anyone from calling a professional. You will almost always get higher-end results employing someone who has been trained in their particular design field. However, professionals are typically paid well, and rightly so, but I have had so many people, who are wanting to make minor upgrades and who can not afford to hire help, tell me they could never take on the projects that I have. And I can tell you that you can do it too and all it takes is a few hours at your computer to first, decide what you and if you aren't sure, you don't have to look any further than here at Houzz for thousands of images that can help you decide. And second, for every project under the sun, someone has posted a how-to for it online, including materials lists.
Sorry for usurping this ideabook, but this felt like a good opportunity to share some insight I've gained with others.
Thank you!!!