Gone are the days of painting a feature wall in the living area of your new home. Beautiful designer wallpaper looks much more sensational. Papering walls rather than painting them adds richness, texture and depth in a way paint can never match. Wallpaper can be compared to a piece of artwork for a room.
Wallpaper should not just be limited to the living areas either. It adds a sense of luxury to the bedroom, where dark moody colours and deep textures can be introduced.
Cute wallpaper with cartoon characters or nursery rhyme prints transform baby and children’s rooms. Magnetic wallpaper and whiteboard-style paper which can be drawn on with markers add versatility to walls. There is even acoustic wallpaper which absorbs sound, making it ideal for home theatre rooms.
Don’t overlook bathrooms for the wallpaper treatment. The right print can add instant glamour to the smallest room in the house. Modern wallpaper is made from vinyl, which repels water, making it a better choice than paint in damp environments.
A new environmentally-friendly material for wallpaper is grass cloth. Made from natural materials such as jute, reed or bamboo fibres, grass cloth adds texture and come in earthly, natural colours.
Metallics are big in interior design at the moment and metallic wallpaper gives a warm, burnished and lustrous finish. A range of luxury colours add richness and depth to modern homes and complement metallic accessories.
Conversational design is the latest trend in wallpaper and are best used like murals on one wall of a living room or bedroom. Themes such as maps, old newspapers, framed photos, books and classical paintings attract attention and express individuality.
Other popular choices in wallpaper are brick and stone designs which look very similar to the real thing. Large floral designs, geometric patterns and woodgrain are also available.
Wallpaper can be used to deceive the eye in a way paint can never do. Strong horizontal stripes can be used to make a smaller room look bigger or a hallway appear wider, while vertical stripes create a sense of height.
If you fall in love with a boldly patterned wallpaper but feel it’s too much for a whole room, choose one wall to feature it on instead. This is also an option for a wallpaper which is outside your budget for an entire room, but is affordable for a feature wall.
While wallpaper is straight-forward to hang for the DIY enthusiast with a bit of practice, it can be tricky for the novice. If you’re building a new home, why not ask Berstan Homes to include your chosen wallpaper in the interior finishing for a more professional job?