Open any interior design magazine these days and you are sure to spot wallpaper as the latest trend in home design. Decorating today is all about the layering of texture with wallpaper and is replacing the painted feature wall, and it's not expected to go away anytime soon.
Some of this is partly due to the recent revival of Florence Broadhurst designs, the eccentric and talented Australian designer for her hand-printed wallpapers. Her designs can currently be found in the Glamor, Flora, Blueprints, and Concepts Collections, and are matched by no other designer. Her furnishings and wallpapers are also in high demand worldwide at the moment due to their unique and luxurious patterns.
Broadhurst combined fuscia pinks, lemon yellows, lime greens, vivid oranges, turquoise, blacks, metallic silvers and gold – all perfectly matching her own flamboyant personality. She was also well known for printing onto transparent Mylars, foils and metallic papers. She called her revolutionary hand-printed creations; vigorous designs for modern living '.
Adding wallpaper to your home is a great way to create atmosphere in a room, often all it takes is one wall of an interesting and vivid design and it will prove to be a talking point for anyone visiting your home.
Wallpaper also has the added advantage that if your walls are far from perfect then a thicker textured paper can be a cheaper option of covering up the bumps and cracks that normal paint just can not hide.
There are some particularly interesting wallpaper patterns and textures at the moment. Retro prints have made a comeback but in a classier and subtler style than the first time around, whilst for the more adventures amongst you then how about fake fur? Oriental prints, metallic geometrics, flocked wallpapers are available, and for the natural look there are papers that mimic the look of natural grasses and botanical prints. Some totally new ideas feature metal sheeting and wood veneer.
You can add wallpaper to a room to lift an outdated look or give it a splash of color. Decide for yourself whether to use it as a feature, or on all the walls to create a theme within your home. It can even be hung as you would a piece of art. It is all down to your own personal taste and likes.
Metallics have made a return for winter 2009, try teaming them with cream, black and silver for wall finishes such as wallpaper, as well as upholstery and bed linens. Greens and browns are firmly established but watery hues will be the colors to watch for, having made their mark on the fashion scene. For a chic take, try down gray with powder blue and crisp glossy white.
If you have scoured the shops and searched online but can not find anything you really like then it's always possible to get wallpaper custom made to your own design. Just look online for wallpaper companies that will work with you on your design idea and transform it into wallpaper; you can be creative and combine latest trends and arriving design with your own personal ideas.
You can always buy plain wallpaper that simply needs painting. This is easy to fit with your present décor and furnishings and can be painted over again and again as often as you like. Paintable wallpaper comes in a range of patterns and textured finishes.
Some people like to hang wallpaper for themselves. However if you are not very skilled in the do-it-yourself department and do not have a lot of patience then it can be a lot easier to hire a professional to do the job for you. Wallpaper has to be hung correctly and lined up correctly otherwise it will look a total mess and will have to be stripped and started all over again. Professionals will hang the wallpaper using a liner underneath which prevails the paper from curling at the edges. When hung correctly, your wallpaper should keep its condition condition at least ten to fifteen years.