Most people think of wallpaper as a flat vinyl surface with a printed pattern or image on it, but there are a huge variety of wallcoverings on the market and each one gives its own unique look to the room. If you’re thinking about adding wallpaper to your home décor, then take a moment to expand your horizon and review some wallcoverings that you probably never before considered, the look they create can be very lavish and exciting.
Printed Wallpapers and Vinyl Wallcoverings
The most common and best known types of wallpaper are printed wallpaper and vinyl wallcoverings. These come in a huge variety of colors and patterns and create visual interest in the printed images alone. They’re typically easy to apply and easy to remove.
Embossed or Relief Wallcoverings
This type of wallpaper is designed to give texture to your walls, or ceiling, which is very beneficial if you have uneven or cracking older walls and you want to hide the damage. Some textured wallpaper is made specifically for faux finishing and decorative painting techniques to be applied later.
Ingrain or Woodchip Wallpaper
These pressed woodchips are very inexpensive and give your wall a degree of grain texture but are designed to be painted over as well. Woodchip paper is a good way to disguise walls with smaller blemishes, but it can prove very difficult to remove as the wood grains tend to adhere to the wall very firmly.
Foil Wallpaper
This paper has a metallic backing and it is simply stunning in the right environment as its very luxurious looking. The problem is it’s much like wearing satin and every little imperfection is easily visible. So great care should be taken when hanging this paper and in making sure your walls are perfect when the process begins.
Flocked Paper
Flocked paper is sort of an antiquated style but it can still be quite lavish looking if done in a well suited room. The flocked part is a raised velvety texture that will give texture to the walls, but absorb light.
Fabric Wallcoverings
Unlike the DIY shows where people actually hang bolted fabric to the walls or ceiling, there actually are fabric wallcoverings that are paper backed and ready for pasting to your walls. You’ll get a much better finish with these wall specific fabrics and you’ll find it easier to apply, but fabric walls are difficult to clean.
Special Wallcoverings
Some different materials are used to make special wallcoverings such as grass cloth, silk and burlap. These wallpapers are a little more difficult to work with than a vinyl paper, but they are fairly similar in the handling and hanging process. But the results are really worth it as the walls simply come alive with texture and color.
Open your mind to other wallcoverings and you’ll find the effects are well worth the added effort and expense.
