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Wallpaper has been making a huge comeback; however, we are not talking about your grandmother’s walls.
Modern-day wallpaper is bold, textured, and can be applied or removed easier than ever. After talking with Elayne Langley from Celledore Fine Wallpapers, we have the latest scoop on what is popular in the wallpaper world and how you can use it to make your home even more charming!
Adding decorations such as décor, furniture, or wallpaper to your home is your way of personalizing the space and adding your unique touch. You can create stunning accent walls with wallpaper or make your coffered ceiling pop with the right pattern or design.
“Even if your house is white-on-white, there is going to be some room where you want to put an accessory. Something that shows your personality. If you’re wearing a white dress, you’re going to add some jewelry to show your personality and make it more you. Wallpaper is where you can come in and add that in your home,” says Elayne.
The Evolution of Wallpaper
Wallpaper got a pretty bad reputation back in the day. Looking back at wallpaper from the ‘80s and ‘90s, you sit back and wonder why the choices were made; it had tacky patterns and dull colors. If the colors and patterns weren’t bad enough, the material used made it the worst possible thing to try and remove from your walls once you decided it was time for a change.
Scraping, spraying with vinegar or fabric softener, puncturing, more spraying, and then eventually more scraping—this is the removal process for older wallpaper. It was a paper with a vinyl coating, and when you took it off the vinyl would pull off, but the paper and glue would stick. No thanks!
Today, there are much better options out there. If you’re big on DIY projects, don’t mind some mistakes, or are adding wallpaper to a smaller area in your home, then some peel-and-stick wallpaper is for you.
The Different Types of Wallpaper Materials
Elayne explained that this type of paper is sticky on the back, so opt for putting contact paper in drawers or on shelves. Sometimes it gets a bit crooked or catches air bubbles, even when you are sure that you lined it up properly. If you have to peel up a little and start over, this will stretch the wallpaper and you might not be happy with the final look.
While not recommended by Elayne, it is still a good way to add character to a smaller area in the home.
Modern-day wallpaper has a non-woven, vinyl-free substrate backing that was introduced in the mid 2000s. If you’re wondering what that material is like, think of teabags or coffee filters.
This type of wallpaper is more sustainable than vinyl-backed paper, it’s breathable, and it comes right off so you don’t have to worry about soaking and scraping.
The price has come down on this material recently, so you’ll also be able to upgrade your home within budget.
What Wallpaper Prints Are Trending?
As far as trends go, Elayne says the trends are all over the board! She will have customers come in that keep a relatively tamely decorated home, but they will want a wild animal print or floral design in their powder room.
She is seeing many more floral prints on-trend, and individuals are loving green and indigo blue tones. Textured papers are becoming more popular as well, which adds a little bit of dimension to your walls and adds to your desired aesthetic.
Don’t worry: grass cloth wallpaper and geometric designs are still very common and highly favored. Other colors that are popular include blush pink, and brown tones are more common with those that are aiming for a global theme in their home. Elayne says that oddly enough, purple is becoming a great neutral color to incorporate.
Wallpaper Installation Tips From the Pros
Once you choose the wallpaper of your dreams, the time will come to hang or install it. Sure, you could attempt this yourself, but Elayne recommends going with a professional installer; the process is a lot more difficult than you would think.
For example, don’t trust the side of the door as your perfect vertical line. You will want to set up a plumb line to ensure you get a straight and correct vertical line to work with.
For most non-woven material, you (or your installer) will need to use a wallpaper paste to attach the paper on the wall.
If you choose to go with a Sure Strip wallpaper, which are known as “spray and stick” wall coverings because they are pre-pasted, all you will need is a spray bottle of water. The Sure Strip papers are water-activated, so as long as you spray the walls with some water and use a sponge to coat them evenly, you will be able to stick your wallpaper up in no time. Both of these materials will peel off easily, too!
Whatever type of wallpaper you want for your home you can probably find, and it will absolutely reflect your personality.
Keep up with Elayne and Celledore Fine Wallpapers on Instagram @celledorewallpaper to see some fun designs and find inspiration.
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