Hanging wallpaper is a way to create added visual appeal and bold design to a room.  But if you’ve ever needed to install and choose a wallpaper color and design for a room, you know that it can be an intimidating task.  There are endless style, color, and design choices.  Making the right choice begins with understanding your options.

Types of Wallpaper

You’ll narrow down your search for the perfect wallpaper when you decide on the type that you want to hang.  An experienced professional can help you determine if there’s a particular wallpaper type that’s best suited for the space you’re decorating.

Standard wallpaper is typically colorfast, which means that it won’t fade when exposed to sunlight; the same is true of almost all wallpapers today.  Standard wallpaper is inexpensive, and care needs to be taken not to tear it when positioning it on the wall.

Vinyl-coated wallpaper can safely be sponged off with soapy water.  It has paper backing and a paper surface which is sealed with liquid vinyl.

The wallpaper that’s excellent for kitchens is the solid sheet vinyl variety.  It consists of vinyl which is bound to a paper or cloth backing.  This type of wall covering is the most stain resistant, scrubbable, and rugged.

Vinyl wallpaper is the easiest to hang, making it the best for inexperienced wallpaper hangers.  Vinyl wall covering is soil resistant, durable, easy to clean, and simple to remove.

For a small room with no or minimal natural light, Mylars and foil wall coverings are an excellent choice.  It’s important that the surface of the wall be in virtually perfect condition, however, since this type of wall covering accentuates imperfections on the wall.

Richly textured wall coverings with laminated paper backings are available in hemp, grass cloth, and other woven coverings.  These wall coverings, however, are both expensive and rather difficult to hang; but they are excellent for covering imperfections on the wall.

Another pricey variety of wall covering is flocked paper with raised, velvety patterns.  This type of wallpaper can cover minor surface imperfections.  It’s expensive and should be installed by a professional.