Selection
With unlimited varieties, sheens, and colors, paint is a versatile choice for updating a room.
Paint is easily accessible and can be purchased at nearly any hardware store. When you have an idea of what color or color scheme you want for your room, take some sample cards or color swatches. Often, colors in the store look different at home due to the changes in light. Samples allow you to see how different colors will appear in your home.
Besides color, you’ll also want to consider which finish is appropriate for your space. Finish choices range from flat to high-gloss. Flat finishes are ideal for high-traffic areas and easily hide surface imperfections. Eggshell has a low-luster sheen and is easy to clean and better for low-traffic areas like a bedroom or living room. Semi-gloss is resistant to humidity, making it great for kitchens and bathrooms.
Wallpaper comes in a variety of materials and endless styles, designs, patterns, and textures, providing you with more customizable options. With digital printing, you can even use your own photo, artwork, or design to create truly custom wallpaper.
Wallpaper and wall murals are available for purchase online or in design showrooms, and often times retailers will provide samples for little to no cost. This is perfect for comparing different materials, patterns, and colors and to help visualize it in a room.
Wallcoverings
Wallpaper
The actual paper is most appropriate for historically accurate restoration and wherever you want fine detail. Although vinyl coverings are increasingly hard to distinguish from paper, vinyl tends to look glossier. Although the paper may have an aesthetically pleasing flat finish.
Vinyl
Is today’s workhorse, available in a dizzying range of patterns and in finishes ranging from flat to glossy. Vinyl is especially suitable for areas with traffic and moisture. Most types of vinyl are washable, and cloth-backed types of vinyl are usually strippable—that is, they are easily removable when you want to change them. Although no wallcovering is intended to conceal major cracks and irregularities, heavier vinyl can conceal minor flaws. One thing to note: vinyl wallcovering can trap moisture in walls, so it is not ideal for exterior walls (particularly in warmer climates) unless the walls have foam insulation inside.
Natural textures
such as rice paper, grasses, and bamboo, tend to be expensive, temperamental, and delicate. And because the thinner coverings reveal even minor flaws in wall surfaces, you first need to cover the walls with a lining paper. Still, natural textures are evolving, with vinyl-coated versions that are relatively durable and easy to install. Besides their beauty, most natural textures have no pattern that needs matching.
No matter which you choose, paint, or wallpaper, both will transform the look of any room. Either one will give your home character. Still can’t decide between paint or wallpaper? Get the best of both worlds and mix both! The wallpaper creates a beautiful statement wall and paint can be matched to accent your chosen design.
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