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Wallpaper vs Paint: Four Reasons to Choose Wallpaper Over Paint

July 2 2020

Wallpaper has been making a dramatic comeback over the last few decades. Forget your grandma’s outdated designs or those ‘so-last-century’ looks that took way too much effort to re-do, wallpapers today are incredibly varied, modern and easy to install. With everything from faux-natural, faux-metallic, textured, smooth, patterned or colour-block options, wallpaper can become your greatest ally in pulling together an interior design scheme. 

Paint is good. In fact, paint is great, but when it comes to variety, versatility, installation and durability, wallpaper kind of takes the biscuit—not convinced? Here are four reasons to choose wallpaper over paint any day!

Variety

Paint comes in one colour. You might get fancy and opt for an ombre, faded, glossy or mat finish, but if you choose paint you’re essentially choosing to embrace one block colour for your wall. Achieving bold or intricate patterns with paint requires time and skill or a costly professional. 

One the other hand, wallpaper comes in more colours, textures, finishes and patterns than you can imagine. It even comes in solid single colours if you’d like! This means you can not only integrate your walls more completely into a scheme, but also push yourself and your design further than you ever could with a paint job. Or fall in love with an epic print, and build your scheme around that! 

With today’s ever-more-advanced printing technologies, creating custom wallpaper has never been more accessible. So even if the print you love isn’t out there, you can make it. 

Versatility

Peel-and-stick wallpaper can be used, re-used and switched-up to your heart’s content, in a wide variety of rooms and displays. For every room and function, there is a print! From four cosy walls in the bedroom to a bold, accent wall in the living room or a fabulously daring hallway, enjoy all the ways in which you can play with the prints that represent your aesthetic. 

Installation

With today’s beautiful peel-and-stick wallpapers, installation is a breeze. You don’t need a professional, you don’t need adhesive pastes and rollers, you don’t need drop cloths, and you don’t need to be terrified of making mistakes – if you do slip up, simply lift and re-stick! As soon as you’re done, you can hang all your wall art back up and enjoy your handiwork.

Painting a wall is quite a messy, lengthy process. For best results, hiring a professional is always recommended, and the whole room must be protected (including the person doing the painting!). Two or three coats need to be applied, leaving drying time in between, and you’ll have to wait until the final coat dries completely to replace your wall art and admire the finished result. 

Durability

When it comes to survival, paint loses out in a few areas. It’s highly vulnerable to chips, knocks and dents, and can be tricky to clean. It’ll need regular touching up and repainting, which requires you to always have the exact same shade on hand. 

Wallpaper, however, is scratch-resistant, and many varieties are washable. It’s easier to maintain and needs less attention than paint, although it’s probably a good idea to have a spare roll lying around – just buy some extra when you order. It’s just less of a headache to keep wallpaper looking ‘new,’ and if you do opt for a remodel, it’s super easy to remove! 

The Best of Both Worlds

There is always room for paint in a decorative scheme! Especially in high-moisture rooms, like bathrooms and kitchens. Here, wallpaper is more vulnerable, but specialist paints can resist the greater levels of humidity. Another neat idea is to use tiles on the walls of bathrooms and the splash-back in the kitchen, to keep your walls safe. 

If you still can’t decide, paintable wallpapers might be your best bet! Add texture to your walls in the colour of your choice, and repaint whenever you feel like a change.