Wallpaper - to DIY or not to DIY?

While researching this week’s Hot Home Products column, I got mixed reaction when asking experts about whether or not installing wallpaper is a DIY job. As with many home-related projects, I’ve decided that there are a lot of variables that go into the decision to self-install, including how handy you are, the type of paper you’re working with and the condition of the wall upon which the paper will be applied.

As with every decision, however, knowledge is power. There’s excellent information, including guidelines for roll sizes, on the site for the Wallcoverings Association, a U.S.-based non-profit trade association representing wallcoverings manufacturers, distributors and suppliers. If you are interested in the history of wallpaper, there’s fascinating stuff  on the website for the Victoria and Albert Museum  in London, England. And for something completely different, check out the LED wallpaper (shown above) by Swedish designer Camilla Diedrich, which was recently shown in my Conversation Piece feature on yourhome.ca

Comments

[Anne Hunt]

re "Instant drama hangs in the balance"-Sat Jan 9/10
I am writing to you as a DIY'r and on behalf of any DIY'r who has toiled DAYS removing unwanted wallpaper from their home or stuggled unsuccessfully to make the perfect, invisible seam. The wallpaper industry is going to make very little moula from us anytime soon, even if designers and wallpaper companies tout wallpaper to be the latest decor trend. Yes, in the 70's, average people plastered their walls with wallpaper, and likely did the work themselves. It was affordable then, but we've been stripping it off ever since (DIY)and aren't about to make the same mistake again! Plus, wallpaper adversely affects resale because everyone's taste differs and decors seldom match .
I challenge you to research how many consumers are curently considering purchasing trendy, costly wallpaper with its hefty charges to professionally hang and remove. I liken this to a reality check for the industry. So sad.