Home advice: Give your walls a spruce up

Wallpaper is coming back into fashion.

Wallpaper has come on in leaps and bounds.

Wallpaper's resurgence looks set to continue. Rather than playing it safe with perhaps one or two feature walls, some homeowners now wallpaper three or four walls in a room and the really adventurous opt to wallpaper doors and ceilings or even matching upholstery and curtain fabric. Others are using wallpaper in rooms normally the province of painted walls, such as kitchens and bathrooms.

The beauty of wallpaper is there is something for everyone, says Karen Warman, marketing manager for Resene.

"There's neutral, bright, patterned, plain, and a whole range of design, texture and colour options. Even if something isn't strictly on trend there's still a good range to choose from with traditional and classic options.

Family photos can be turned into wallpaper.

"No matter the style of your home, there's a wallpaper to suit."

Although growing in popularity, wallpaper is still not used as much here as it was during the mid-20th century, says Warman.

"That's partly because of the misconception that you need people with the skills to hang it. People mistakenly think it's difficult, but modern papers are much easier to hang. They're much more forgiving."

What gives wallpaper the edge over other wall coatings and makes it so attractive to fashion-forward homeowners is the personality it can add to a room through colour, pattern and texture.

This is in line with the move away from the minimalist interiors and limited colour palettes of the past few years to homes that have a richer, more layered look using contrasting colours that reflect the tastes of their owners.

Interiors retailers Annabel Taylor and Sarah Shield agree. Since the launch of their business Paper Room six years ago they have noticed a big increase in the use of wallpaper. Kiwi home owners seem more confident with their home decoration. "They're choosing bold, striking wallpapers to reflect their own personality. Lots of our customers are looking to wallpaper entire rooms rather than single feature walls as they have in the past.

"This trend comes from Europe, the UK and the US where many interior designers are creating layered looks with wallpaper, curtaining and flooring to great effect."

Textured wallpaper is becoming more popular. Some of the latest products feature shimmering metallic effects, natural fibres, tapestry looks, even tiny glass beads imprinted into the paper.

Faux concrete, stone or wood-panelling is also on-trend, as are graphic geometric, retro patterns. Botanical imagery never seems to date and the latest wallpapers feature exotica such as flamboyant hibiscus flowers and tropical palm leaves in teals and bright fuchsia. Other more delicate designs include floral watercolours with subtle, pale pastels.

For those wavering between paint and wallpaper, the range of anaglypta (paintable embossed papers) is increasing all the time, and some brands offer personalised textured designs. Custom-made designs are also popular for accent or feature walls, often used to help break up open-plan living spaces or to accentuate a particular aspect of a room.

Resene recently launched online service WallPrints to attract homeowners who want to use their own images for feature walls, says Warman.

"The programme resizes the image for you, allows you to move it around to avoid obstructions like windows and fireplaces, which you can't do with preprinted wall murals. The wallpaper is paste-the-wall so it's very easy to hang."