Paint vs Wallpaper

With lighter days and more sunlight, now is the perfect time to start on your decorating project. The big question is whether to paint or to wallpaper. Here are some useful pros and cons from MOLLY MAID, the domestic house cleaning professionals.

Painting: Advantages

Painting can be a quick, cost effective fix for a number of jobs, however the question to ask is, is it right for your entire room? Below are some reasons why it might be appropriate:

• Paint comes in a huge spectrum of colours, shades and finishes – the world is pretty much your oyster. You can create a range of interior design styles by painting if you have the right shade, from modern to traditional.
• Some paints are also hard wearing when it comes to choosing something to fit your lifestyle. For example, it would be sensible to choose a ‘wipeable’ paint in high traffic areas, such as corridors or the kitchen if you have pets and children
• Painting is a fairly low cost option, depending on the quality of the paint.
• As painting is a relatively quick job you can enjoy a brand new room in under a day. It is also really easy to update and revamp if you want a new colour.

Wallpapering: Advantages

People often shy away from wallpapering as it is considered a far more difficult job. However, wallpaper brings a whole world of advantages:

• Wallpapering is good option when needing to cover blemishes and holes in the plaster, without sacrificing on stylish décor. It’s a simple way to hide imperfections although it is advisable to fill in holes.
• While choosing to wallpaper an entire room can be significantly more expensive than a few pots of paint, wallpaper can last much longer if you look after it and therefore can be more cost effective in the long run. It is said that wallpaper can last three times longer than paint (if you can refrain from redecorating for that long!).
• By wallpapering you can instantly add depth and warmth to a room, which simply can’t be achieved with one tone of paint. It’s not only the mix of colours and patterns which can transform a space, but there are now more options than ever before in terms of texture and wallpaper materials.

Painting: Disadvantages

Believe it or not, painting can also has its downsides.

• Paint can look amazing at first but it can quickly fade and show signs of wear and tear, from cracks to marks made by furniture and messy fingers. There is no getting away from the fact that you could find yourself touching up paint quite regularly.
• Painting a room in one shade of colour or even two, can results in the room appearing dull and lacking in atmosphere and depth unless you have plenty of pictures, curtains and sumptuous furniture.
• Painting can often result in more frequent spillages and messiness than wallpapering, but is arguably less intense than wallpapering.

Wallpapering: Disadvantages

As suspected, wallpapering also has its ‘cons’! Below are some of the pitfalls:

• Applying wallpaper correctly is so time consuming! It is also quite a difficult process if you are new to this pastime. However, this can be solved if you hire a professional decorator, which in turn makes this an expensive option.
• Interior fashion and trends come and go and unless you choose a very neutral wallpaper, you may feel that your walls will become out of vogue in a few years’ time.
• The main disadvantage of wallpaper is the difficulty of removing it. It is not fiction that it can take longer to strip a room than to redecorate it!
• If you decide to use wallpaper a room in or close to a humid area, you may find that the wallpaper gradually starts to peel away from the glue.
• Wallpapering can be expensive, especially if you opt for a brand new textured or natural wall hanging. It is for this reason, that ‘feature’ walls have become so popular as it reduces the time, effort and cost of the wallpaper and yet serves to create an impact.

Whichever you choose, make sure that you are happy with your selection by ‘testing’ the paint or wallpaper on a very large piece of white paper hung on each wall of the room you are looking to decorate. Every wall in your home will react differently to different light in the morning and in the evening for example.

Good luck from MOLLY MAID and look out for our Top 5 Painting do’s and don’ts.

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