It’s a stick-up: dapper decals
The writing’s on the wall. So too are the peonies, roses and action heroes, writes Colleen Hawkes.
Wallpaper may be making a comeback, but not everyone wants such a permanent solution for their walls. And that’s where decals have come into their own. In recent years, the digital and manufacturing technology behind decals has improved to such an extent, it’s now possible to replicate an entire forest in your living room – a forest you can simply peel off the walls when you want a change of scene.
But exactly how are people choosing to decorate their walls?
Printed peonies are ‘‘huge’’, says Christine Petty of Graphix Wall Art, and she means that both literally and figuratively – the blooms are giant sized.
‘‘You can easily fill half a wall with the peonies. Florals are very, very popular, including clear-cut flowers that you can place however you want to add a feminine touch to a room, and individual floral wreaths that wrap around girls’ names.’’
But equally popular are Kiwiana decals, including Ma¯ ori designs and words, such as Aroha, Kia Kaha and Wha¯ nau. Other decals feature native birds and flax. And Scrabble letters are snapped up for family rooms, where they form mini crosswords. Motocross decals, sporting and action heroes are favourites for boys’ rooms.
‘‘We also get requests for personal quotes. I think a lot of people take inspiration from Pinterest. We do a lot of scriptures, but Dr Seuss quotes and pictures would have to be the most popular,’’ says Petty.
Scandinavian-style prints offer a more sophisticated look for children’s rooms, while scenery is still ‘‘incredibly popular’’ for adults’ rooms.
‘‘We recently produced a forest scene for a new house that takes up an entire wall. The mural is printed in PhotoTex, which is a self-adhesive polyester fabric.’’
Anthony and Jess Clark from Your Decal Shop also say ‘‘floral, floral, floral and a big dose of Kiwiana’’ when asked about the decals most in demand.
‘‘Normally decorating a room is the last thing you do with a space and you try make the artwork fit in,’’ Anthony Clark says. ‘‘Try starting your space with your artwork and make the room work around it. It makes it so much easier to colour match and creates a true feature.
‘‘We did this with our daughter Lola’s room, with some huge flowers, and it looks stunning. Painting the walls an off-white, such as Resene Alabaster White, makes a perfect backdrop for decals.’’
Clark says the impact of wall decals still amazes him, and it’s about the way they can completely bring a room to life.
‘‘Decals are super easy to apply and instantly create a stunning feature. No glue or nails are needed and they are completely removable. And because they are they’re flush with the wall they make the space look larger. They also don’t gather dust or cast shadows. Our decals have a matte finish, which means internal lighting won’t cast reflections off the art. When its time to redecorate – simply peel them off and try a new design.’’
Christine Petty says the best decals look as if they are handpainted onto the walls. Except, of course, they’re a lot easier to remove. They are nothing like the sticky wrap you may have used for school exercise books.
‘‘Most of our large murals, which can take up an entire wall, are either printed on PhotoTex or a spray-on wallpaper where you spray the wall and the decal sticks. You don’t get bubbles with either of these methods.
Decals are also a relatively inexpensive way to decorate. Petty says a large PhotoTex wall mural from Grafix Wall Art measuring 5m by 2.4m costs between $1300 and $1500.
No matter whether you want to bathe beneath a waterfall, lounge in a forest or sleep beneath the stars, it’s all possible with a decal. And many of the designs are custom – Clark says his design team are about to introduce 100 new decals.