Wall to wall

Janine Brown of Kimberley writes

Is it possible to hang wallpaper myself? What does it involve and what do I do if I want to remove it at a later stage – will it damage the wall? Lastly, would you recommend vinyl or paper and what are the differences? Cara Saven of Cara Saven Wall Design replies Hanging wallpaper is not for the faint-hearted. It can make even the most patient of us go crazy! Wallpaper comes in two forms: rolls or panels. Rolls are usually the ones you buy off the shelf and panels are digitally printed and need to be ‘stitched together’ by overlapping the layers and then cutting away the overlap. Rolls are easier to hang than panels, but you still need to make sure you get the pattern-repeat right.

Wallpaper will only cause damage when you pull it off if your wall wasn’t primed and painted correctly before it was applied; but even then, the damage is nothing that a bit of paint can’t fix.

Vinyl and wallpaper are often referred to as the same thing, but they are quite different. Vinyl adhesive has a sticky backing (like a strong sticker) and a plastic feel. Wallpaper has a paper backing but can either have a paper finish when applied (like many of the rolls you buy off the shelf) or, as in the case of digitally printed wallpaper like we do at Cara Saven Wall Design, it has a slightly textured finish with a protective glaze, which feels like a paper but wears like a vinyl.

CONTACT carasaven.com