Decorating Advice
from The Experts Why Should I Use Wallpaper Instead of Paint Many people have the idea that the biggest differences between wallpaper and paint have to do with price and ease of application. The price of wallpaper, compared to paint, seems at first glance to be high, but there are factors to be considered when looking at the two products. The initial cost of wallpaper can be $200 or $300 for an average room. The same sized room can be painted for less than $100, but if you look at the difference in long-term durability, wallpaper can actually be cheaper. The average life of wallpaper is 12 to 15 years. The average life of paint is less than 3 years. You can see that in 6 to 9 years the paint has actually started to be more expensive than the wallpaper. A lot of people say, "I can paint it myself but I will have to hire someone to paper." Doing it yourself with paint is quicker than with wallpaper, but if you have patience and the right training you can hang wallpaper and the satisfaction you get when someone says "You did this yourself?" is worth the time you spend. There are times you need to hire a pro. If you have a stairway or a room with a lot of nooks and crannies, you would probably hire a professional painter also and, hour for hour, painters charge as much as or more than wallpaper hangers. If you factor in the overall durability of paper, you will even save if you have it hung. When was the last time that you were in a commercial building than did not have vinyl wallpaper in the hallways? Why, because in the long run it will save money for the owners when compared to paint. It's the same thing in your home. Modern wallpaper is very easy to install as opposed to the old papers that needed to be trimmed, then pasted and would tear if you looked at them wrong. Talk to people who know. Ask friends if they have hung paper or know someone who has and ask them for advice. If you're in someone's home and you notice a beautiful paper ask where they got it and who helped them. Always buy from people who know wallpaper. Accent Interiors at The Wallpaper Place has been in business for over 25 years. You don't stay in business that long without satisfied customers and you don't have satisfied customers if you don't know your products. Stop when you are having a problem. Call the place you bought the paper. We have an answering machine so you can call after hours and let us know you're having problems. We will call back the next business day and in most cases can help. Sometimes helping is calling a manufacturer regarding a defect or maybe it's just sharing some information that a professional hanger has relayed about a particular paper. Either way it's good to have someone on your side trying to help. Keep in mind that a little knowledge, a little luck, time, and patience is all it takes to hang wallpaper. If that's not you, hire a pro and enjoy your new room.
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