Decorating with wallpaper adds sensational style to any room

Quickly and easily change your room to match your vision using today's affordable wallcoverings

With the array of mix and match and coordinated products available today, decorating with wallpaper is fun, easy, fast, and affordable. Changing the decor or color scheme of your room is as easy as changing your wardrobe. .

Use Coordinating Paper to Your Advantage

A room no longer has to be papered in only one pattern as our grandparents did. When decorating with wallpaper, mix and match patterns can be used with one pattern on top, the darker pattern on the bottom, and separated by a border.

Paper three walls with one paper and make a statement on the remaining wall with a coordinating paper.

By papering the ceiling, you will be on the leading edge of design decor. See below for more information on ceiling designs and decorating with wallpaper on the ceilings.

Making the Most of Borders

Wallpaper borders come in all shapes and sizes. They can be used in many ways and do not always have to be applied at chair rail height. Here are some ways to use these wonderful products when decorating with wallpaper:

• Install them on the wall at the ceiling line
• If your ceilings are tall, put them 6-12 inches below the ceiling line
• If doing a child's room, place them at the child's eye level
• If doing a child's room, use strippable borders and change them as the child's interests develop and change
• Put them around doors and windows
• If your room has valances cover them with paper to further coordinate your room.
• Cut out sections and use them for decoupage on furniture and cupboard doors
• If you are handy with woodworking tools, place moldings above and below your borders for additional design elements

Don't Forget the Ceilings

Ceilings have now come into their own as decorating accents. No longer is every ceiling painted with white ceiling paint. Many homeowners are now wallpapering their ceilings along with the walls.

If you have never papered a ceiling, you may want to start with a small entry way or bathroom. If the project is really large, consider hiring a professional as papering overhead can get quite complicated.

The entire ceiling can be papered or perhaps you prefer to put a border around the perimeter of the room to add design interest to a room.

"Corners" are now available in border designs. This helps overcome the problem of mismatching the corners and eliminates having to deal with diagonal cutting of corners.

If you like decorating with wallpaper, medallions are now available for placing around ceiling light fixtures. These are available from a very tiny size to huge ballroom sizes. However, don't feel you have to have a chandelier to use medallions. You may fall in love with one or two designs.

Use these wallpaper medallions on the celing whether you have ceiling lights or not. As in any aspect of design, if you plan on using more than one medallion in a room, an odd number such as three or five is more pleasing than an even amount. For example, a hallway may be an ideal place for a series of wallpaper medallions. Also keep in mind that they do all have to be the same size. A large medallion surrounded by smaller ones may look terrific in a large family or living room.

Coordinating Fabric Expands Your Design Options

Most wallpaper today is available with coordinating fabric. Draperies, slipcovers, tablecloths, pillows, and bedding can all be constructed to blend or contrast with your wall coverings. When deciding on decorating with wallpaper, also think whether or not you want to incorporate matching fabric in your scheme.

If you are a seamstress and can do it yourself, you will find this an interesting way to pull your decorating scheme together.

If you don't even know what a sewing machine looks like, and could care less, most decorating stores have contractors available to create whatever you desire in the fabric realm.

If you are somewhat proficient in sewing skills, consider buying a yard or two of coordinating fabrics. Cut it into strips and add it to ready made items such as pillowcases, towels, and table linens. Use some for tiebacks with your draperies. In this way you get the benefits of matching designs without the high cost of labor.

What to do With Leftover Wallpaper

Oftentimes you will end up with just a few yards of wallpaper. Here are some ideas for using it up:

• Make a decorative screen by hinging plywood or foam core together. Cover it with leftover paper
• Measure the height of your lampshade. Cut wallpaper to length and pleat it accordion style. Punch holes for lacing in the top and bottom, and use it to redo tired lampshades in your room
• Wallpaper the back wall of a cupboard
• Wallpaper the inside of your medicine cabinet
• Cut out some of the designs and paste them on your window shades
• Cover a wastebasket for a coordinating touch
• Cover frames or mats for a coordinting touch
• Use the designs as decoupage on cupboard doors and furniture
• Use it as gift wrap
• Paste it on card stock and make personalized cards

Don't Let Wallpaper Intimidate You

Now that you have more ideas for using wallcoverings and want to give decorating with wallpaper a try, start with a small project to see if paper appeals to you and matches your decorating style. If you have never used wallpaper, you may be surprised at the options available to you.

There are many how-to books on how to paper along with videos. With prepasted paper a messy job has become almost simple. A room can be done in a day and the transformation is amazing.

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