Wallpaper Information

Holiday & Seasonal Decals, Stickers, and Wall Murals

2011-09-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

What to look out for?

The most important factors are:
1.    Are they removable? You do not want to be scraping Rudolph off the wall after Christmas.
2.    Will they damage walls? There is nothing more annoying than taking something off the wall and then   having to repaint the room,
3.    Are they reusable? Out of the package they will usually be on a liner. When you take them down after the holidays re-apply them to their original liners for usage again next year.
4.   Are they safe for kids. They should be tested against the highest safety standards, and completely non-toxic. Completely safe for children to play or decorate with.

Perfect for holidays, parties, college dorms, apartments, or anywhere else a quick change may be needed!

One of the largest manufacturers of removable & reusable wallpaper products is York Wallcoverings. York makes these products in the U.S.A.

Wall decals is the general term that applies to virtually all peel and stick wall decor. Some people refer to wall decals as wall stickers, wall graphics, wall art, or even wall tattoos.

Decor for kids rooms and nurseries, including popular designs like animals, jungle, flowers, cars, trucks, and fire engines     College sports team logos and mascots     Seasonal designs to bring holiday cheer into your home.

Wall borders Peel & stick borders are a great way to add a new design element to any room. Sometimes called wallpaper borders (even though these are vinyl, not paper!), they are sold in long strips, and are typically applied along the top of a wall where it meets the ceiling.

Are RoomMates reusable?

Yes! RoomMates can be reused over and over again, no matter how many times they’re applied to a surface. Unlike other wall decals, you don’t have to worry about getting things perfect the first time you put one of our products on the wall. If you make a mistake, just peel the decal away and place it in the correct spot. There’s no residue to clean from the walls, you won’t damage your paint, and you never have to worry about throwing away your used decals.

RoomMates can even be used for temporary decorating: spruce up your space with our seasonal wall stickers, then just take them down and re-apply them to their original liners for usage again next year. Perfect for holidays, parties, college dorms, apartments, or anywhere else a quick change may be needed!
Are RoomMates just for walls?

RoomMates work on any smooth, dry and clean surface: walls, of course, but also mirrors, refrigerators, laptop covers, tiles, glass, lockers, furniture, accessories, or even automotive surfaces.

Are RoomMates safe for kids?

Absolutely. Our products are tested against the highest safety standards, and are completely non-toxic. Our wall stickers are completely safe for children to play or decorate with.

What Are RoomMates? From York Wallcoverings

2011-08-31T11:15:00.000-07:00

What Are RoomMates?

Some people call them wall stickers, others wall decals, some wall appliques. But we call them RoomMates—fast, easy, fun, non-committal decorating!
RoomMates are removable, repositionable, and reusable wall decals, peel and stick borders, murals, laptop skins, and more. They are the perfect cure for blank, boring walls, and can be used to decorate nearly any smooth surface you can think of. They’re easy to use: just peel and stick! With a wide variety of designs, we offer simple, worry-free decorating for kids, teens, and adults alike.

What types of products does RoomMates make?

Our line of peel and stick designs includes a variety of great-looking, easy-to-use home decor products:
Wall decals is the general term that applies to virtually all peel and stick wall decor. Some people refer to wall decals as wall stickers, wall graphics, wall art, or even wall tattoos.
RoomMates peel & stick wall decals are available in hundreds of designs suitable for many tastes, and for decorating every room in the house:

Are RoomMates reusable?

Yes! RoomMates can be reused over and over again, no matter how many times they’re applied to a surface. Unlike other wall decals, you don’t have to worry about getting things perfect the first time you put one of our products on the wall. If you make a mistake, just peel the decal away and place it in the correct spot. There’s no residue to clean from the walls, you won’t damage your paint, and you never have to worry about throwing away your used decals.
RoomMates can even be used for temporary decorating: spruce up your space with our seasonal wall stickers, then just take them down and re-apply them to their original liners for usage again next year. Perfect for holidays, parties, college dorms, apartments, or anywhere else a quick change may be needed!

Are RoomMates just for walls?

Use your imagination! RoomMates work on any smooth, dry and clean surface: walls, of course, but also mirrors, refrigerators, laptop covers, tiles, glass, lockers, furniture, accessories, or even automotive surfaces.

Are RoomMates safe for kids?

Absolutely. Our products are tested against the highest safety standards, and are completely non-toxic. Our wall stickers are completely safe for children to play or decorate with.

Where are RoomMates made?

RoomMates are proudly made in the United States of America.

History of Wallpaper

2011-08-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Barbara Krasner-Khait looks at the development of wallcoverings.

"Of paper there are divers sorts, finer and coarser, as also brown and blue paper, with divers designs that are printed for the hanging of rooms; truly they are very pretty, and make houses of the more ordinary people look neat." - John Houghton, Collection for Improvement of Husbandry and Trade (1669)

During the US Civil War in 1863, J.M Swords tore wallpaper from the walls of his own home on which to print his Daily Citizen newspaper and get news to his fellow Confederate citizens.

THE TRADITION OF wall decoration dates back to Egyptian and Roman wall painting. Centuries later, and particularly in cooler climates, people used fabric to cover walls and windows to keep drafts out. In the homes of the well-to-do, these fabrics were elaborate, resplendent tapestries, which also adorned the walls of European palaces and castles. They were not only practical, but decorative.

A Cheap Substitute

Wallpaper began as a cheap substitute for tapestry and paneling. Some historians believe that the use of wallpaper dates back to the 1400s. The first wallpapers were decorations for wood panels, introduced into England by Flemish craftsmen. The papers were small squares with images printed by wood blocks, which were then colored in by hand. As the desire increased to find a less expensive alternative to the wall-hangings of the rich, printers produced simple yet decorative paper panels.

In the 1500s, the wealthy continued to cover their walls but now they did so with brocades, velvets and even embossed leather. The earliest known wallpaper in England dates back to 1509 - an Italian-inspired woodcut pomegranate design printed on the back of a proclamation issued by Henry VIII. Discovered in 1911 at Christ's College in Cambridge, the paper is attributed to Hugo Goes, a York printer. In general, wallpaper of this period depicted floral designs and murals. Wallpaper's popularity increased in Elizabethan England. Throughout Europe, a fascination began with these fine papers that offered protection against dampness and an improved ability to handle fireplace smoke.

But wallpaper wasn't purely a Western invention. The Chinese began to produce it in the early 1600s, showered with painted birds, flowers and landscapes on rice paper formed in rectangular sheets.

A Period Of Innovation

The 1600s introduced a period of French innovation leading to wide acceptance of wallpaper. Writer Savary des Bruslons noted "a dominotier makes a type of tapestry on paper . . . which is used by the poorer classes in Paris to cover the walls of their huts or their shops." Such dominotiers gained the reputation of experts in emulating fabric on paper.

Papers of this period fell into two classes, irrespective of whether they were produced in England or France: simple and complicated. The simple typically depicted a geometric pattern repeat, printed from a single wood block. The complicated consisted of more complex designs, including shields, vases or flowers and were created from several blocks. Either way, designs were first printed in black onto the paper. Using a kind of stencil, color was applied. The less expensive papers were printed less carefully from worn blocks and sold at rural fairs. The more costly papers were produced from carefully carved, new wooden blocks and were printed and colored carefully as well.

The 1600s also marked the debut of flock paper. Flock is the small shearing of wool left over from the manufacture of cloth. The process involved painting the background color onto paper or canvas, printing or stenciling the design onto it with a slow-drying adhesive, and scattering the flock over the adhesive, producing a velvet-like pile over the chosen design. The practice began about 1600 but enjoyed its heyday from 1715-45 when exceptional quality paper of this type was imported from France into England.

Though called wallpaper, the paper was not attached directly to the wall during this period. Instead, it was pasted onto linen and the linen was then attached to the walls with copper tacks. Sometimes the linen was attached to wooden battens, which were then attached to the walls.

From the 1680s, wallpaper offered an economical alternative to tapestries and leather hangings. Individual sheets were joined together in groups of 12 or more to form a roll, enabling faster printing and complex designs. New production techniques also meant that hanging paper required more skill.

The Zuber wallpaper company took advantage of US nationalism and republished its "Views of North America" wallpaper as "The War of American Independence". Slight adjustments were made to the prints so they would appear to depict scenes such as the Bost Tea Party.

Color My World

By the beginning of the 1700s, simple black and white papers had virtually disappeared in Europe. Colored papers were in vogue, especially imported paper from China.

In France, wallpapers evolved from the end papers used in bookbinding. The first ones were printed in small squares in marbleized patterns. Eventually, the squares were glued together into a long sheet and rolled up for convenience. Wallpaper became a royal affair. In 1778, Louis XVI issued a decree that required the length of a wallpaper roll be about 34 feet.

Patterns imitated scenic tapestries, brocatelles and patterned velvets. Americans often imported these papers. For instance, the wallpaper in the Duncan House in Haverhill, MA was designed by Carle Vernet and printed in Paris about 1814. Made of separate panels, it shows a single scene of a hunt.

The French continued to innovate and invented a machine to print paper in 1785. Wallpaper design began to attract artists and not just woodblock printers. Chinese paper continued its popularity and its style of hand-painted birds, trees, pagodas and sometimes Chinese figures in landscapes became known as chinoiserie. The paper found its way into manor houses, palaces and chateaux. It was usually applied in panels and was sometimes edged with gilt. European painters copied the Chinese designs, but the French-produced papers were the most sought after.

At first, wallpaper appeared in minor rooms while fabric continued to be used in the major ones. Use of wallpaper became so widespread that it inspired the introduction of a tax in England by 1712 on paper that was "painted, printed or stained to serve as hangings".

Most papers of this time imitated textiles and their manufacturers boasted that they could emulate damask, velvet and needlework. One major designer of this period was John Baptist Jackson, born in 1700, and a pupil of the engraver Kirkhall. In 1725 he went to Paris and came into contact with paper stainer Jean Michel Papillon before he went on to Italy and became interested in Italian Renaissance design. In 1746, he returned to England, determined to revive English wallpaper printing, which had taken a beating from the French.

Dawn of the Designer

The French had taken over the industry. They paid their designers well and French nobility paid special commissions for custom papers. One manufacturer deserves special mention, Jean-Baptiste Réveillon, who became a "Manufacture Royale". For some years before the French Revolution, his factory in Paris produced the finest and most beautiful papers for the French aristocracy. It was attacked by the angry mob in 1789 and Réveillon fled to England. The factory reopened with the help of others who found favor with the Revolutionaries by printing patriotic papers in red, white and blue. Réveillon took his inspiration from painted decoration on wooden paneling, doors and shutters - a style originated by Raphael in the Vatican. His designs featured long vertical and graceful designs of urns, flowers, swans, birds and beasts block-printed in dozens of different colors, and flowing upward from a central motif. His papers were to be hung as panels, separated by borders and plain wallpaper sections. He also introduced papers that used strong colors - reds, ochres, terracottas, greens and azure blues - in addition to the traditional black. Classical motifs, medallions and dancing figures filled the panel area. Réveillon papers became a popular export to the US during the 1700s and can still be seen in New England homes.

A Taxing Situation

Meanwhile, back in England, wallpapers were being colored by hand on the wall to outwit the tax man. The industry continued to grow in spite of the taxes and grew strong enough that by 1773, Parliament lifted the ban on imported papers, though customs duties still applied. Taxation continued into the next century and generated a significant amount of revenue. By 1806, falsification of wallpaper stamps was added to the list of offenses punishable by death. To deal with the tax, English manufacturers sought to increase sales by catering to the mass market. They simplified their designs. This allowed the French to maintain their firm grip on the finer, more complicated designs.

Dramatic Design

The use of wallpaper borders is almost as old as wallpaper itself. Borders, originally used to hide the tacks used to hold the wallpaper in position, assumed their own importance by the late 1700s, because they could visually alter a room's proportions. Border designs featured florals and architectural friezes. Many of these were printed to look like a cornice and hung at a junction of the wall and ceiling to add importance and grandeur to the room. Often, they were used to outline doors and windows or architectural details within the room such as a fireplace.

By the beginning of the 1800s, dividing the wall into three parts - the dado, filler and frieze - became fashionable. Borders differentiated each section, which bore distinctive yet interrelated patterns. This style is often seen in Victorian homes.

Stripes - reminiscent of a military campaign with their military colors - became popular in Napoleonic France and in England, not only on the walls but extending to the ceilings as well. The practice spread throughout Europe. Panoramic landscapes were also popular in France. Never before had designs been attempted on such a large scale. To cover the walls of a large room without repeating a scene, 20 to 30 lengths were printed, with each length about 10 feet high and 20 inches wide (300cm by 50cm). Massive amounts of time and energy, not to mention risk, were required to print such scenes, using thousands of hand-carved blocks and hundreds of colors. For the most part, the Zuber company in Rixheim and Dufour in Mâcon and Paris produced them. In 1852, Zuber took advantage of a nationalist wave in the US and republished a previous paper, "Views of North America", as "The War of American Independence". He substituted foreground figures so the Boston Harbor became the Boston Tea Party. Peaceful scenes became battlefields.

Landscapes were not common in England as they did not accommodate the ancestral portraits the British preferred as wall decoration.

For most of wallpaper's history, it has been created by hand using carved blocks. A printing machine was first adapted for wallpaper in 1839.

The British Revolution

It was now Britain's turn to innovate. The repeal of wallpaper taxation in 1836 encouraged designers in England to produce very complex designs that became popular in the Victorian era. And a breakthrough in production, credited to a calico printing firm, Potters of Darwen in Lancashire, England, adapted a printing machine for wallpaper, patented in 1839. Wallpaper was now applied directly to plaster. As production increased, prices dropped, and more and more people were able to buy it for their homes. Wallpaper suitable for a child's nursery appeared. In the Victorian era, front halls boasted bright colors that often included wallpaper. By the late 1800s, British designers like William Morris and Owen Jones, author of The Grammar of Ornament (1856), began to react against the excesses of the mid-century. They wanted to restore good taste and re-establish quality workmanship. Morris, for example, insisted on the purest colors and techniques and his influence is evident in the hundreds of mass-produced papers manufactured from the 1880s until the end of the century.

By the 1920s, futurist and cubist designs arrived on the market making both modern and traditional patterns available. Elite society reverted to using fabric like silk and paint finishes, considering paper inferior. Practical innovations continued such as vinyl wallpaper's appearance in 1947 and pre-pasted papers in the 1950s.

Removing Wallpaper

2011-08-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Wallpaper removal is the most asked question at a wallpaper store. If your dealing with old wallpaper that is vinyl or has a vinyl coating here is a link to an excellent video on youtube that will give you step by step instructions for removing wallpaper. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muNuzSSzCRU&feature=related

If you have textile or grasscloth wallpaper you do not need to score the paper. Just use hot water and a remover. When you spay the water on wait at least 15 minutes before attempting to remove. Sometimes you may have to spray and wait a second time.

Why doesn't my border hung with paste stick?

2011-08-30T08:58:00.001-07:00

Why doesn't my border hung with paste stick?http://homepainting.ie/

There are a number of reasons why some borders do not stick. Most are related to the surface, surface preparation and hanging techniques.

Border should not be hung on fresh paint. Wait until the paint has really dried.
The surface is not clean and dry. Correctly prepare the surface.
The surface is not matt enough to let the adhesive grip. More preparation is required
The surface is textured, e.g. suede effects. More preparation is required.
The floor has recently been polyurethaned. Wait until the floor volatiles have evaporated.
The border is being hung over vinyl wallpaper. Use border adhesive instead of paste.
The prepasted border was left too long in the water bath so the paste washed off. Remove the border earlier from the bath.
Too thin a paste mixture is being used. For heavier papers use a thicker the paste mixture.
While hanging the border too much paste was squeezed out. Use a soft cloth or wallpapers brush to smooth the border down into place. Do not use a ruler, for example to scrap across the border and squeeze all the paste out.
Border are not left long enough to "book". Borders should be left a few minutes between pasting and hanging to allow the paper to relax and start the process.

Content Provided by HomePainting.ie - Painters in Dublin http://www.homepainting.ie/

Why hire a professional wallpaper hanger.

2011-08-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Even a simple wallpapering job can easily become a disaster without the knowledge of a professional wallpaper hanger. There are many details that need to be taken into consideration and questions answered before the wallpapering can begin:

Wallpaper hanging checklist

What is currently covering the walls?
Will it need to be removed, or can it be covered over?
What is beneath the covering?
What is the temperature and humidity level of the room?
Are the corners, doors, and windows level?
What is the pattern repeat of the chosen paper?
Does the paper require paste, and if so, how much and what kind?
A professional wallpaper hanger will know the answer to all of these questions and many more, and will guarantee your satisfaction of a job well done.

Hanging Wallpaper

2011-08-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

Want to learn how to hang wallpaper? Forget all the books and articles it's time to go to youtube.com. There are many videos that will show you step by step instructions. I have always found it a lot easier to learn something new by watching someone else do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGGc3YoFaws&feature=fvsr

A cast-out no longer

2011-08-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

A cast-out no longer

Miss Baxter / The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal

Wallcoverings follow home fashions, which range from traditional to whimsical. (File/ssociated Press)

Papering hints

The following tips can ease the experience of applying wallpapers:
• Before hanging paper, seal walls with a good primer, even if they are already painted.
• Select a good quality wallpaper because it likely won't tear apart in layers when you try to remove it.
• Pick the type of wallpaper paste appropriate for the paper you select.

Back from exile, wallpaper is flourishing anew.
Like all design trends, wallpaper is cyclical in nature. Wallcoverings have fallen in and out of fashion countless times since the Chinese first adorned their walls with rice paper in 200 B.C.
Although wallpaper has been considered passe by most interior designers for more than a decade, it's back in vogue.
Gone are the days of gaudy floral prints or '80s borders with rows of ducks and cows. Today's selections are definitely not your grandmother's wallpaper.
With an array of new products from embossed and flocked to paintable wallpaper – there's something sassy about today's decorating choices. Many designs boast bold textures and lush colors, including metallics and pearl effects. Hot colors include shades of brown, blue, red and orange.
"Wallpaper is definitely getting popular again and there are a lot more interesting selections than there used to be," designer Sarah Hedgspeth says.
"People are hyped up about decorating with wallcoverings because there are so many cool choices. I think a lot of people are looking to simplify their space with clean lines and a classic look. Wallpaper can definitely help do that."
Like with most trends, Hedgspeth said, some looks are more popular in different areas of the country.
"The flocked and metallic papers that are available are wonderful, and they are the hot new trends in places like New York and Chicago," she says. "With interiors following fashion trends so much, the metallics are popular, including some that are more subtle, along with others that have a very glam '40s look that almost looks like mirror."
Trend toward texture
One of the hottest trends is embossed and textured wallpaper. There are an array of papers that mimic the look and feel of leather, linen, Venetian plaster and other interesting textures.
Other unique choices include patterned grasscloths, cork wallpaper and beaded wallpaper.
"We've also gotten in some really fabulous glass-bead wallpaper," Hedgspeth says. "That's something that's really different that most people don't even know is out there."
Some homeowners are shifting away from the relaxed style and monotones of the '90s to a colorful, tailored look by using wallpaper, says designer Stephanie Stegner, who also manages a wallpaper store in Louisville, Ky.
"A lot of people are going for a more contemporary look by using things like sculptured borders or textured wallpaper, such as papers that are embossed with silk," Stegner says.
"Another one of the biggest changes we're seeing is that a lot of customers are looking for wallpaper with a black background. That gives a very elegant look."
Homeowners can customize everything from room dividers to ceilings with paintable paper. For example, you can paint an embossed paper a pewter color and hang it on the ceiling to give the appearance of a tin ceiling at a much lower cost.
Obtaining a chic look can be as simple as adding a bold wallpaper or fabric to a dining room, front hallway or restroom, says Stacy Allan, marketing director for Thibaut ( www.thibautdesign.com), a New Jersey-based company founded in 1886 and touted as the nation's oldest continuously operating wallpaper firm.
"A powder room, for instance, is a great place to experiment with pattern and color because usually there's not a lot of architectural detail in a powder room," she says. "Wallpaper can spruce up any space, large or small."
In patterns, Allan says, the transition is away from the small, closely clustered designs of the past to larger, open designs that have a jolt of color.
With so many choices, Allan says, using wallcovering is "an easy, affordable way to really add a personal touch to your home.
Although some wallpaper from early decades was very difficult to remove, Allan says, today's selections are usually much easier to take down.
"You don't have to make a lifetime commitment to the paper, if you make sure to select a quality paper that will be easiest to remove," she says.
Make sure you apply a good primer to the walls before you hang the paper. "A lot of people make the mistake of hanging paper right onto the drywall in new homes without even painting or priming."

2011-08-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

There’s a common misconception in today’s world: that wallpaper is just for walls.
Okay, I know it makes sense. It’s called wallpaper, after all. But when’s the last time you saw a toothpick in someone’s teeth, as opposed to sticking out of your burger with a little flag on top? People are great at finding new and unexpected uses for everyday things, from small to large, and wallpaper is no exception to that rule. Its original purpose was, and always will be, to dress up your walls… but even if you’re not an interior designer, you too can find clever ways to add the timeless elegance and style of wallpaper to a wide variety of areas, products, and surfaces.

Take this room, for example. This photo, taken from the pages of our Three Sisters Studio collection Girl Power 2, prominently features a white, black, and lime green floral stripe pattern behind a bed. But take a look to the left side of the image: in this room, we’ve added wallpaper inside these shelves, adding an unexpected “pop” to the room.
You can accomplish this fun effect not only inside or behind shelves, but within other nooks and crannies — like the inside of bookcases. The amount of wallpaper required to do this is minimal, so it’s low cost with amazing impact. Not looking for permanence? If your shelves have an open back, or have a freestanding back panel that slides out, you could even consider taping or stapling the paper in place (just as long as those little attachments are out of view). When you’re ready for a change, simply remove the pattern and replace it with another. Voila — instant decor!
There are scores of other ways you can use wallpaper without even touching your walls. Stay tuned to York Home over the next few weeks to learn more ways to decorate with wallpaper in unexpected ways… without breaking your budget!