Home decorating tips: wallpaper styles

Wallpaper is an artistic means of decorating a room to bring it to life. There are many prints and designs available for home decorators today. In fact, shops devoted exclusively to wallpaper products and supplies thrive in most cities and some towns. If you don't care for store shopping, you can always browse a wallpaper dealer's offerings online or by catalog.

Use wallpaper in a variety of ways to enhance your home's beauty. Here are some of the more common and popular approaches that can be found throughout homes all over the world:

1. Decorate a closet, nook, or corner with wallpaper. If you have a confined work space at home, play area for the kids, or a cozy cranny for reading or reflecting, make it completely your own by hanging a few strips of your favorite design. Storage areas can take on a life of their own with bright patterns or subtle hues, while closets will offer inviting spaces for clothing, games, or toys. Your reading area will be readily identified with your ownership when you decorate the wall space behind a divan or a desk with your signature theme.

2. Add wallpaper to a single wall in a room. The wall may stand in a dark part of the room and need to lighten up. Or you may want to place a tasteful, classy wall covering backdrop for your family photographs, awards, and achievements. A lone, accented wall will add color and focus to an otherwise obscure or neutral area.

3. Provide wall covering to an entire room. The family room can adopt a vibrant design, while the bedroom may be papered in soft roses or pastel shades. Redecorate your finished basement with wallboard that is covered by a wallpaper finish to link it to the rest of your home and make it inviting for guests as a television room or a guest room.

4. Wallpaper part of your home, like the bedrooms upstairs or the living space below. The wall covering will set this part of your house apart from the rest and provide an attractive area for everyday use. If you prefer paint on the house's main walls, try wallpapering the laundry room, study, or bathrooms to make them more distinct.

5. Link wallpaper themes throughout your home. While each room may have a different pattern, and some none at all, choose coordinating colors, designs, and patterns rather than have the same one in each room. You may want a papered kitchen with a green floral design linking to a solid, painted, adjoining family room that connects to your papered living room in subtle green accents. Plan your layout carefully and pick designs that complement rather than compete with each other.

Wallpaper can grace any wall or enhance any space in your home. It can have a solid color or an active print that brings a room alive. Browse catalogs or visit wall covering stores to find the latest designs that will make your home's walls more beautiful than ever.