Paint Vs. Wallpaper

This is a question that millions of people from all over the world puzzle over every year. And the strangest things is, even though they have decided on it, several days,weeks, months or years from then, they would probably ask themselves the same question again, “Which is better, paint of wallpaper?'

Deciding between wallpaper and paint can be a very tricky thing to do because both option offer different advantages and disadvantages that we all have to take into consideration first before choosing between them. So, here's a list of paint pros and cons as well as the pros and cons of using wallpaper which hopefully, would make choosing what to use on your wall easier for you.

Wallpaper Pros

Wall paper offers a wide variety of patterns, textures and colors -- There are hundreds, nay, thousands of patterns, colors and textures that wallpaper can offer. From polka dots, plaid, florals, geometric shapes and even landscapes, all these designs and more can easily be had with wallpaper. Plus, textured wallpaper can add more oomph to your walls which paints cannot offer. Some new wallpapers even have beading, sequins, lace and ribbons that add more drama and style to a bare wall.

Wallpaper is an easy and affordable way to hide imperfections and create illusions – If you have an unsightly concrete wall in you living room, you can easily hide it by just cover it up with wallpaper. Not only is this convenient but it can also be cheap because you don't need to spend a lot on priming and smoothing out the wall since the wallpaper can cover it up anyway. You can make a surface look like wood, bricks, metal or straw simply with wallpaper. Making a black concrete wall look like wood using paint only can be quite a challenging feat that only an expensive professional painter can pull-off.

Wallpaper Cons

Wallpaper is hard to clean and maintain – Once your lavish wallpaper is up on the walls, the main problem you would encounter is keeping dirt off it and removing it. Yes, most wallpapers easily stain and those that are stain proof can cost quite a lot. Kids armed with crayons and chocolate-covered fingers and wallpaper most definitely do not go well together.

Wallpaper can easily fade when exposed to sunlight – Yes, most wallpapers out there can easily fade and loose their colors over time. And they also fade quicker when exposed to sunlight and wind. So a room with a wide veranda, balcony or large windows might not be suited to use wallpapers on the walls.

Paint Pros

Paint is a low maintenance, cheap and easy-to-apply interior treatment – Having painted walls means that you need not be so worried about maintaining and cleaning your walls. Most kinds of dirt and stains can easily be cleaned of a painted wall or when the stain does not come off completely, you can easily paint that area in the wall the same color to cover up the stain. While cover up stains and fixing unsightly marks on wallpaper can be quite difficult and expensive since you might have to remove one entire panel of wallpaper and replace it just because of a small stain.

Paint can last several years – Because painted walls are easier to maintain, they also tend to last longer than wallpaper. The colors of paint would also take a long, long time before they show signs of fading and peeling even when constantly exposed to sunlight and wind. They also last longer than wallpaper in humid and moist conditions.

Paint Cons

Paint does not offer much texture and designs – Unlike wallpaper which can instantly create illusions, designs and texture where there are none, using paint to achieve the same effect would be difficult. If you want walls with flower designs without using wallpaper, you have to paint the flowers yourself which would take a lot of time and effort. You can also use stencils to paint designs although these designs would not be as detailed and flawless as those in wallpapers.