3 Things I Wished My Clients Knew
Negligence in Wall Preparation
Wall preparation is just as important as choosing the right wall coverings. Most Clients neglect existing wall condition such as unevenness, existing cracks, moisture or fungi growing walls. Choosing the perfect wall covering is only part of making the wall beautiful, any undulating surface will show right through the wall coverings if not plastered and may also damage the product during the process of hanging. Most Clients are told that wall coverings address cracks on the wall, covering them in the process, however, this is true only to short hairline cracks. Some cracks may grow as days go by and that will inevitably tear or damage the wall coverings to a certain degree. Knowing what causes the cracks will help determine if the wall is suitable to be installed with wall coverings and with what type. Water-based sealant is highly recommended to be applied on walls receiving the wall covering as it prevents moisture from penetrating through the wall covering, which inherently help with the preservation of the product. Any existing fungi growth on the wall will damage the wall covering with patchiness and discolouration when it grows through the wall covering.
Wall Coverings elevate interior space better than other decorations
Choosing the right wall covering design immediately helps elevate any design theme better than any decoration. Walls are so much larger and it is a large part of an integrated space in interior design, having one wall with a designed wall covering works much better in creating the mood or atmosphere. Decorative accessories sure do help, but hardly a few decorative objects can inject the space with personality better than one well-designed wall covering. Having one wall mural hung most of the time cost lesser than one designer furniture. From a design perspective, it has better value for money and also helps with budget control. But do take note to invest in quality wall coverings because replacing them will mean disruption to your daily routines, not to mention plastering the wall again.
Quality Wall Coverings cost more
The quality of a wall covering is defined largely by the quality of paper, or vinyl, backings, the ink pigments, type of printing machine or printing technology used. The quality of the paper is measured by weight and it has to be compared to the printing machine’s capability to make sure the intended design of the print will be represented properly as a finished product. A whole lot of details are compared against and measured to make sure the wall coverings are not printed haphazardly just to make a sale. Quality wall coverings are researched and tested before they are released and it requires expertise. With these, coupling with the originality of the wall covering design, durability and colour-fastness, it cannot be compared to other wall coverings that look similar. If you are to hold the samples in your hand, you can tell the differences between similar wall coverings produced elsewhere. Quality always speaks for itself and if it could be produced at a lower cost, why wouldn’t anyone do it?
1 thing I always get asked...if they are ways to eliminate join lines. There are methods to minimize them, but eliminating them physically will be impossible. We can paint the wall a close colour of the chosen wall covering, so when it is hung the join lines are visually minimized. Having a white wall receiving a dark colour wall covering may just highlight the joins – although join lines can be minimized by good workmanship expansion and contraction of wall coverings are not uncommon in our climate. Join lines can also be minimized by using quality wall murals, the entire mural design is printed as one and cut into panels for hanging so there are no patterns to match. Each panel sits nicely next to each other; it will be quite a challenge to find joins visually on a wall mural.
My Golden Nugget
Selecting quality designs over copied ones has never been as important in today’s interior design context. Wall coverings are the impression of our lifestyle choice and a reflection of our taste. While we invest heavily in renovation fees, expensive carpentry work and huge LED TVs, we neglect wall coverings - the component that plays an important role in giving the space the personality it requires. It can be so much more with wall coverings.
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