Stare into the starry night from the cushioned comfort of your bed. Feast your eyes on floral beauties splashed all around you.

Don’t head for the wilderness to feel at one with nature ? make a beeline instead for the wallpaper store.

Wallpaper to suit the mood of every room is now available in the city market. You can bring home a slice of nature, recreate the 70s with some polka dots, or pacify your cartoon-crazed kid with favourite characters.

Wallpaper, a popular feature in Western interiors, has begun to invade Calcutta homes too, thanks to the multitude of options available and new technologies that have made them suitable for the humid weather of this part of the world.

Goodlife explores the array to be had, as well as the design do and don’t.

Texture talk

Wallpaper can be classified into five types, depending mainly on material. The most popularly used variety in city homes is PVC wallpaper, which is washable and offers maximum durability. Varieties made from paper are the least sturdy and are mostly used for temporary purposes.

Paint-friendly wallpaper ? white, non-woven, textured paper with self-designs ? are painted with a coat of acrylic emulsion after it is pasted on the wall or ceiling.

The cork type is made from natural products and comes in shades of brown. The commonly seen ? and most outdated ? variety is a photo wall, where pictures of landscapes are mounted on one of the walls of a room.

“The PVC wallpapers are now very popular and these are most suitable for long term use, as they can last as long as 10 years,” explains S.N. Daga, proprietor of Daga Wallpapers. These are imported from Germany or Italy at the Theatre Road store. The other varieties usually last between three to five years, he adds.

The PVC kind is the most expensive, costing as much as Rs 40 per sq ft, while the paper ones are the cheapest, starting at Rs 10 per sq ft.

Hot zones

“Wallpapers lend a dramatic effect to a room. Even if the rest of the d?cor is simple, a nice design on one of the walls will change the look completely,” says interior designer Ajay Issar.

If wallpaper is the preferred option throughout the house, the design should vary in each room depending on the look of the furniture. “The rule is to use wallpaper on only one of the walls in a room,” stresses Issar.

A self-designed white or cream paper with an elaborate border would work well in a room with period furniture and old-world ambience. He also suggests large floral designs for an old-English look.

“While floral designs are always a hit, bright polka dots are right now in fashion. These go very well with contemporary, minimalist d?cor,” adds Issar.

Favourites for nurseries and kids’ rooms are starry skies and cartoon characters. “We have wallpaper with all Disney characters, which are quite popular for children’s rooms, as are bright colours,” says Daga. Shades of white, cream, beige and brown are classic hits.

Issar adds: “Wallpaper is ideal for parts of the house where the walls are likely to get dirtier faster than the rest. Like the wall behind the bed in a child’s room and also the corridor. Since it is easier to remove than paint, you can change it once it gets dirty.”

Wallpaper is also a hit in offices or other spaces that call for quick makeovers and frequent changes in decor. “The walls can be given a new look in a few hours with wallpaper, whereas painting takes days,” points out Issar.

Apart form the walls and ceilings, wallpaper in bright hues can be used on doors or cabinets to add a dash of vibrancy to the room.

Maintenance mode

The main argument against wallpaper in Calcutta is the humid climate that spoils the paper fast. The new varieties, apart from the paper ones, however, address this concern.

“Humidity doesn’t affect the longevity of wallpaper at all. Only if you fix it on a damp wall will it spoil faster than normal,” says Daga.

There are, however, some concerns. “Wallpaper is not very suitable for Calcutta weather, especially in the monsoon when paper can even get affected by fungus,” warns interior designer Gopa Ray. “Also, it’s difficult to keep the walls clean of dust for too long. It’s a different matter, however, if used in temperature-controlled rooms,” she adds.

Periodic washes can keep the PVC type clean, advises Daga, while other kinds can do with regular dusting. “Washable wallpaper is perfect for kids’ rooms as the marks can be wiped off easily,” says Issar. But watch out that the naughty ones don’t tear it off!

Pictures by Pabitra Das
Courtesy: Daga Wallpapers