Wall Paper VS Painted Walls If you want to add color or pattern to your walls there are a few options.  You can use wall paper or you can use paint, both with or without a pattern.  Each has its up sides and each has its downsides.  Which all really boil down to one question.  What do you want? For example, if you want a solid color and less busy wall you'll most likely paint the walls.  And if you wanted a pattern that was very detailed you might have to use wall paper to achieve your goal.  The first step is narrowing down what style you want and going from there. Either way you choose to go you should be aware of some of the upsides and downsides of each. PAINT Paint has a lot of upside and little downside.  On the upside, paint is cheap.  You can get multiple colors and still not spent too much.  Another reason paint is a good option is flexibility.  If you don't like the color you can just paint over it again.  At some point you'll need to strip down the paint if you just keep painting over the old paint, but it will take a long time.  A third reason paint is great is you can add patterns if you like with sponge, paper, plastic bag, and other tools and techniques that give you a different pattern.  You can use two tones of color and even make your own stencils to get a very unique pattern or look or your walls. On the downside paint is still somewhat limited.  If you want to get extreme detail or maybe you want a mural but don't want to pay a ton you can get custom printed wall paper.  You could use this technique to take a favorite picture or painting or anything and put it on your wall in giant size and detail.  This is impossible with paint.  Diagnosis: Other than extreme detail, paint is the great, low cost, bang for your buck, flexible and more user friendly option. WALL PAPER Wall paper is great when you really want to achieve detail.  If you want to have an intricate pattern or perhaps even print your own wall paper and put a giant photograph on you wall you'll need wall paper.  There's just no way you're going to create an art masterpiece on your wall without an amazing artist and a lot of money.  So this is the real upside of wall paper; you can achieve amazing detail. The downsides of wall paper are many.  One, it's a real pain to deal with glue.  Two, laying out the paper so it lines up properly isn't a snap.  Three, it typically costs a lot more than paint.  Three, if you want to change your style later you can't just paint over it.  You have to strip it off, sand it down, then lay the primer and finally your paint color. Diagnosis: Unless you want amazing detail and it's a must for your room, not recommended. If you have any questions about painting rooms in your house or wall paper just give us a call.