Back on trend, designer wall coverings are set to transform our homes once again with new technology making it easier and quicker to turn a room into a stunning showcase

Adorning the walls of our homes has long been a favourite home decoration of prosperous families - from tapestries to silks to wallpaper, patterned walls have been in favour. Its popularity only began to fade when painted walls became the trendy way to decorate. Painting was cheap and cheerful, but it never really gave as much character to a room and with new and fresh designs printed onto better quality paper, modern wallpaper is as quick and easy as painting and by far a more rewarding experience. It's safe to say that wallpaper has reinvented itself and is enjoying a huge revival. Trend setters from all walks of life including interior and fashion designers are in support with their very own signature ranges.

Ways with wallpaper

Single wall
Try using a bold wallpaper that takes your fancy on a single wall of the room to create a feature wall. This will allow you to experiment with a more adventurous design that might have been overpowering used all over the room. This idea works just as well for a single flat wall, a central chimney breast or the alcoves either side. Choose the scale of the wallpaper design with care: Large-scale prints will make a wall appear smaller, whilst a small scale pattern will give the illusion of space.

Wall imagery
Papering a whole wall with an art poster is a novel way to make a statement. Retro wall paper company, E.W. Moore & Son stock a number of designs from a giant map of the world to New York scenes. The wall poster is made up of 8 easy to hang sections that overlap one another, measuring a huge 388 x 270cm. The design can be cut down to the size of the wall to be decorated. Visit their showroom at 39-43 Plashet Grove, London E6 1AD (020 8471 9392, www.wallposters@ewmoore.com).

Personalised designs
For the more adventurous, www.myfotowall.com is an easy-to-use, patented, web-based company that enable you to convert your own digital pictures into bespoke wallpaper, fitting the full dimensions of the 'user specified' wall area. The online process takes only 3 stages to complete and can be done in less than 5 minutes. Wallpaper is printed and delivered within 28 days. They have over 800 images to choose from if you don't wish to use your own and the service costs £65, per square metre. The average wall would need 14 square metres. Myfotowall Ltd, 90 New North Road, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 5NE (01484 344096, www.myfotowall.com).

Keeping it traditional
Baer & Ingram are a small mail order company of interior design products specialising in traditional patterns and materials, such as Toile de Jouy, Ticking stripe and ginham checks. All papers are printed onto first quality paper and are a dream to hang. Baer & Ingram, Dragon Works, Leigh on Mendip, Radstock, BA3 5QZ (01373 813800, sales@baer-ingram.com).

If you want a traditional style paper that can be painted over, Anaglypta are well known for their beautifully classic designs in embossed papers. The scale of the embossed patterns vary for use either above or below dado rail height and are often seen used in paneling in large drawing rooms and even ceilings of grand country houses. It's the perfect look for period properties used in entrance halls and sitting rooms. They also produce a younger, contemporary range that creates a tactile feature for walls in modern properties. Anaglypta (01254 222803, www.anaglypta.co.uk).

Who's leading the way?
Harlequin is a major player in the manufacture of wallpaper and the company consistently comes up with fabulous new collections from its in-house team of designers, with everything from Hessian style to shimmering prints on offer (For more information contact the HJH Showroom, Chelsea Harbour Design Centre Chelsea, London, SW10 0XE (08708 300032), www.harlequin.uk.com).

Graham & Brown prides itself on its initiatives in the wallcovering market. being one of the first companies to work in conjunction with high-profile designers such as Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Julien Macdonald, Hemingway Design and Linda Barker. Contact Graham & Brown on 0800 328 8452 or log onto www.grahambrown.com.

Cole & Son has one of the largest collections of wallpapers, specialising in beautiful finishes such as flock and foil, also manufacturing for many well known interior designers. Their designs are even known to inspire the world of fashion - Paul Smith has recently used a Cole & Son pattern printed onto textiles to line the jackets in his menswear collection. Cole & Son (0208 442 8844, www.cole-and-son.com).

On the High Street

You can find hundreds of wallpaper designs up and down the high street from Homebase, B&Q, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and Next. More recently Habitat has joined in with their own collection produced by high profile designers. Habitat's bold designs and colours work beautifully with their contemporary furniture and accessories. B&Q have long been looking to the design world to produce their own forward-thinking ranges.

Wallpapering how-to

You've chosen your design, now it's time to hang it up! Here's a quick how-to to make sure yours hangs securely, straight and bubble-free.

Vinyl-coated: Paper backed vinyl (normally just referred to as vinyl) is one of the most common types of wallcovering and easy to hang. Paste only one length at a time, allow to soak for 1 minute then hang. Trim with a craft knife or sharp blade (available from all good DIY stores).

Lining: This type of paper is used to prepare walls and ceilings for painting or papering. As a general rule lining paper should be hung in the opposite direction to the top paper.

Washable: Care must be taken over the soaking time as the backing expands quicker than the front layer causing wrinkling. Undersoaking will cause bubbles to form which may be difficult to remove. Oversoaking will cause the paper to stretch and then shrink when it dries showing up all the joints.

Ready-pasted or pre-pasted: This must be soaked in water immediately before hanging to activate the paste. You will need a roller bath to soak each length as it is cut. Try B&Q or Homebase for a wallpaper bath.

Unpasted: The majority of wallcovering are unpasted. Adhesive must be applied according to the instructions on the label.

For all wallpapering tasks, you will need a standard papering table (£7-£10) and a good quality wallpaper pasting brush, as well as a craft knife or sharp blade. All are available from larger DIY stores such as B&Q, Wickes & Homebase.

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