Wallpapered screen

After years of hanging around in unfashionable circles (geddit?), wallpaper has undergone a renaissance that shows no signs of abating

But for the commitment phobes among us, it's a little too permanent, especially if you think that steam-stripping is a type of spa treatment. What's more, before you even have the chance to decide you hate it, there's all that wrestling to get the stuff stuck on uneven walls in the first place (stepladders and heels, don't get me started). It's enough to make you scream. So try making a screen instead.

A screen offers the same opportunity to make a statement as a wall, with the added bonus of being more flexible. It hides ugly corners and is two-faced - which is great if you can't decide between Cole & Son's 'Woodstock' (see left) and Neisha Crosland's 'Hollywood Grapevine'. A screen is simple to make and, when you decide that the Anaglypta revival really was all in your head, it's easy to change.

You will need

4 equal-sized panels of wood - plywood is ideal (I used MDF, but it's a little on the heavy side for this application). Buy your wood from a builder's merchant (check that they cut wood first - some don't) and get it cut to exactly to the width of your wallpaper. For height, just over 2m usually works well, though take into account what you'll be using yours for. 6 steel hinges and screws - get the biggest hinges that the width of your wood can take; your builder's merchant will be able to advise you on this. Drill and screwdriver Paint - this is for the edges and any panels that you don't want to cover in paper. I used blackboard paint on two panels. Paintbrush, roller and paint tray Wallpaper paste White colouring pencil

Method
Paint one side of each panel and all the edges. (1 and 2) I used blackboard paint, so that I could write menus café-style when friends came over. (In practice, my husband uses it as a sounding board for his stomach - I've come home to anything from 'feed me!!' to requests for Steak Tartare, Veal Milanese and 'An assortment of dead animals, please'. I'm a vegetarian.)

Next, use the paint roller to apply wallpaper paste to the unpainted side of the panels. Rolling on the paste, rather than brushing it on, gives a flatter, more even distribution.

Place the wallpaper gently over it - here, you'll be glad you had the wood cut to the width of your paper, as there's no fiddly matching up. Gently smooth the paper from the centre outwards with your hands or a clean, dry roller. (3) Leave to dry.

Next, mark the edge of one of the boards, 20cm in from the top and bottom. Hold your hinge here and mark the holes with a colouring pencil. You need to mark for hinges on only one side of the two outside panels and on both sides of the two centre panels. Make sure the wallpaper is going in the correct direction.

Drill pilot holes for the hinges - this stops the wood from splitting when you screw them in. It is a good idea to line up the panels on the ground, with the two edges that you intend to hinge together facing up, to double-check the alignment before you start drilling.