An unusual thing is happening in the world of wallpaper. The latest designs are walls incarnate writes FUNKE OSAE-BROWN.

Bola Ositelu desires to have brush strokes on the walls of her new home but it was difficult to achieve. It is not a task for a common painter. It is only an artist who can achieve that. It is like asking a Picasso or a Bruce Onobrakpeya to come paint your toilet. It is not a common feat. Hence Ositelu has to fall back on the comfort of wallpapers.

Wallpapers, reclaimed timber, back-lit glass, painted canvas, engraved leather are decorative panelling being used to add character and texture to interior walls. They are used to delineate space and even double as bespoke art pieces.

Individuals and corporate organisations in the country now use wallpapers to improve the ambience and promote their products. For instance, fast food chain, Mr Biggs, and some banks are using wallpapers for their interior decorations.

The latest collection of wall papers include a replicate of varying patterns of concrete panels, a plain and a floral wood-effect number inspired by traditional Swedish panelling and a print of white wooden wall panels complete with nail holes for extra authenticity. They are a fun homage to both modern and historic finishes and a symptom of what is in vogue. There is a depletion of superfluous print and busy patterned papers are declining in favour of more subtle, textured surfaces.

Wallpaper can be the perfect touch which accentuates a room’s theme or fixtures. It also features more details than a simple paint. Wallpapers add splashes of colour to the home with vibrant artworks and stylish decorative ornaments. For some home decor experts, wallpaper is about set dressing.  It is a good concept if the effect the home owner wants is a resplendent flooring tile on the walls. Wallpapers are the ways designers are being clever with the real thing.

“When the designs on the wallpaper are too busy,” says Basi Ating, an interior decor specialist and a visual artist, “it makes the wall crowded and makes the room smaller. It should be a natural art piece on the wall. I have seen cases when the patterns on the walls are recreated as wall papers. There are some designs that have a feel of sand and stone. Wallpapers are ways to make the wall more interactive. For people who don’t like to hang art on the wall, wall papers are interactive.”

Clever way of cladding the walls has been on the rise for a number of years. In 2008, there was a soft, modular kind of interior architecture and wall covering known as Clouds which was common in Europe. In addition, there are fabric panels, which can be looped together this was on show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, United States. There are exquisite designs of decorative leather wall panels, inspired by the likes of Grinling Gibbon an European 17th-century master wood sculptor, 18th-century silk patterns and paper sculpting. Elizabethan armour, another European designer, also issued her first take on panelling in 2008. Her 2012 collection include a series of modular, engraved and debossed leather-tile pieces that cover the entire wall. Her designs were to create something rich and decorative but in one material and colour, so they are not overpowering.

In addition, there have been a wide range of Italian wallpapers in the market that gives that unique interior elegance. Yet, Ating says a good number of Nigerians are yet to experience the long lasting effect of wallpapers. “Generally it is the idea of having your wall as an art piece. The designer has to make the pattern interesting. It must be easy on the eye for it to work well for an interior.  Wallpapers are a good choice anytime for companies and homes that wish to explore the uniqueness of furnishing in this present age.”

In addition to aesthetics, durability of wallpapers is what makes them attractive. “Wallpapers will last for fifteen years,” says Tobi Onafeso, an interior decorator, repainting often has to be done every couple of year to get the same touch of class depending on your household. Wallpaper, adds unique beauty and style to the home, office, supermarket, hall, conference center etc. They last five times longer than paint, making you save much more in the end. You stand to enjoy the unmatched aesthetic value that wallpapers gives to a room. It adds warmth, character, beauty, and can be used to create an astonishing effect.”

With the advancement in technology, the old rules and conventions surrounding wallpaper no longer apply. Most wallpaper manufacturers are entering the market with bold designs because as Ating puts it: “they are dedicated to bringing walls back to life with colour, pattern and texture.”

From 3D palm leaves and retro patterns to vivacious leopard prints and glittery damasks, manufacturers are making some of the best wallpapers with over 350 domestic wallpapers in stock and thousands more available as well as an extensive range of world-class commercial, residential and beyond, wall coverings.

“An exquisitely adorned surface instantly captures the eye and the imagination,” says Seun Ogini. There are distinctive wall coverings that stimulate the senses and inspire the creative spirit. These designs are distinguished by their breadth of pattern, colour and texture. They feature an array of textured, hand-woven grasscloths, paper-backed natural linens, silk wovens, embossed vinyl wall coverings and modern and historic prints. Hence the consumer has a great line to choose from.”

Meanwhile, some manufacturers have expanded their range of wallpapers to decorative veneered wood panels and reclaimed wood panels. These new designs can take on any form of wall covering. One of its latest incarnations is as a fabulously delicate, back-lit lace which can be digitally cut in any lace pattern.

More significantly there exquisite designs that are not concentrated not on wallpapers and soft décor but on Module H, a series of wall-panelling options Module H panels are made of metal cage frame onto which leather and textile upholstery panels are attached. It is created to sculpt interior space and echoing the surfacing for apartments conceived in the 1920s and 1930s in collaboration. This new interiors range embraces interior architecture.

Recently, there has been an increase in demand for wall surfaces at the upper end of the market as the consumer’s taste is shifting. The a-list consumer desires a one-stop shop for living-room and bathroom walls as well as for everywhere else in the home. They need a place where they shop for intriguing floor and wall finishes, from gold églomisé mirrors to innovative, Italian engineered plaster panels covered in gesso, a traditional surface primer that can add any curved, 3D shape to interior walls, via semi-precious stone, hand-finished leather or glass. All these are bespoke pieces that make the home an alluring art.