Here we show you a wallpaper mural our decorators recently installed for a Brighton client in his lounge. The image will be familiar with many of our readers and almost as famous as our Pavilion.

The client first contacted us purely to hang the mural as they had already ordered the wallpaper through a third party not realising we also offer the complete service from design to printing to paper hanging. The image chosen was of the Brighton Pier at sunset, the client then grey scaled the image and the famous sign and lights picked out in yellows and reds for a dramatic splash of colour.

Custom wallpaper murals are a growing trend and are becoming more and more sought after in domestic homes and are no longer confined to commercial settings such as shops and offices. There are many printers of these murals and it’s easy to get confused by the offerings and the various prices of these. As always a professional decorator familiar with these papers can help explain the pros and cons of each. Typically prices range from £20sqm up to £70sqm. From the pictures online you may think they all do the same job and the only difference is price but that couldn’t be further from the truth as not all papers are created equal and neither is the method of printing.

Sadly on the day of the install we found a problem with the printing. As the murals are made up of large panels or ‘drops’ it seems only 1 of them had been printed correctly. We still don’t know how this came about and can only assume the printer itself had a funny 5 minutes and nobody had checked it before dispatch. In addition the mural was quite pixelated. The second problem couldn’t be firmly laid at the printers door as the client had supplied the image but more could have been done to rectify the quality as we will later show. The original printers did try to rectify the problems but admitted defeat when they couldn’t guarantee the results required. To their credit the customer service was very good and they refunded the clients money without any hesitation.

Mural Design

This is where we stepped in to ensure the job was a success. First thing we did was change the type of wallpaper, the previous mural had been printed on an ‘exhibition’ style paper with a smooth gloss finish, whilst there was nothing wrong with this, the type of paper didn’t suit the image or the effect the client wanted so we specified a ‘Classic’ matt finish with a slight texture. This gives a much more subtle effect more fitting for a grey scaled image in a domestic setting. The paper is also tougher.

Next the image needed to be sorted out and the pixelation softened. Of course some images just aren’t suited to being blown up on a huge scale and this one was on the boundary for the size of the wall but our printers artwork department worked their magic and the result is stunning. In addition a bit more ‘punch’ was added to the picked out colours rather than the washed out effect from before.

Mural Installation

It has to be noted different papers require different techniques and skill levels to hang. This paper can’t be compared to a standard wallpaper which is often around 500mm wide and butted jointed. The better mural papers, like this one, are wider at normally 1200mm+ wide which are then overlapped and double cut or spliced on the wall to make the perfect seam. Experienced paper hangers should have no problem with this but it is a technique even some decorators may not have come across.

As always preparation is key and the client was eager to get involved having decorated the rest of the room so we gave him some tips and also the best products to use, which in this case is an old favorite of ours ‘Zinsser Gardz’. We use this a lot in paper hanging as it primes and seals the surface giving a uniform substrate to work from. In addition it also makes removing the wallpaper easier when a change of scenery is required, lastly it protects the wall making paste removal easier and faster should you wish to paint instead.

The install itself went without a hitch and was a joy to hang especially as it’s an image i’m personally fond of. In fact I currently have it as my desktop screen saver!

I’ll leave you with stunning images of the finished wall and the very kind words of the client. Enjoy!

Review

Dave – Brighton Colour Republic recently fitted a mural of Brighton Pier in my living room. I had ordered the paper from another supplier, and had some concerns with the quality of the image when the wallpaper was delivered. They helped me resolve the problem, ultimately arranging to have the mural reprinted using their preferred printer. The results are stunning and my wife and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve had an incredible response to the finished effect, in no small part down to the quality of the installation. The decorator was polite, helpful, tidy, and delivered a first class service from start to finish. Thanks !!