Shoparound: The trend for wallpaper continues apace and style-conscious homeowners are not content with paper on feature walls - they're going for maximum impact on all walls, says Maeve Ward, owner of Maison in Navan.
The huge increase in wallpaper sales in the last year has continued, she says.
Feature walls are on the way out, says co-owner Aine Sisk: "The wallpapers being produced now are so delicate and subtle that it is very easy to do a full room without making a massive statement."
With wallpaper there is so much to choose from and lots of companies doing very interesting things, Maeve says. Classic wallpaper designs in contemporary colours - such as aqua, amethyst, turquoise, buff and beige - are a big trend at the moment, she says.
UK company Zoffany draws its inspiration from a vast archive of French and English designs dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
These are revamped with contemporary colourways making for bright and bold statement wallpaper that looks spectacular in the modern home, she explains.
Even Cole and Sons, which specialises in traditional hand-block printed wallpapers, is experimenting with cool contemporary colours, she adds.
Farrow & Ball will next month release a new wallpaper collection called the Grisaille Papers, which features 24 designs all printed in moody sepia grey colours.
Maeve's advice to homeowners thinking about wallpapering an entire room is to plan carefully. If you are working in a small room, make sure to bring the scale down and keep everything else in the room simple, she says. Even when working with a large room with high ceilings, care must be taken to take account of everything that is already in the room.
Starting from scratch, of course, gives you much more leeway, she says.
Prices for most wallpaper collections start at around €55 with the average roll costing between €70 and €80. At the top end is a specially printed collection from Cole and Sons called Classix Exotic Flock, which costs €200-plus a roll.
• Maison, 46 Watergate Street, Navan, Co Meath. Tel 046 9066226
