Wall stickers: vinyl, interior, decorative

The idea of ​​decorating walls is far from new, but drawing pictures, weaving tapestries or making bas-reliefs is often not enough time and skills. Today there is a quick way to decorate and change the interior – interior wall stickers. They are ready to go. All you need to do is find a suitable place and stick it on. Moreover, the adhesive is applied on the reverse side. The whole operation takes a couple of minutes. 

What are wall stickers

Sometimes you really want to change the “mood” of the interior, to bring something new. Starting repairs – even cosmetic ones – are long and expensive. Quickly transform a room or add accents with wall stickers. They are also called interior, decorative.

The name “stickers” is often used, since this type of decor is attached due to the adhesive layer. Just like regular paper stickers. This is a good alternative to painting and stencils. Wall stickers differ in ease of application (glued), a wide variety of themes, sizes and types.

First, let’s talk about what stickers are. If we talk about the technical side, then they are made of vinyl film (polyvinyl chloride or PVC). A drawing is applied on one side (this is if the image is multi-colored), on the second – a layer of glue. There are two additional layers to protect the image and the adhesive. The glue is closed with paper (from below), the drawing is covered with a transparent film. The film covering the pattern is more rigid than vinyl. It prevents the sticker from being pulled or torn during application.

What are the stickers in operation

Before the first experience of sticking stickers on walls, there are questions about what surfaces they can be glued to, how they will behave, whether they will peel off, whether they can be removed if they don’t like it or get bored, whether the surface will be damaged after removing the sticker, there will be no traces left. And so on. The questions are understandable. Let’s talk about all these nuances.

What surfaces can be glued to and how well they will stick

You can glue on any not too embossed and not too soft and delicate surfaces. And not only on the walls, but also on the ceiling, furniture, doors, etc. So, on what materials can you stick stickers:

• For paint (including water-based).
• For wallpaper. Normally they stick to vinyl and non-woven. On smooth – generally very good, with a not very embossed surface – not bad. With a relief surface – you have to try, since it is difficult to predict the result. You can stick it on soft paper ones, but you will most likely shoot with a piece of wallpaper.
  

• Furniture from any material. On painted facades too.
• On glass, mirror.
• Ceramic tiles.
• On metal (refrigerators).

In general, without question, stickers can be stuck on any hard materials: smooth or with a not pronounced relief. The rest need to be checked. How? Some manufacturers include a trial sticker in each kit (DesignStickers, for example). In this case, glue this test sticker in accordance with all the rules on the intended surface. Leave for 24 hours. After this period, check how the picture behaves. If it has not fallen off in a day, the edges are holding, then in a year or two nothing will happen to it. If peeled off – look for another surface.

But that is not all. It is necessary to check if there are any traces left after removal. To do this, take and remove the test sticker. We remove it correctly: we hook the upper edge, wrap it and pull it down, and not “toward ourselves”. Usually, it peels off “cleanly, without problems. If you are unlucky and part of the paint or wallpaper fragments remain on the surface, we are looking for another place.

What to do if there is no trial sticker? Perhaps your wall decal consists of several fragments. Pick one small one, go through the whole process. Just do not remove the protective film (transparent). If it peels off without “fragments of the wall”, it can be re-glued. And for the third time. Maybe in the fourth … Depends on the adhesive composition and the strength of the film. But the walls must be clean.

Types of wall stickers

Generally speaking, wall stickers can be divided into several groups:

• mirror (acrylic);
  

• vinyl:
  • monochrome (monochrome);
  • colored;
  • volumetric (3D).

Mirror stickers are made of acrylic. This material is coated with a special metallized layer. Outwardly, it also turns out to be a mirror, but not on glass. The accuracy of the image may be insufficient, but this is not a mirror, but an element of decor. This material is also called “flexible mirror”. Various figures are cut out of it, glue is applied to the reverse side, which is protected with a film. Such a sticker will not replace an ordinary mirror, but it can be an interesting interior move.

Vinyl decorative stickers can be plain or colored. Monochromatic most often black, you can find gray. Other colors are rare on sale, most likely they will be made to order. Colored stickers are ordinary – two-dimensional – and three-dimensional. So-called 3D. How much such a picture will fit into the interior – you have to look, as they attract too much attention. If you need to distract this attention from something, then a 3D wall sticker is the best option.

By appointment

The first and main task of stickers is to change the existing design. It takes just a few minutes, and the result is impressive. In addition to its direct function – to decorate the wall – vinyl stickers can have a special purpose:

• Height meter. A useful item in a child’s room.
• Alphabet. Allows children to master letters faster.
• For chalk drawings. Black film stickers in the shape of various animals. They can be repeatedly drawn with chalk. It can be used instead of a bulletin board, describing to whom, what and when to do. If you solve school assignments on such a “board”, then a boring lesson will turn into a game.
  

  

• Calendar. There is a weekly – from Monday to Sunday, there is a month. So all your tasks will be before your eyes. They say it improves efficiency.
• Use the map as a travel plan, or mark places you have already visited. A good way to improve knowledge in geography.
• For the holiday. Creating a festive mood with the help of thematic pictures is quick and convenient.
  

  

These are the ideas that lie on the surface. Surely it can be used in another way.

By subject

Finding wall stickers is not as easy as it seems. Deciding on a color scheme is not very difficult. This is either monochrome black, or colors that are already available or are planned in the design of the room. But there are so many drawings that you can’t even imagine where and what to look for. To make it a little easier, here is a list of topics. So it will be easier for you to search for stickers.

The first thing that will facilitate the search is the specific room or object where the sticker is planned. Separately, you can search for stickers for the following objects:

• Toilet with bath:
  • on the toilet bowl;
  • on the toilet lid
    

    

  • on a glass partition (they are double-sided);
  • on the wall.
• Kitchen and dining room:
  • on the wall;
  • on tiles;
    

    

  • for furniture;
  • on the refrigerator;
• children’s;
• car.

In each of the categories there is where to turn around, there are quite a few options in colors and shapes. But such a division does not exclude the use of images from “neutral” categories, which are difficult to attribute to any zone / device. Here are some thematic subsections to look for:

• Abstraction.
• Vintage.
• Around the world:
  • East;
  • world maps;
  • trains, planes, buses;
  • attractions;
  • ethnic motives.
    

    

• Nature:
  • trees;
  • animals;
  • birds;
  • flowers;
  • kittens
• Landscapes:
  • sea;
  • city;
  • forests and fields.
    

    

• Celebrities.
• Music.
• Romance:
  • a family;
  • inscriptions.
• Sports.
• Fishing and hunting.
• Ornaments and patterns.
• Clock.
• Erotica.

Already on one list of topics it is clear that there is plenty to choose from. And when you consider that many companies offer all this or more, in different sizes and colors, it becomes absolutely clear that it will not be easy to choose.

How to choose

In general, choosing the right sticker is not at all easy, because it should be part of the interior. Therefore, we select the type based on the task that the sticker will perform. If it is the center of the composition, then something bright and catchy is possible. Like a big drawing or even a 3D painting. But just remember that the rest of the environment must match.

For example, you want to use a Japanese or Chinese landscape. Great. But this theme should also be present in the design of the room. Such or similar bright thematic picture in the usual average design will look “no way”. If you have an interior in the process of development, you can try to build everything around the theme you found. Actually, it’s not that difficult. But “attaching” a bright big picture to an existing interior is almost impossible. An exception, perhaps, is the children’s room. Here are bright pictures in the subject. What is good is that vinyl stickers can be changed as the child grows, his tastes and preferences change. Make the background of the walls neutral, and in the drawings there can be heroes of your favorite cartoon or an image of a toy at the moment.

In the nursery and not only, you can use stickers to combine everything into one ensemble. To do this, use the same type of stickers of different sizes. They can be pasted on walls, furniture, ceiling. One of the tricks is to move from one wall to another, from a piece of furniture to a wall or to another object.

For other rooms, the easiest and most versatile way is to use monochrome images. The most ideal and neutral option is inscriptions, silhouettes. They are easier to type in. Patterns and abstractions are good in this sense.

How to stick

Sticking vinyl stickers is not difficult, but certain rules must be followed. First, the room must be warm. The temperature is not lower than +15°C. Secondly, the humidity is normal, the walls or any other surface must be dry and clean. There should be no dust, no grease, no dirt. If possible, treat the area under the sticker with a degreaser (solvent).

To work, you will need a small plastic spatula, which can be successfully replaced with an old plastic bank card. If you don’t like working with plastic, try a dry, clean, soft cloth. These devices will help expel air bubbles from under the film.

We glue a large picture from a vinyl film

The site for work was prepared, then the procedure is as follows:

• We disassemble the sticker, we look at how it will look. Very often it is a collection of fragments. We take fragments, assemble them into a picture. We fasten them with pins or stationery tape in the intended place. Let’s go and look. If everything suits you, we begin to glue.
• Start at the bottom, move up. First, the central fragment is glued, others are joined to it. So it turns out that you have to move in two directions – from the bottom up and from the center to the edges.
  

  

• Peel off a small section of the substrate from the bottom of the fragment, which protects the adhesive layer. Apply to work surface. We try to glue evenly, but if it doesn’t work out, it’s okay – peel it off, try again. After the “start” is glued correctly, we take plastic or a rag. Peel off, bending a small part of the protective paper, glue the strip. Again, peel off the protective paper, stick it on. Moving up and to the sides, we paste the entire fragment.
  

  

• We looked, the fragment is glued evenly, everything is fine. Remove the protective film from the front.
• We repeat the operation with the next piece of the picture. Now it’s just a matter of putting the details together. The slightest discrepancy will be visible, so do not rush. Glued, checked, removed the protective layer from the front.
• We also glue all the parts.

That’s all. A few notes on the process. It is important to try to expel the air from under the vinyl film. Therefore, we move slowly, without allowing passes. Then there will be no bubbles. If the peel-off backing gets in the way, it can be cut off.

The film, which is pasted on the front side, is removed after the fragment is pasted completely, all air is removed. At the same time, it is impossible to leave it on the part when the next one is glued – the seam will be visible.

Features of a small picture

Above, we described the process of gluing a large picture, consisting of several pieces that need to be joined to each other. But such complexity is not always necessary. Some images are a set of elements that can be arranged relative to each other in any order. Such elements are usually pasted on one sheet. They only need to be removed from the substrate and pasted on the wall.

But even in this case, in order not to make a mistake and not to re-glue fragments from place to place, cut them out together with the substrate. Not necessarily strictly along the contour, you can capture free areas of the substrate. Now spread these pieces over the surface, as you imagine, using pieces of masking tape. Rate the result. You may have to move something somewhere, change places. When the result suits you, start gluing.

How to remove a boring vinyl sticker from a wall

That’s why wall stickers are good because they can be removed without harm to the coating. Usually this is not difficult. Pry the edge, wrap and pull down. Pay attention, not “on yourself”, but down. Then the paint and wallpaper remain in place.

If the vinyl has bonded too well with the surface, you will need a knife to tear off the edge. This happens with smooth, even materials – glass, ceramic tiles, plastic, etc. In the most difficult situations, you can use a hair dryer. Warm up the film, pull it down. So, gradually, take it off. Usually everything goes away without a trace.