LAURA ASHLEY Wallpaper - is it THAT BAD?

**G*O*S*H**

Hello...
Any decorators out there?
I want to use Laura Ashley wallpaper in the bedroom, I am not a wallpaper-er by any means so I have no idea but the reviews I have read online are pretty bad (albeit mostly a few years old) and my dad who will be hanging it said it is very thin.
Should I avoid?
It is quite a busy patter with birds/flowers/leaves etc so the last thing I want is it shrinking and being gappy when dry.
Does anyone have an recent experience on the quality?
Or can anyone recommend a better quality paper from a manufacturer who produces similar types of patterns?
I am not to concerned about cost as I am only doing a wall, so £25 a roll or £75 I don't mind - just want it to look nice...
Thank you

becs

We have Laura Ashley paper on a wall in 2 of our bedrooms, a wall in the living room and under the stairs. We hung it all except under the stairs and I've never hung paper before and found it easy, all been up 5 years now and still look great. We have the birds one in our bedroom the beigey colour with black birds and flowers etc.

doningtonphil

we have used laura ashley paper in 3 rooms. We are by no means pros or experienced. I am in one of them now and lokng at the walls. There are no gaps because of shrinkage, can see the odd jon where maybe a bit of paste is needed. It s temptng to try to 'slide' the paper across to but up to the piece already hung, whch may cause it to stretch and then shrink when drying.

I think the paper must either be 'stretchy' or the prntng bad because most of our joins pattern match perfectly at the top but by the bottom may be 3-5mm out. Also on the last room we did, one of the rolls had a printing fault a very fine unprinted line running the length of the paper, a couple of inches in from the edge. It was the last roll we used and nly notice it when he had hung the final piece. To be honest you can't see it when you don't know it is there, but not the qualty you would expect considerng the price

PixieDust

You're lucky....our walls are well wobbly and are as much as an inch out by the time you get to the bottom!!!! Anaglypta is a very good choice here

keystone

doningtonphil wrote: »

I think the paper must either be 'stretchy' or the prntng bad because most of our joins pattern match perfectly at the top but by the bottom may be 3-5mm out.

It stretched. Thats a hanging issue not a quality issue.

Cheers

spikyspiky

I have just spent the last 2 days hanging 35 quid a roll Laura Ashley Summer palace wallpaper. Never again total nightmare. I ruined one drop for every one I put up, so I used 4 rolls instead of 2. It stretched, its thin, I kept putting my fingers through it etc etc. Now I may not be the worlds best decorator but I think I'm perfectly capable and I've never had this trouble before. At this price it should be much easier.
Hope that helps.

keystone

spikyspiky wrote: »

At this price it should be much easier.

A triumph of marketing hype - just like F&B paint.

Cheers

doningtonphil

keystone wrote: »

It stretched. Thats a hanging issue not a quality issue.

Cheers

Yeah, you are probably right, though the 'unprinted' line is definitely a quality issue

How do I hang paer without it stretching? Am I putting too much paste on or something?

davethedecorator

I go by a certain rule, if its got someones name on the roll you tend to be paying for the name and not the quality, now if it also has a picture of said person on the roll, stay well away! expensive doesn't always say quality (next is a terrible paper) the issue with the pattern being out is a common one with so called "designer" papers and yes its always put down to the hangers fault (mostly is but happens with different papers not all the time), I hang thousands of rolls of wall paper every year and can honestly say if I am going to have a problem it will be with a "designer" wallpaper although bizarrely even the individual designs van vary in quality and end result. I have hung wallpapers in a house, all same brand but different designs and could have one that's a !!!!!! to hang, if it feels bad quality before its pasted I would say you may have problems.

I have hung Laura Ashleys paper a few times, from what i recall didnt have any major issues but not used all designs so cant comment on all of them

I know this isn't much help but it is hit and miss as to quality of brands as they can vary across each brand, if you stick with a time trusted brand like graham and brown you should be ok and believe it or not (prepare for the critics) B&Qs own brand wall paper is reasonable quality.

nickj_2

i find that with most wallpapers the design and pattern come before it's ability to be put up comes into question , on the whole too many papers do stretch , no matter who's hanging them, the best you can do is make sure they match around eye level , some patterns you can get away with .
other papers are fine if you are just hanging on a straight bit of wall , but if you have to do any cutting around a door , window etc then some turn to mush and getting a nice edge is next to impossible . unfortunately paying more does not =better quality when it comes to wallpaper ,

valentina

I'm by no means a decorator (!) but we've just hung some Little Greene wallpaper and it was the easiest bit of wallpapering we've ever done - it's not cheap and you may not find a design you like, but if you do go with it I would suggest you buy their wallpaper paste too.