Wall Stickers vs Fine Art Wall Prints - what is the best option for your walls?
One of the questions I get asked a lot is whether people should go for a wall sticker or the paper / ‘fine art' print when it comes to selecting wall art for children’s rooms.
The answer to this depends on a lot of things, so I wanted to take you through all of the considerations here, as a reference for anyone pondering this decision.
The first thing I want to point out is that wall stickers are not considered a fine art print. A fine art print is generally considered to be pigment-based ink printed onto museum-grade paper, such as the 100% cotton paper I use for my fine art prints (you can read more about that here). Fine art prints last a long time. If you look after them, they are fade resistant for between 60 to 100 years, and look highly detailed with rich colours. They are often mistaken for original pieces of art.
(image above is the fine art print, below is a detail of the wall sticker)
The wall sticker fabric I use, when kept well, can last up to 10 years, which is a long time for a wall sticker, but far from 100 years!
The fine art prints are intended to be an heirloom piece of art that can be kept for many years and passed on to younger generations, whereas the wall stickers are not in the same genre.
Another thing to mention is that because the wall stickers are printed onto a fabric-based material, it has a lovely feel to it, but the ink does bleed a little bit. You don’t notice this when it is on the wall and you are viewing from a small distance, but up close, it is not incredibly crisp like a fine art print. (below is a close up image of the level of detail on the wall sticker.)
The advantage to the wall sticker comes in on the framing and display side of things. Obviously, no frame is needed at all to display the wall stickers. Especially for renters, this also means no holes in the wall. This also affects the cost, as no extra frame needs to be purchased. Because of the lack of a frame, sizes can be a bit more flexible too, which is why it works for longer charts like the Solar System. It also allows me to develop different products like the alphabet runner, which wouldn’t be possible if people needed to hang or frame the chart.
The wall sticker fabric has a very gentle stickiness to it that can easily be removed again and again, but sticks well to the wall, so it doesn’t leave any marks or residue. It’s definitely not strong enough to rip paint off. It is quite thin though, so texture can show through, and it does not stick to bare brick or stone walls.
I hope this sums up the main points when considering which option to go with when shopping for wall art. If you have anything you’re still curious about or need more information on, get in touch! I’m happy to add more to this, or answer questions via email.
