How To Apply Vinyl Decals In Your Home

By Author: Ali Abrahimia
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Vinyl wall decals can be a fun, versatile, and affordable tool for enhancing or even totally revamping your home's interior design. Ranging from the subtly stylish to modern and whimsical, vinyl wall decals open up a world of options to help you set the perfect tone in every room in your house.

It's a common misconception that vinyl wall decals are simply oversized stickers; this is far from true. Vinyl wall decals are cut from strips of self-adhesive synthetic material with a texture similar to plastic. In addition to their durable vinyl composition, they are much thinner than stickers. Their thinness also serves to protect them from changing temperatures which would cause an actual sticker to bubble, crack, and eventually peel from the given surface. As a result, when vinyl wall decals are properly applied, their designs will appear to be painted onto the surface. The final result is of much higher quality than that of a sticker.

However, vinyl wall decals can be a bit tricky to affix. They are not a basic "peel and stick" kind of deal. Depending on the style, designs are likely to come in a set of individual ...
... graphics that must be carefully applied according to specific directions in order to gain the desired visual effect. Wall decals include a backing paper and a low-tack application tape that is used to correctly align and space the designs (and the occasional letters) when applying the decals to a surface. Every design requires attention to its own individual layout instructions. Depending on the decal, this process can also require two sets of steady hands and be very time consuming but you'll find it's well worth it once you see the attractive final product.

Although instructions for vinyl wall decals tend to be specifically tailored to each individual design, there are a few general guidelines to keep in mind when applying them in your home.

First of all, always be sure to prepare your surface. The surface should be squeaky clean and bone-dry before affixing the decals. Temperature is also important; for the best result, the area can't be hotter than 95 degrees Fahrenheit or colder than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the decals are applied, they will be resilient against such temperatures but for the application process, the conditions have to be right.

Once your surface is ready, you're ready to get creative. Decide on how you want the final result to appear, and cut and separate your graphics accordingly. Before removing the decal backing, you'll probably want to preview your design first. Many vinyl wall decals come with low tack tape that you can use to temporarily arrange the graphics on your wall or chosen surface. If your decal doesn't come with low tack tape, scotch tape makes a good substitute. Now you can arrange and rearrange the pieces of the design until you achieve your desired result.

Once you've got things just right, you can begin preparing to affix the decals permanently. Most vinyl wall decals come with spacer dots that you can tape to your wall as placeholders for this next step. As you take each taped-up graphic from the wall for preparation, replace it with a spacer dot to ensure that you return it to the exact same location. Take the individual decal and lay it face down on a smooth, level surface and peel away the backing while making sure that the graphic remains connected to the clear liner. Some of the more complex designs may require the use of an included applicator tool to hold the decal in place as the backing is removed.

Next, affix the decal to its spot by applying the graphic and clear liner onto the wall. Using the applicator tool, smooth the surface of the decal against the wall. By smoothing from the center outward, you can remove any bubbles. Now all that's left to do is peel the clear liner from the graphic; depending on the intricacy of the design, you might want to once again use the applicator tool to hold your graphic in place as you strip away the liner.

Now just repeat the process for each decal until your whole design comes to life.

Once you start decorating with vinyl wall decals, you'll find they can be used to beautify your home in a variety of ways. Some decals can be applied as architectural details to enhance or highlight your home furnishings. For example, large borders and solid shapes can be affixed to the wall around mirrors, behind headboards, or on door and cabinet panels to add depth and detail. Decals can also be arranged along the top of walls in lieu of molding, or the bottom of walls in lieu of baseboards.

You can also employ vinyl wall decals as creative accents throughout your home. To do this, you can use smaller pre-cut designs like stars and seashells or you can choose to create your own designs by cutting them from a large solid decal. You can then affix these as accents to solid color items such as wastebaskets, light fixtures, or toy boxes in order to add a little personality.
About Author:
Walls Need Love provides custom wall vinyl designs, lettering, and words for your walls. We create custom lettering, custom vinyl phrases, expressions stick to your walls and look hand painted. All vinyl wall art is guaranteed for life and guaranteed to remove clean. Visit online at http://www.wallsneedlove.com/ today.