Wall stickers and decals are great for people who want to redecorate their homes and make their rooms look colorful, stylish, bright and vibrant, as they are easy to apply and just as easy to remove.
With an increase in the number of designs for wall stickers and decals, stores are offering a wide variety of products that would suit any room, from living and Japanese-style rooms to children's bedrooms.
At the end of February, a 41-year-old woman who lives with three family members in a condominium in Sagamihara put, in only about 10 minutes, an olive tree-design decal on her dining room wall.
The woman used to have a green plant in the room, but her child would sometimes knock it down, and there was no way for it to get watered when the family stayed away from home for a long time.
She realized that a wall decal is easy to apply. "It's great. I feel comforted by the design [of the olive tree] and its lime green color," she said.
The Tokyo Sticker brand wall decal, measuring about 1.5 meters long and 1 meter wide, is sold at 13,800 yen excluding tax by Tokyo-based Matching Japan Co.
When placed on walls, "wall decals look like they have been directly painted on the wall," Kazuhiro Onaga of Matching Japan said.
To put a decal on a wall, press the decal sheet on a suitable place and rub the surface to transfer the design to the wall.
Besides designs such as those of plants and animals, one can use dynamic calligraphy by calligrapher Soun Takeda, which goes well with a Japanese-style room.
"Many customers buy wall decals not just for the living room but also for their children's bedrooms," Onaga said. As they are easily removed, many people replace them with new designs as the children grow up.
Relatively low-priced wall stickers are also in demand. To apply one, simply peel off the back paper and place the sticker on a wall.
Nitori Holdings Co., which sells sticker-type wallpapers, said hot sellers include wall stickers with watercolor plant leaves, as well as world map designs. Both types are sold at 925 yen excluding tax.
"Our wall stickers are popular among both male and female customers between 20 and 40 years of age. [They choose stickers] they feel will jazz up their rooms," a Nitori official said.
Wall stickers sell well from early spring to the Golden Week holidays to people who want to redecorate their rooms, the official said.
Before choosing a product, it is recommended to understand the difference between how wall stickers and wall decals are applied. Also recommended is to be careful how they contrast with any particular wall's color. "Generally speaking, the decoration becomes more attractive by applying [stickers or decals] on whitish walls," Onaga said.
It is better to clean the wall before applying stickers or decals.
Stickers and decals sometimes do not stick on walls with rough surfaces, or walls made of fibers and delicate materials such as washi Japanese paper. It is therefore important to read the warning labels before purchasing them.
One must also keep in mind that decals and stickers can leave lasting marks on the walls after they are removed, due to sunlight or other reasons, when they have been in place for a long time.
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