Wall decals, also known as wallpaper, date back to the Tang Dynasty in China, where people began decorating walls with drawings on paper. In the mid-18th century, the British man Morris pioneered mass-produced printed wallpaper, giving rise to the modern concept of wallpaper. Over time, the evolution of wallpaper has progressed alongside the development of the world economy and culture, undergoing stages such as: paper, painted paper, foam paper, printed paper, die-cut embossed paper, and special process paper. Like other decorative materials, wallpaper continues to evolve with the advancement of global economic and cultural trends. The usage of wallpaper in different periods reflects a combination of local economic development levels, emerging material science, and popular consumer psychology.
The earliest wallpapers were created by drawing and printing various patterns onto paper, offering a certain decorative effect but limited to partial decoration in high-end venues such as royal courts. It wasn't until the late 1970s and 1980s that they became widely used in home interiors alongside other decorative materials. The entire 1980s marked the heyday of foam wallpaper, also known as screen-printed relief foam. This process involved adding a foaming agent to the raw materials and applying high temperatures during production, allowing the foaming agent to undergo a "fermentation-like" process. As a result, the resulting wallpaper had a textured, soft-to-the-touch feel. The advantage of such wallpaper was its strong three-dimensional effect, which could enhance the sense of space in a room. However, its drawbacks were equally evident: it was not wear-resistant, prone to scratches, and susceptible to stains. Foam wallpaper has gradually been phased out, though it can still be seen in some ceilings. By the late 1980s, with the development of the plastics industry, a substitute for foam wallpaper emerged-latex-based wallpaper. Unlike foam wallpaper, this type did not foam, resulting in a harder texture that significantly improved the drawbacks of foam wallpaper. It was waterproof, moisture-resistant, durable, featured intricate prints, and offered excellent embossed textures, allowing for a wide variety of patterns and designs to be displayed on the wallpaper. Its expressive color range and practicality opened a new chapter in the evolution of wallpaper.
Vinyl wallpaper accounts for approximately 70% of global usage. Initially, glossy silk-sheen wallpapers were highly popular when vinyl wallpaper was first introduced. Later, as trends in home decoration evolved, matte wallpapers (fabric-textured wallpapers) gradually became the dominant style. Wallpapers now exhibit increasingly vibrant color and pattern expression, earning widespread consumer appeal. Major manufacturers have engaged in fierce competition over this. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, fabric-textured wallpapers gained popularity. It is projected that starting around 2002, with growing demands for leisure, comfort, and environmental protection, eco-friendly, nature-inspired products will be embraced, further increasing consumer demand for paper wallpapers. Currently, vinyl wallpaper has near-universal adoption rates in Japan and Russia for residential use, while reaching 50%-60% popularity in Europe and America. In China, the adoption rate remains below 1%! With China's economic development and rising living standards, wallpaper-now a household essential-will undoubtedly become widely accessible to ordinary households!