Wallpaper or paint: which suits Thai homes that are humid all year round?

Wallpaper or paint? Start by asking whether your wall is dry

The first question isn't about looks. It's about the wall. Thailand is humid all year. Some walls catch driving rain, some back onto a bathroom, and some draw damp up from the ground. Walls like these cause problems whether you paint them or paper them, but wallpaper usually shows it worse.

The reason is that wallpaper is a sheet stuck on with glue. If moisture in the wall can't escape, it gets trapped between the wall and the paper. The glue breaks down, the seams lift, and mould grows behind it where you can't see it until there's a stain or a smell. Damp paint can blister or stain too, but you usually see the signs sooner, and it's easier to fix in one spot.

• Dry, smooth wall in an air-conditioned room: wallpaper is fine
• Wall next to a bathroom or exposed to rain: paint is safer
• Damp at the base of the wall or mould stains: fix the cause before doing anything else

What types of wallpaper are there, and which copes better with humidity?

The wallpaper you'll find in Thailand comes in three main types: paper, vinyl and non-woven. Each has its own strengths, and none is the best in every situation.

Paper wallpaper has a beautiful, matt, natural surface, but it doesn't stand up to damp and is hard to wipe clean. Vinyl has a water-resistant face and cleans well, but that same water-resistant face makes it hard for moisture in the wall to escape through the front. Non-woven is made from mixed fibres, is easy to hang, and can usually be peeled off in whole sheets when you change it.

Peel-and-stick wallpaper is handy for renters, since you can put it up and take it down yourself. But in hot, humid weather, some adhesives may come away at the edges sooner than you'd expect. Always test a small piece first.

• Paper: beautiful and matt, but doesn't stand up to damp and is hard to wipe
• Vinyl: easy to wipe and hard-wearing, but the face doesn't let moisture out
• Non-woven: easy to hang and easier to strip
• Peel-and-stick: good for renters, but test the adhesive first

Wallpaper vs paint, side by side

Both have their place. Wallpaper wins on pattern: florals, graphics, fabric-look or wood-look designs are hard to recreate with paint. Paint wins on flexibility: it's easy to change your mind, easy to repair, and there are no seams.

In terms of labour, wallpaper needs a very smooth wall. Cracks or rough patches show through the paper, and matching the pattern takes skill. Paint needs wall preparation too, but it's more forgiving of an imperfect wall, and it's easier for homeowners to do themselves.

• Pattern: wallpaper has the edge
• Damp and mould: paint is easier to look after
• Touch-ups: paint can be topped up; wallpaper needs a spare roll of the same pattern
• Changing your mind: paint can go straight over; wallpaper has to be stripped first
• DIY: paint is easier to do yourself

Renting, and the day it has to come off

If you rent a house or condo, always talk to the owner first. Many owners will let you paint if you hand the room back as it was or in a neutral tone. As for wallpaper, even the peel-and-stick kind sometimes pulls the old paint off with it, especially on walls where that paint wasn't well bonded.

Stripping traditional pasted wallpaper is a big job. You have to soften the glue first, then scrape it off. Afterwards you need to wash off every trace of glue and repair any damaged surface before you can paint. Skip this step and the new paint won't bond properly and will stain.

A third option: textured paint walls

Many people choose wallpaper because they want a wall that's more than flat colour, but they don't really want a printed pattern. In that case, a textured paint wall is an interesting middle way. A limewash plaster-effect wall gives depth, with a cloudy movement in the colour, and there are no seams for moisture to hide in.

Another advantage is that it's paint, so you can repair it and paint over it like any painted wall. If you'd like a wall like this, Voqe Mineral Finish is a limewash-style mineral paint for both interior and exterior walls, and it goes straight on over primer.

• Want a crisp printed pattern: wallpaper
• Want a surface with depth and no seams: a textured paint wall
• Want a plain finish you can change often: ordinary wall paint