Wall Decals

I have been researching the Wall Decal market lately. I have also been giving the whole concept of Wall Decals a lot of thought. I have mixed feelings about them. I have seen some very nice designs out there that are classic and elegant with a contemporary twist. I have also seen some fun decals for kids spaces. The ones I am seeing are sold on line. What I don’t like about these are a) they are not so very inexpensive, especially if you want to purchase large sized ones, so why wouldn’t you just paint or stencil a design; and 2) they are marketed as decals that are removable, so you can change your design on a whim. I, personally, do not know anyone who has used these. After reading the fine print on the various websites, I learned that they do not guarantee that your wall paint will not come off the wall when the decal is removed. Also, what happens if you leave the decal on your wall for 6 months and then try to remove it? Will the outline of the design be on the wall due to fading from the sun hitting that wall? It also says that the decals may be effected by change in temperatures. So, I’m thinking…. what happens when your walls are cold from the a/c running or hot from the heat kicking on? Do the decals start to peel off the wall? I really am curious as to how these hold up. In all fairness, I can see why someone might be attracted to this form of art on their walls, because it sounds fairly simple to apply and many of the designs are quite nice. However…it would be so much nicer to have a similar design painted or stenciled on your walls. The design would be customized to suit the space, and you could choose your own colors. You could even have a patterned design or some texture. The options are endless. When you tire of the design, you just paint over it. Are we now so non-committal with our walls that we can’t have something painted on them? While you will never find me buying a wall decal, I do appreciate the designs that some of the wall decal designers are coming out with and will use this for inspiration in my own work! If anyone has had any experience with Wall Decals, I’d love to hear from you.