Just Peel and Stick

Giving an office a new look either means shelling out big bucks or spending agonizing hours spackling, sanding, taping and painting walls or, even worse, wallpapering. A NH company has a quicker and easier way.

Customized Walls in Manchester creates murals that have the texture of wallpaper and stick to any clean, dry surface, from shelving and doors to entire walls. (Its largest mural to date is 10 feet by 30 feet.) People can choose predesigned images or upload their own, transforming a plain wall into a forest, castle or  combination of images and text. Unlike most decals, the murals are made of poly breathable materials (so no air bubbles), can be removed and reapplied numerous times, do not damage walls, and retain their stickiness without getting stuck to themselves.

The murals cost $7.50 to $9.50 per square foot, compared to $10 to $15 per square foot for wallpaper application and removal and $20 to $40 per square foot for painted murals, says Owner Laurie Laizure, who came upon the idea while working as a broker in the fine art printing industry searching for digital wallpaper material for a client. I really started thinking that this is a business people really want, Laizure says. In the interior design world, accent walls are huge, and removable wallpaper, I believe, is the biggest next trend.

After two years testing different materials, she launched the business in September 2011 selling one a month. By January of this year, she had made back her $20,000 start-up investment and is now selling six murals per week. Laizure has two full-time employees and prints the murals from a studio in Manchester. Her business is split evenly between selling to interior designers and selling directly to companies and individuals. She currently has a minimum order requirement of $150, or 4 feet by 5 feet, but is looking to add smaller options, including murals for tack boards and school lockers. Laizure produces some murals for private label, her next big business push, and is now in talks with major league baseball about private labeling wall murals for them.

Most of her business is outside NH in cities including Miami and Chicago, but Laizure is looking to grow her business locally. She was recently asked to donate product for a class on repositionable wallpaper at the National Wallpaper Hangers Guild annual meeting. For more information, visit www.customizedwalls.com.