Not that wallpaper was ever gone from the decorating arsenal of homeowners, but wallcoverings seem to be enjoying a resurgence of sorts. Decorators inured to paint have more reasons than ever to ask: Why not wallpaper?

And the wallpapers of yesteryear have given way to a broad mix of traditional, contemporary and decidedly youthful looks.

Bold color palettes and imaginative patterns — along with more advocacy by magazine editors and interior designers — has reintroduced wallpaper to a generation of consumers for whom a new coat of paint on the wall was their previous inspiration for decor or for whom wallpaper was unimaginative, tough to put up and even harder to remove.

“Trendy young designers are using wallpaper and telling us their younger clients are asking about wallpaper,” says Jean Melton, merchandising vice president for Lowe’s. “But they want more than traditional papers or vinyls. They want bold or unusual patterns and textures. That’s what we see.”

The Wallcoverings Assn., the wallpaper industry trade group, also forecasts robust growth and an “upbeat market” for wallcoverings of all sorts.

Melton uses “textured,” “versatile” and “personally expressive” to describe a wallpaper market steadily moving beyond its traditional roots. Whereas paint creates a clean, smooth wall, wallpaper makes a stronger “expression of personal taste,” Melton says. Like paint, wallcoverings set a color direction for a room but elevate overall design a few notches higher to set a tone, look and style.