Wallpaper friends

They don't leave a mess in the kitchen, talk when your favourite TV show is on or get behind with their rent.

In fact, they could be the perfect flatmates.

With an eye on the growing number of young men and women who live alone, interior designers are marketing wallpaper featuring life-size men and women in various poses around the home.

An accompanying CD simulates a human presence with the friendly sounds of rustling paper, closing doors, whirring hairdryers and the slurping of coffee. Susanne Schmidt, 34, dreamed up the concept while preparing for a wall design competition in Frankfurt.

She was partly inspired by statistics showing that 14 million Germans live alone.

The explosive growth of singles households has spawned an industry catering exclusively to them. Two years ago the first-ever industrial fair aimed at the homealoners of Germany was hailed a success.

Schmidt found her models in cafes and among her own friends.

'We just went up to likeable normal singles we observed in cafes and on the subway,' Miss Schmidt said.

'It was important that they weren't perfect or too good-looking otherwise the wallpaper-would have looked like a glossy billboard.'

The flatmates come at a price - about £100 for enough sheets of paper to create a whole person and their background. But in Germany at least, sales are booming.

'It's incredible how many people have latched on to this,' Miss Schmidt added.