Wallpaper creates atmosphere and transforms a space
How to choose the right wallpaper for your home
Knowing how to choose the right wallpaper for your home is crucial.
There are many considerations you’ll want to keep in mind when choosing wallpaper. Use the following tips from industry experts and wallpaper pro’s to make your choice successful and acheive the intended look.
So maybe you have an idea about the overall effect you want your wallpaper to achieve. This is good to know before you start browsing. The myriad of wallpapers styles available can be daunting and can lead you off track. Many an hour have I got lost down that rabbit hole!
But its best to narrow the choices and her are some specifics on how.
Start by taking into account the architecture or style of your home and the room its going in. Ignoring the overall period style of your home may lead to your wallpaper standing out for the wrong reasons.
If you have a traditional Queenslander home for example you may want to go with a more heritage style design. Many of these homes traditionally have the wallpaper hung from a picture rail to the ceiling. With VJ’s underneath. Or 2 different wallpapers 1 below and 1 above a dado rail.
If your home doesn’t have a particular or dominant style then lets move on to what else you can consider.
What Wallpaper Design To Use
A key point when wondering how to choose the right wallpaper for your home is to about the space its going in. Choosing a good scale pattern for the space or deciding where to hang a feature wall is a big decision.
A feature wall should be the wall of the room that is already the main focus. Such as the bedhead wall in a bedroom. View the room from all angles to get a good perspective from which to choose a wall to accentuate.
Will you be hanging the wallpaper on all the walls or making a feature wall?
When wallpapering multiple or all walls in a room ensure the style isnt going to over power the space. Play with perspectives to help you get this right for example; horizontal stripes to make a room look longer and vertical stripes to raise the eyes up to make room appear taller.
Wallpaper with a large pattern will be wasted on a small wall or a wall with lots of cuts like in a powder room. Here much of the pattern may end up being cut away. Imagine a mural with the main feature in the design cut out for the door cavity – disaster!
Wallpaper with small patterns may get lost on a large wall unless you are happy for it to be a pleasing backdrop rather than the main focus. If you are using a small pattern on all the walls bear in mind the pattern will be repeating many times, will this make it too busy for your taste?
And how about wallpapering the ceiling? Often referred to as the 5th wall that is mostly overlooked. Choosing a feature design for your ceiling always makes an impact.
What Colour Wallpaper To Chose
Colour can set the mood in a room. Think about the type of atmosphere you want to create in that room to help you choose the right hues.
For example if you are hanging wallpaper somewhere calming like a bedroom choose wallpaper in a colour that is calming like pale blue, sage green or a lavender.
Darker, intense colours will add drama and are best used in an appropriate room like a dining room or a popular wallpaper trend at the moment; a media room.
Lighting in the room will also affect how the colour shows. So take into consideration how much natural light filters in and what the wallpaper colour looks like under the artifcial light. Any metallic in a wallpaper will look great at night under artificial lights so use it in a room that makes the most of that light.
Selecting the right wallpaper for your home may involve using a feature colour from an element already in the room, then using that focal colour to match the tones in your wallpaper.
Or if there is no stand out colour match the wallpaper tone to the more permanent features in the room such as flooring, lighting or curtains. A good idea is to check samples against these features as for example a grey is not just a grey. Is it a cool blue based grey or a warm brown based grey. Read more about grey wallpaper here.
What is Your Wallpaper Style?
When it comes to the style of wallpaper you choose, unless one of the points above applies, much of it now comes down to your personal taste.
So unless your home style is a particular look such as Hamptons, Industrial or Art Deco. You can go with whatever speaks to you. Whether your taste runs to soft florals, textures, cityscape murals or a bold geometric pattern there are many choices for you.
Thinking about what atmosphere do you want to create is a great starting point when deciding how to choose the right wallpaper for your home.
Or choosing what overall impression you want to create. A bright, vibrant fun talking point with a modern bold floral or a sophisticated artwork via a mural? Rustic charm with a faux timber or urban modern chic with a concrete?
A popular wallpaper style which are standing the test of time are faux effect wallpapers. These wallpaper types are digitally printed papers that look like brick, concrete, stone, timber or marble.
Wallpaper Types
The next question to ask when buying wallpaper online is; what is the wallpaper made of?
The main wallpaper types are; vinyl, non woven and Grasscloth.
Vinyl is a great wallpaper for a high traffic area or an area that may need to be wipable, as vinyl wallpaper is generally washable, scrubbable or wipable.
A non woven wallpaper is a great all round wallpaper that is easy to hang and easy to remove as usually strippable.
A metallic wallpaper is striking and reflects light into a room but is only suitable for walls that are perfectly smooth as they show up all imperfections in the wall unless you will be lining the wall with lining paper first.
Wallcoverings that are made of natural fibers such as sisal, grasscloth or bamboo can not be wiped clean and give a more rustic effect. These wallpaper have “imperfections” such as frays, knots and variances in colour. As well as joins that show as opposed to a seamless installation. Choose wallpaper like this if you feel its these details that make this style of wallpaper so great.
If noise is an issue acoustic murals may be a great option for you. Whether you are installing wallpaper in a media room to keep the noise in, or a music room for the acoustic value added or on a wall to keep out outside noise pollution these soundproofing wallcoverings are available.
A relatively new wallpaper type is Peel and Stick type wallpapers. These do not hang the same as the above. They have paste already on the back and you peel off the backing to install. Literally like a giant sticker.
Clever Wallpaper Ideas
Maximising your wallpaper look can be done by clever use of leftover wallpaper. Using offcuts for the back of open cupboards. Leftover wallpaper for a small space as seen below with a brick wallpaper. Can make a wonderful addition and utilise all of the product you have bought.
Have fun and use your imagination.
How much wallpaper to buy
Ok so you have chosen a wallpaper; how much do you need to buy?
Most wallpaper is sold by the roll. (Alternatively is by the metre.) There are different size rolls so always check the description of your chosen wallpaper for the length & width of the roll. You will also need to see if there is a pattern repeat. The pattern repeat takes into account the amount of wallpaper that will be used to match up the pattern from sheet to sheet.
Use a tape measure to measure the width and height of each wall or surface. Its then a matter of working out how many drops you will get from a roll. See below a case study of 1 flush wall.
Wall is: 5m wide by 2.4 high
Roll is: 52cm wide by 10m long
52cm goes into 5 = 10 times (10 drops needed across the wall length)
10 divided by 2.4 = 4.1 (rounded to 4 drops in a roll)
10 divided by 4 = 2.5
Rounded up to 3 rolls to order
Or you can use our wallpaper calculator
Be aware if you don’t order enough and need to re order; ask for the same batch number. This may also be known as a dyelot. Buying wallpaper from different dyelots for the same wall is a risk as different batches may have a slight variance in colour or pattern. This is a good reason why it is important to have a proper measure first and double check how much you will need prior to ordering.
Lastly when buying online check to see if shipping is included & how long shipping takes. If it is coming from US you can expect a 5-6 week lead time. If its coming from Australia 3 weeks is average.
So in summary of how to choose the right wallpaper for your home:
- Find the right style for your space
- Decide what walls you are going to do
- Narrow down your pattern choices
If in doubt call us – we are here to help
Now time to shop!
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