Choosing the right wallpaper can completely transform a space creating atmosphere, personality, and visual interest in your home.
There are many considerations you’ll want to keep in mind when choosing wallpaper.
This guide from industry experts: I Wallpaper Interiors explains everything you need to know before buying wallpaper in Australia. From choosing the right pattern for your homes style to understanding materials that are available and measuring correctly.
Before choosing a wallpaper design, consider the style and architecture of your home.
Ignoring the overall style of your home can result in wallpaper that feels out of place.
For example; if you have a traditional Queenslander home, heritage style wallpapers often suit the space best.
Many of these homes traditionally have the wallpaper hung from a picture rail to the ceiling.
If your home doesn’t have a particular or dominant style, you have more freedom to choose wallpaper based on your personal taste and the atmosphere you want to create.
One of the most important decisions is whether you want to wallpaper an entire room or create a feature wall.
A feature wall should ideally be placed on the wall that already acts as the focal point of the room. Or where you want to draw the eye to. For example:
Or will you be hanging wallpaper on all the walls?
Pro tips when styling a room this way are:
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.
The scale of a wallpaper pattern should suit the size of the wall and the room.
Large patterns work best on larger walls where the design can be appreciated without being interrupted by doors or windows. For example, placing a mural or large design on a small wall with many cut-outs can result in the main part of the design being lost.
On the other hand, very small repeating patterns can sometimes appear too busy when used across all walls, especially in a small room.
Think about whether you want your wallpaper to be:
Colour plays a big role in creating the atmosphere of a room.
When choosing wallpaper colours, think about how you want the room to feel.
Examples include:
Calming spaces
Bedrooms work well with softer colours such as pale blues, sage greens or lavender tones to create a soft calming environment.
Dramatic spaces
Darker colours can add drama and sophistication and are often used in dining rooms, media rooms or formal living areas.
A helpful approach is to select a colour already present in the room such as furniture, flooring, or curtains. Then match the wallpaper to that tone.
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 can be particularly effective at night under artificial lights so use it in a room that makes the most of that light.
The next question to ask when buying wallpaper online is; what is the wallpaper made of?
The main wallpaper types are;
Using leftover wallpaper in small areas can add personality to your home while minimising waste.
Ok so you have chosen a wallpaper; how much do you need to buy?
Most wallpaper is sold by the roll. (Less often 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
If you need to order more wallpaper later, 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.
When choosing wallpaper, keep these key points in mind:
If you are unsure which wallpaper will suit your space best, expert advice can make the process much easier.
Explore the curated wallpaper collections available at I Wallpaper Interiors to find the perfect design for your home.
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