10 Tips to Help You Avoid That Wallpaper 'Doh!' Feeling
Love the idea of wallpaper but scared you'll live to regret it? These tips will ensure you make the right decision for the long term
Laura Gaskill
18 January 2015
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More
It can add texture, colour, pattern or a painterly scene – even more so than paint, wallpaper can change the entire look of a room. But given the cost and the need for professional installation (a must), wallpaper can seem like a risky commitment. If you’ve been wanting to add wallpaper to your space but keep shying away, these 10 tips should help ease some of the fear factor. Armed with good information, you can find the right wallpaper for you.
1. Clip lots of images
If you haven’t done so already, begin collecting images of rooms with wallpaper you love. Use Houzz, clip from magazines and even snap photos of wallpaper you love in cafés and hotels. Examine the images you’ve collected and see if a pattern emerges. Do you love chinoiserie, like the stunning de Gournay wallpaper shown here? Are the wallpapers in your inspiration folder more scenic (birds, toile), bold and graphic, or subtle and organic? If you can name a few themes running through the images you love, it will help narrow down your search for the perfect paper.
If you haven’t done so already, begin collecting images of rooms with wallpaper you love. Use Houzz, clip from magazines and even snap photos of wallpaper you love in cafés and hotels. Examine the images you’ve collected and see if a pattern emerges. Do you love chinoiserie, like the stunning de Gournay wallpaper shown here? Are the wallpapers in your inspiration folder more scenic (birds, toile), bold and graphic, or subtle and organic? If you can name a few themes running through the images you love, it will help narrow down your search for the perfect paper.
2. Go with your most often preferred natural style
Whether your look leans traditional or modern, there really is a wallpaper to suit your taste – so there’s no need to force yourself into a choice that doesn’t feel totally you. Be aware of what colours, patterns and styles you are most frequently drawn to, and avoid passing fads that don’t speak to your personal style. Ideally, the wallpaper you choose will be one you’ll love for years to come.
Whether your look leans traditional or modern, there really is a wallpaper to suit your taste – so there’s no need to force yourself into a choice that doesn’t feel totally you. Be aware of what colours, patterns and styles you are most frequently drawn to, and avoid passing fads that don’t speak to your personal style. Ideally, the wallpaper you choose will be one you’ll love for years to come.
3. Get a sample and live with it
Even more important than sampling paint, which doesn’t require as much of a financial commitment, getting a wallpaper sample is a must. Tape it to the wall in the room where you want to hang it, and live with it for a while. Having the wallpaper in your space will allow you to match it to the other finishes and fabrics in the room, and notice how it looks at different times of day.
Even more important than sampling paint, which doesn’t require as much of a financial commitment, getting a wallpaper sample is a must. Tape it to the wall in the room where you want to hang it, and live with it for a while. Having the wallpaper in your space will allow you to match it to the other finishes and fabrics in the room, and notice how it looks at different times of day.
4. Know your goal
What are you hoping wallpaper will do for your space? Add depth, add texture and warmth, add shine, soften sharp architectural edges? And beyond these things, ask yourself how you want the wallpaper you choose to make you feel. When you walk into your space, do you want to feel glamorous, happy and optimistic, comforted? Or … you fill in the blank!
What are you hoping wallpaper will do for your space? Add depth, add texture and warmth, add shine, soften sharp architectural edges? And beyond these things, ask yourself how you want the wallpaper you choose to make you feel. When you walk into your space, do you want to feel glamorous, happy and optimistic, comforted? Or … you fill in the blank!
If your goal is to give your space a real wow factor, for instance, you may be disappointed if you chicken out and go with a wallpaper that is too subtle. If you are waffling, send off for samples of a few very different patterns to try – you’ll never know if you don’t try.
5. Explore all of your wall covering options
From materials beyond paper, like grass cloth, sisal, cork and Japanese silk, to textured papers that mimic marble, timber and stone, the options in wall coverings today go far beyond traditional prints. If your goal is to add warmth and cosiness, a richly textured wallpaper could be just the thing.
10 things to paper your walls with that aren’t wallpaper
From materials beyond paper, like grass cloth, sisal, cork and Japanese silk, to textured papers that mimic marble, timber and stone, the options in wall coverings today go far beyond traditional prints. If your goal is to add warmth and cosiness, a richly textured wallpaper could be just the thing.
10 things to paper your walls with that aren’t wallpaper
6. Consider the view from other rooms
Especially when you’re doing just one accent wall, choosing the right wall to cover is essential. Take a step back and peek into your room from the next space over. When you have your sample, experiment with placing it on different walls and viewing the paper from another room. How does it look against the colour of the adjoining room? Is the peek of wallpaper a welcome surprise, or is it jarring?
Especially when you’re doing just one accent wall, choosing the right wall to cover is essential. Take a step back and peek into your room from the next space over. When you have your sample, experiment with placing it on different walls and viewing the paper from another room. How does it look against the colour of the adjoining room? Is the peek of wallpaper a welcome surprise, or is it jarring?
7. Choose the right space to avoid pattern fatigue
Rooms where you spend the least amount of time are your safest bets – think hallways, stairs and powder rooms. Bedrooms, guest rooms, studies and formal dining rooms are also good contenders for wallpaper, adding style in spades without your having to put in much decorating effort.
Rooms where you spend the least amount of time are your safest bets – think hallways, stairs and powder rooms. Bedrooms, guest rooms, studies and formal dining rooms are also good contenders for wallpaper, adding style in spades without your having to put in much decorating effort.
8. Go subtle
Of course, that’s not to say you can’t enjoy wallpaper in a living room – just consider how likely you are to want to change up the other features in the space. If you frequently get the urge to change the look of your living room, it may be wise to stick with a subtly patterned or textured wallpaper to increase your matching options.
Of course, that’s not to say you can’t enjoy wallpaper in a living room – just consider how likely you are to want to change up the other features in the space. If you frequently get the urge to change the look of your living room, it may be wise to stick with a subtly patterned or textured wallpaper to increase your matching options.
8. Get professional advice
Contact a professional wallpaper hanger before placing an order for wallpaper, and ask the pro to help you figure out how much to buy. If you are working with a decorator or an interior designer, he or she should also be able to calculate this for you. Each roll has to be cut and matched precisely for a seamless look on the wall, and the amount of paper you will need to make those exact matches happen will vary depending on the size and shape of your room, and the type of wallpaper pattern you have chosen, so don’t try to guess! You don’t want to overbuy – or underbuy, and run out of paper midway through the job.
Contact a professional wallpaper hanger before placing an order for wallpaper, and ask the pro to help you figure out how much to buy. If you are working with a decorator or an interior designer, he or she should also be able to calculate this for you. Each roll has to be cut and matched precisely for a seamless look on the wall, and the amount of paper you will need to make those exact matches happen will vary depending on the size and shape of your room, and the type of wallpaper pattern you have chosen, so don’t try to guess! You don’t want to overbuy – or underbuy, and run out of paper midway through the job.
9. Get more samples before committing
Most wallpaper is non-refundable. This is because, like yarn and fabric, wallpaper is generally produced in small lots, and paper from different lots may not be an exact match in colour and tone. Even if you are fairly confident about your choice in paper and have looked at the sample for eons, it’s not a bad idea to give yourself a bit more to look at before making a big commitment. Many wallpaper companies will provide big samples, so consider asking for several big samples –you may have to pay for them, but it’s worth it! Tape up the big samples side by side on your wall to get a better idea of what the paper will look like when it covers the entire space.
And if you decide not to go with the wallpaper, you can always frame the sample to create your own unique wall art!
TELL US
Love your wallpaper? Share a photo in the Comments section.
MORE ON WALLPAPER
Roll With It! Creative Ways to Use Wallpaper at Home
Wild Walls: How to Be Bold Yet Beautiful With Wallpaper
Most wallpaper is non-refundable. This is because, like yarn and fabric, wallpaper is generally produced in small lots, and paper from different lots may not be an exact match in colour and tone. Even if you are fairly confident about your choice in paper and have looked at the sample for eons, it’s not a bad idea to give yourself a bit more to look at before making a big commitment. Many wallpaper companies will provide big samples, so consider asking for several big samples –you may have to pay for them, but it’s worth it! Tape up the big samples side by side on your wall to get a better idea of what the paper will look like when it covers the entire space.
And if you decide not to go with the wallpaper, you can always frame the sample to create your own unique wall art!
TELL US
Love your wallpaper? Share a photo in the Comments section.
MORE ON WALLPAPER
Roll With It! Creative Ways to Use Wallpaper at Home
Wild Walls: How to Be Bold Yet Beautiful With Wallpaper
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@Deborah Reed, I absolutely love William Morris. Planning on having DH make drapes for the dining room in Strawberry Thief in navy. We'll pull the paint color from the material.
Btw, your room looks fabulous.
Very happy with this “risky” choice for my kids’ bathroom
Although this article is from years ago there is one thing that still holds true about all wallpapers and selecting what is right for you.
consider:
When selecting something so pretty (you must have it!) for example:
a sample or even two of it might not be enough to see the entire effect it will have once up.
This becomes evident only after you have papered the entire wall...or half way though a wall. Make sure the pattern you select will be OK WITH YOU (tastes are subjective) IF, after installed, it has a vertical (from ceiling to floor) repeat pattern making it appear like just long tall rows of the same thing over and over.
One good example of paper perhaps not suited for entire wall installation although BEAUTIFUL is the pretty peacock pattern paper that someone WISELY just framed a piece of as shown in this article. This is beautiful as shown BUT...if you hung that same sort of thing on an entire wall it might not look as stunning and more of just repeat, repeat, repeat. Tile patterns sometimes can be the same way FYI....
In other words, This can be an issue if you select (for example) a pretty bird on branches type of thing that looks so pretty as a "single picture of one piece" of the paper.....but, once installed you see the same row over and over and over. It may not look so pretty then....just vertical rows (or horizonal, depending on pattern) of the same thing. No randomize "natural" look.
Other more random pattern (like the Gingko # 10) may work for you if a total repeat over and over is not your thing on the big design picture for you room. There are quite a few more random patterns above plus some patterns that need a lot of matching but will NOT look like the same thing top to bottom repeatedly.
Learned the hard way...and expensive way.