How To Pick The Perfect Wallpaper

Picking out the right wallpaper can be even more daunting than picking out a colour to paint your home. Wallpaper takes a lot of time and effort to put up, so you want to be sure you’re one hundred percent certain with your choice.

With that many options out there though, also with different ways of wallpapering (feature walls, strips of different papers etc.) how can you begin to consider what you want to paper onto your walls?

Colour Wheels

The first and most important decision you should make is what colour or colour scheme you want the room you are wallpapering to have. Regardless of your liking for a patterned or textured wallpaper, the general colour theme will help you narrow down the endless choices so you can begin to look at what’s relevant. You don’t want to start with no solid idea of what colour you a) like and b) know will suit the room and whatever furniture and accessories are going to be in it.

Using colour scales or wheels can be a good starting point. You’ll find that you can pick up shade selectors in almost any Home & DIY store – they will be next to the paints. You’ll need to be specific in the tone and shade of the colour you choose too. A deep sea blue compared to the same colour with a hint of green can make a tremendous difference to the feel of a room.

Patterns vs Plain

Once you’ve settled on a colour, you can look into types of wallpaper that are available in that shade, or shades close to it. If you chose mint green for your bathroom, for example, are you going to want detailed wallpaper, a subtly detailed one or a completely plain one?

All have their benefits and all have their cons. Overly detailed paper can look ugly if the room is particularly cluttered or has a lot of clashing items in. However, plain coloured paper can also make a room look boring and on dimensional.

You may want to consider getting complimentary plain and detailed rolls and using the details roll as a feature wall – one wall that has the detailing on. This can make for a much more pleasing to the eye design and will also allow you to be more creative with the decor.

Wallpaper vs Vinyls

Keep in mind the different types of wallpapers that are out there, other than the usual rolls of plain flat design paper.

Embossed – this is a great choice for those of you looking to cover up an unsightly wall as it can hide a multitude of sins with its slightly lumpy and bumpy surface. This isn’t for everyone and there can be a danger of it looking old fashioned.

Vinyl – perfect for any rooms where the walls are likely to get wet. Bathrooms and kitchens can be great rooms to choose vinyl wallpaper for as they can be wiped down and are easy to clean successfully. Plus they won’t get horribly soggy after years of steaming via showering or cooking. Note that these papers are a lot more difficult than regular papers to get off due to the stronger adhesive.

Fabric – Fabric can be an absolutely beautiful and delicate touch to a room, and they are truly personal. These are not for homes with children as they can be easily ruined with sticky fingers, as well as felt tip pens, of course.

Customised Wallpaper

If you simply can’t find anything to suit you, there are many companies that offer bespoke services. You will be able to design everything about the paper from the colour to the design.

Be aware that these can be very costly, as if you have something you wish to be hand drawn it will need to be done by a skilled artisan. These can push costs up massively. For anyone with the budget, we would highly recommend trying a custom company out.

If you have any friends who have a basic use of photo editing software, why not ask them if they can transfer over the wallpaper onto a photo of your desired room?

This isn’t a major job for anyone with the know how and can really help you see the full picture as swatches you get from the DIY store often show little in terms of the finished result. This is also a great idea for anyone who is looking to do property investment and wants to see what the final product would look like.