10 EXPERT TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT WALLPAPER FOR YOUR LIVING ROOM

1. Whole Room or Accent Wall?

Do you want to wallpaper the whole room or just the accent wall? Don’t be afraid to paper the whole room, especially if it is a large airy space or if you want to choose a design with subtle shapes and colours. If you want to choose a design that is closer to a piece of art than traditional wallpaper, choose which accent wall you want to cover.

2. Decide on the Mood of the Room

You need to decide what mood or “vibe” you want the room to have. Think about how you want to feel, what furniture you want to use to accent the room (whether you plan to buy all-new furniture or use your current pieces), and the architecture of the home. A romantic floral vibe works perfectly in a cottage or country home but may not work as well in an industrial-style flat.

3. What Effect Do You Want the Wallpaper to Have?

We’ve discussed what mood you want your wallpaper to offer you, but also be aware that certain patterns and designs can make your space look bigger or smaller. If you have low ceilings and you want your room to feel big, light, and airy, choose light-coloured vertical stripes as the stripes create an illusion of more height.

4. Textured vs Flat

Textured wallpapers aren’t a thing of the past – these days, they are incredibly stylish and of high quality. Generally, a textured wallpaper offers a more relaxed feel to a room, whereas a flat design gives a more elegant and angular feel to the room.

5. Think About the Journey

When you, or a guest, step into your home where do they have to go to get to the living space? What wall do they see through the doorway? It’s easy to forget that the living room, though often the heart of the home, should tie into the rest of the home in some way, even if you purposefully juxtapose the rest of the home. Think about the décor in the rest of the home and the routes you normally take to get to the living room when you choose your wallpaper, especially if you have wallpaper elsewhere in the home.

6. Order Samples

All wallpaper vendors and manufacturers are (or should be) more than happy to send you a good-sized sample for you to apply to the wall, so take advantage of this. Order samples of the wallpapers you have your eye on and apply them to the wall and live with them for a couple of days. One will stand out as your favourite and it isn’t always the one you had your eye on when browsing online.

7. Temporary or Long Term?

You may choose to decorate with wallpaper so you can change up the look of the room frequently. If this is the case, ensure you choose a wallpaper that is easy to apply and remove. Wallpaper with a non-woven backing is fully strippable, so you can remove it and apply a different design whenever you next desire a change. If you’re someone who likes to redecorate your home frequently, wallpaper is your friend.

8. Preparation is Key

There’s no sense in paying for luxury wallpaper in your ideal design if you’re just going to slap it on a wall with no preparation. If you want to get a premium finish you’ve got to give some consideration to the preparation of the wall. Don’t forget to sand and fill lumps and bumps, pre-paint skirting boards so you don’t paint over the wallpaper, and don’t buy a budget adhesive. If you spend time on the preparation before you hang your wallpaper, you’ll get the luxury finish you’re dreaming of.

9. Buy a Little More than You Need

Carefully measure your walls to determine exactly how much wallpaper you’ll need, and then add a little for mistakes. If you have a very specific design or pattern that needs to be matched up perfectly, you may find you need a little more wallpaper than you initially calculated in order to get the perfect match of pattern.

10. Hire Professionals

Unless you’re experienced or choosing a very simple design, hire professionals to hang your wallpaper for you. They hang wallpaper day-in, day-out, so they’ll be able to do it quickly and without any of the errors you may make on your own. If you’re planning to pay a little more for a premium wallpaper (as we recommend you do for the quality) you also don’t want to waste paper and adhesive if you get it wrong.

If you are embarking on a large project and would like an expert to guide you on how to find the very best wallpaper manufacturers and how to choose the paper for your room, we are happy to help. You can contact us at any time and we’ll be more than happy to discuss your project with you. Simply reach out to connect with Paul on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-walden/ or drop Paul a message here https://www.paulwaldeninteriors.com/contact/