7 Tips Before you Buying a Wallpapers for Room

Feel like you are ready to take the plunge and switch from paint to wallpaper?

Once the road less travelled, wallpapers have become increasingly popular and are the easiest thing to breathe new life into an existing space.

Whether you are decorating an area or redecorating an old home, wallpapers can bring about a whole world of difference and help express your individuality.

But how do you choose from the extensive range of striking colours, the artistic patterns and the bold prints?

When it comes to wallpapers, one size does not fit all. So here are a few considerations to make while picking ‘The One’:

Recommended reading: Discover 5 amazing uses of Wall Wraps

7 things before you being wallpapers for room

The correct pattern for the mood of the room

The most important aspect to consider is the mood of the room. What type of vibe do you want the space to emit? Romantic? Fun? Casual? Traditional? Or artistic? As the mood, so the pattern. For example, delicate Victorian and floral motifs can create a luxurious, classical look for a bedroom but can look out-of-place in a den. Metallics are the new favourite and can make a bold fashion statement for homeowners wishing to present their walls as art.

If you prefer stripes, make sure to use them in a way that enhances the height of the room. If space has antique furniture and needs to stand out, then it’s best to opt for a wallpaper with subtle prints that add to the whole ambience yet don’t overpower anything.

Colour Play

Colours can make a world of difference in enhancing the look of a space. Pastel colours bring warmth while bold and bright colours ooze sensuality & regalia. For a bedroom, a soft green or a calming lavender would be an ideal choice. On the other hand, bright yellows and oranges can add a fun, playful look to a kid’s room. Expert tip: A wallpaper with a slight sheen helps in bouncing light around a darker space & thus makes any room brighter.

Recommended reading: Five ways to accentuate room corners

The design placement

Once you have committed to a wallpaper pattern and colour, the next step is the placement of the wallpaper. You can either place it on all 4 walls or highlight just one wall with a bold patterned wallpaper for a dramatic effect. You can even add a touch of it to your ceiling as a way of complimenting the walls.

Another interesting option would be to break up the look with a border. The use of two complementing wallpapers on alternate walls is also a way to make space look fancier. You can always mix and match when in a wallpaper shop to see what patterns/colours look good next to each other.

Choice of paper

Besides the pattern, colours and textures, what essentially matters is the type of wallpaper to be used. This majorly depends on what you will use the room for. Bathrooms would always require water-resistant papers, although bedrooms won’t. Based on the room type, you can choose wallpapers for room from:

1. Wallpapers that need to be applied paste before hanging
2. Wallpapers that need paste to be applied on the wall instead of the paper
3. Self-adhesive wallpapers

Most of the wallpapers can be wiped down if it becomes stained, scuffed or greasy, but the extent to which it can be cleaned differs depending on the quality of the wallpaper.

Recommended reading: 11 tactics to improve air quality without appliances

Quantity of paper to be purchased

The easiest (yet important) part of wallpaper selection is figuring out how much wallpaper to buy. Measure the entire space to be covered and deduct the windows, doors or any other openings.

All wall measurements must be added to get the total square footage. When ordering online, always keep in mind that you may not like a particular wallpaper in person. So be careful before you order the whole thing until you see how it looks on one of your walls. Also, it’s always wiser to order an extra roll that can be returned.

Online or Offline?

When it comes to ideas, we have a world of brilliant ones at the click on a button. So even though choosing wallpaper for room can seem daunting, you have a lot of information to take inspiration from.

Whether you prefer ordering online or personally surfing through various options in a wallpaper shop, it’s always good to do some research. A lot of wallpaper shops have pattern books where you can check out actual samples in person (and if you’re lucky, they may let you take a sample home).

Recommended reading: 7 Special Events You Can Gift Flower Bouquet

Trial & error, before going the distance

It can be very troublesome if you’ve already ordered rolls and rolls of a particular wallpaper for rooms but do not like when it goes up on the walls. So do not rush into placing an impulsive order before taking into consideration if that design can become dated and lead to buyer’s remorse down the line.

The best thing is to order a sample instead of a full roll and see how it looks. One more alternative to this is you can always go to a wallpaper shop and find something similar to what you may have seen online. One common mistake during an in-store purchase is that many of us forget to double-check batch numbers. Always make sure the batch number of each roll received is identical, as mismatched batch numbers often mean the pattern won’t match up and the colours may turn out different too.

Designing, or re-designing, space always takes a lot of effort. Add to that the fact that design trends change constantly. It’s easy to get tempted by something that you may see online and would feel like you MUST have it. But what you must remember is that the wallpaper you put up should reflect your style.

Even the wallpaper shop you visit may showcase a million designs leading to complete confusion. So always take your time before you buying wallpapers for room and understanding the correct pattern, colour palette and placement of the wallpaper according to the space you want to design. And then…Watch your space to make a statement on your behalf.