Wallpapers for Newbies: How to Design for Maximum Impact

person planning an interior design

One interior decorating trend that’s experiencing a revival right now is wallpaper. What was once seen as an outdated décor element now has homeowners foregoing paint for bold and trendy wallpaper colors and patterns.

And why not? The right wallpaper can easily transform a blah space into a stylish and dramatic space. Read on for some wallpaper design tricks — from buying wallpaper to where and how you can hang it.

1. Use wallpaper suitable for your home.

Different wallpaper designs work with different styles of homes and architecture. For instance, textured wallpaper such as those with woven or natural fibers looks perfect in contemporary homes. Because contemporary homes typically have fewer walls and more windows, the texture form the wallpaper lends extra warmth and interest.

2. Test first before buying.

If you’re a teeny bit concerned about using wallpaper, try buying some test rolls that you can pin up on your wall. See how you feel about it to decide whether you’ll enjoy how it will look with your existing décor and at different times of day bathed in different lights.

3. Remember to start small.

One of the best rooms to test out wallpaper is a powder room. If you find that it looks great, it will encourage you that you could start testing wallpaper in other rooms. You could likewise consider putting up wallpaper in your closet since it’s a private and relatively small space.

4. Don’t be scared of going big.

If you’ve decided that you want to wallpaper a room, you have to go big and put up wallpaper in the entire space so that you can create a stylish and cohesive interior. Don’t be scared of bold and massive patterns as well, since the right pattern could make a tiny space appear bigger.

5. Don’t stop at your walls.

The ceiling is probably one of the most overlooked areas of modern-day interior design. But decorating the ceiling with wallpaper is fairly easy and can serve as an accent “wall” instead of an actual wall.

6. Mix and match.

turquoise wall living roomSelect a couple of wallpaper designs that go well together and mix them up. You can also find wallpapers with shapes or border that you could cut out. You could then cut and paste the borders and shapes over another wallpaper or painted wall.

7. Use multiple patterns.

Generally speaking, the only space where wallpaper might not work is in a space that already has plenty of patterns. For example, if your living room already has printed drapes or patterned statement sofa, then a wallpaper with a bold pattern will most probably clash with the room’s existing décor. Basically, choose where exactly you want to have a pattern and let other elements in the room breathe.

Don’t forget to buy some extra rolls of wallpaper and make sure to save at least one roll in the event that you will need to repair a part of your wallpapered space in the future. This way, you won’t need to hunt down the exact same design.

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