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Top Tips for Choosing Wallpaper

June 28 2020

Switching up your wallpaper is the easiest way to give any room a new lease of life – but where to begin? The range of available options has gone through the roof over the last few years, both in terms of application types and aesthetics. Whether you’re after traditional, pre-pasted or self-adhesive wallpaper, you can be sure there’s a pattern, colour or mural out there for you. It’s just a question of finding it!

There are a few tips and tricks to keep up your sleeve when perusing for prints. You might be torn between a bold or safe choice, different colours, patterned or plain, imitation looks… The options really are endless! But we’re here to help you navigate these bountiful waters with cool composure, so that you can re-decorate with confidence.

Choosing Wallpaper: a few pointers

Take it Slow

Whatever you do, don’t rush the choice! Even if you fall head-over-heels for a particular print, take the time to consider it with a cool head before you order metres and metres of paper. Be prepared to take a few weeks, if not more, to think about colours and patterns, to experiment, and to walk around stores with swathes of fabric, or photos of your room, in your pockets.

If you have a few options in mind, consider ordering a print sample to get an idea of how different wallpapers will look on your walls. Alternatively, you can order a free sample pack to test adhesion compatibility and different texture options.

Look to the Light

Consider the levels and behaviour of natural light in your room. The amount of light a space gets will play an essential role in determining what you can and cannot get away with! Bright, light colours look fantastic in rooms awash with sunlight, but they can look washed-out and dim in darker spaces. In the latter case, patterns and colours that camouflage the shadows in the corners give the illusion of more space and light.

Trust your Judgement, not the Trends

It doesn’t take much looking back to identify trends that your parents or grandparents proudly followed but regret to this day. Take inspiration from what designers are touting this season, but you’ll ultimately be happier if you make a choice that sits well with you. This doesn’t mean that you have to play it safe! Simply that there’s a difference between healthily pushing your comfort zone and going against your better judgement. 

Get Experimental

If you think you like a particular colour or print, buy one strip and hang it in your room. Leave it there for a few days, and see how you feel every time you walk past it. See how it goes with the furniture, with your wall art, how it matches the mood of the room… The more prints you do this with, the more informed your decision will be! 

Get Techy

For the slightly more savvy techies amongst us, photoshop is a great tool you can use to see how a scheme will come together. Simply upload an image of your room and the print, and see whether they agree with each other – and with you. In addition, the wonders of AR technology have taken away the need for us to purely rely on our imagination. Try the Luxe Walls App to see different wallpaper designs in your home like never before.

Be wary of Extremes

Aggressively bright colours need large bright spaces to be able to carry them. Conversely, dark colours work best in smaller, cosier spaces. If your room is more of an in-between range, these extremes of colour can easily overwhelm the area and become suffocating. 

Matchy-matchy? Maybe not…

Don’t be tempted to match everything in the room to the walls (or vice-versa): a one-dimensional colour scheme shrinks space and can feel a little saccharine. Give your room depth and definition by playing with colours, shades and patterns. 

Most importantly, remember to enjoy the process just as much as the finished product!