Choosing the Perfect Wallpaper

The interior design of a home is one of the ways that homeowners can express themselves and put a piece of their personality in their layout. There are many aspects of interior design ranging from flooring and furniture to lighting and accents. Wallpaper can serve to enhance the look and feel of a space. Often, wallpaper can blend into the background due to the natural focus on the furniture in the room. When used to effect, wallpaper can actually set the tone for a room.

The covering that you choose for the wall can contribute to making a room larger and brighter. With the seemingly endless designs to choose from today, wallpaper can be used for to provide a dramatic or subtle effect, changing the feel of the entire area. There are a variety of options to choose from and that can be overwhelming.

Here are several factors to consider when choosing the perfect wallpaper for your home.

Style

Each room gives off its own distinct style, whether it’s trendy and modern, romantic or casual. It’s best to match the style of the wallpaper to the furniture; you don’t want to have a mismatch of themes in one room. You want to decide the style of the room before deciding on the wallpaper. This will narrow down your options and make it easier to choose.

Trendy and Modern: this usually consists of bold patterns with clean straight lines. Some of these designs can feature metallic accents to add a futuristic look. The trend today seems to be the bigger, the better. Large scale designs and florals are making a statement today.

Romantic: this will be a design that is more muted and softer in color. The designs would be fine and delicate florals or damasks to add a whimsical expression to the room.

Casual: this is the common choice for creating an “at home” feel. Some popular options that line up with the casual theme are stucco wallpaper or bead board wallpaper. Both are devoid of any major patterns and this makes it easier to design a room around the wallpaper. It provides more flexibility and depending on the colours chosen, can make a room feel open and airy.

Placement

There are a variety of ways to use the wallpaper to achieve the result you want. One of these ways is choice of placement.

All four walls: this is usually a sought out option as it is the more practical one. Covering all four walls with a clean cut, simply designed wallpaper will give the room a fresh look.

One wall only: this is typically known as the accent wall. Cover one wall only with an eye-popping design of colors and/or metallic outlines can add a trendy twist to the room. This is an effective technique to highlight a certain area of a room.

Lighting

How is the lighting in the room that you are planning to decorate? Are there any windows? If there are where are they located? These are all questions a homeowner should ask themselves when choosing wallpaper.

Here are some facts about lighting to consider:

• Patterns with light colors or have a metallic tinge to them will reflect light around a room (this is good for rooms with minimal lighting).
• Smooth surface wallpapers (usually one basic colour) are optimal to reflect maximum light (this is good for rooms with minimal to no lighting).
• Dark wallpaper will absorb light and make the room appear smaller. Unless there are large windows letting in a lot of light, dark wallpaper is not recommended for smaller rooms.

There you have it, by considering these factors when buying wallpaper, you will at least narrow down your options to choose the best wallpaper to suit your home and your preferences.