Wonder walls: Why this is the year to embrace wallpaper

Getting dressed in the mornings, we’re presented with many options. Do these shoes go with these pants? Does the weather call for a jacket? Should I even bother wearing a watch even though I know I’ll turn to my phone when I want to check the time?

Similarly, dressing an interior space is also matched with endless decision making. But when it comes to walls, we usually lean towards painting them when another option looms: wallpaper.

If you’re looking to make a bold statement in an interior setting, wallpaper offers both a wall covering and art all in one.

However, there’s more to integrating wallpaper into a space than simply dipping a paintbrush into a paint pot.

Some careful planning is required to pull the job off, from determining how much wallpaper you need to the application process.

The first consideration is choosing the wallpaper itself; what looks good in the showroom or the restaurant interior may not always translate into your home.

Sophie Tatlow of Utopia Goods, a Sydney-based business specialising in wallpaper, textiles and furnishings inspired by Australian botanicals, says “certain patterns suit certain spaces better”.

“For more transient spaces, you can get away with a louder wallpaper, so if you’re in a hallway or bathroom, you can have something bolder because you spend less time in these spaces.”

The scale of the print or pattern can also determine the overall effect it will have in the room.

Annie Coop, a textile and wallpaper designer servicing residential and commercial interiors projects, explains: “if you have a tiny pattern in a large room it can be lost, but I think it can work the other way, where a large pattern in a cloakroom or entryway can add character to it”.

Before locking in any wallpaper design, make sure you request a sample first.

“Tape the sample on the wall in the room you want and leave it up for a couple of days,” says Coop.

“Then see how the pattern looks at different times of the day – morning, afternoon and evening – because something you saw in a shop won’t always look the same at home depending on the light in the room.”

For the pattern and repeat to appear seamless in the room, undisturbed flat surfaces generally work best.

“If you’re hoping to use a complicated design where the repeat is big in a room that’s got lots of windows or doors, you have to be careful because once you’re cutting out the doors and the windows, you’ll lose the sense of the repeat,” warns Tatlow.

She recommends choosing a simpler design with a smaller scale repeat or one to two colours in these spaces.

Once you’ve locked in the wallpaper design, work with the person you’re buying it from or an interiors expert to determine how much you’ll need, with some reserves as back up.

If you end up needing the extra and didn’t order it, there might be a delay in getting it reprinted, and you could end up with an unfinished wall.

Both Coop and Tatlow also recommend, if possible, hiring a professional wallpaper installer for the application process.

‘A pattern repeat and matching it up is really difficult to achieve if you’re inexperienced,’ says Tatlow.

A professional installer can determine if your walls are smooth enough for the application of specific patterns.

‘If you’ve got uneven walls and you’re putting up stripes, they will appear wonky,’ says Coop.

‘They’ll [the installer] also look at the pattern for balance and harmony with the repeat.’

And how many walls should you cover?

While it’s a preference based on the space, person and personal style, both designers prefer covering entire spaces instead of using wallpaper as a feature wall.

‘It’s a bit like wearing one sock; you can have much more synergy in the room when all the walls are wallpapered,’ says Tatlow.