What Kind Of Wallpaper Is Best For Me?

So many wallpapers to choose from - how do you know which is the right choice? Here are a few guidelines that might help.

Wallpaper choices should be made carefully, since usually it is left on the walls for several years - at least. More than one family has been shocked and disappointed by their own wallpaper choice, once they see it on the wall. Think about what you want from your wallpaper, aside from it making the room look nice. Do you want the room to look larger? Do you want it to seem cozier? It's amazing what certain designs and colors can do for a room - or to a room. Dark colors in a small room can make it seem cold and uncomfortable. Light colors in an already large room can make the room look too huge and empty. And certain colors can look beautiful on the roll, but once you put yard after yard after yard of that same color up, the finished look can be horrendous. And after the wallpaper is up, the only choices you have are to spend more money to do the job a second time, or just live with the hideous paper.

Keep certain things in mind when choosing wallpaper. Stripes make a small room look larger, but can clash with certain furnishings. Large patterns are for large rooms. Small patterns - small rooms. The exception is sometimes doing one wall in a large pattern, then the other three walls in solids or small patterns. Small rooms benefit from light colors but dark colors can make a large room look smaller and cozier. And even if the colors are light, small rooms look tacky with wallpaper that is real distractive. Borders are beautiful but more appropriate for rooms with high ceilings.

Samples of wallpaper are available and you can take them home to see if the furnishings are coordinating, but it's hard to tell by the tiny piece whether or not it will compliment the walls and the room. Since most wallpaper has a print, stripes or pattern, it's easy to get confused about what patterns will or won't match your decor.

One rule of thumb when selecting wallpaper is to choose colors from your decor that are also in the wallpaper. Choose two or three colors from the sofa or other furniture, like olive and white, then look for wallpaper that has those colors only. Or choose a color that sets off the olive and green - like red - to paper the wall where the sofa is. Then do the other walls in something more coordinated to the olive and white shades.

If the room has paneling and you'll be leaving it up, but doing one or two walls in paper, don't choose colors that will clash with the brown of the paneling. Other shades of brown or tan probably won't be suitable. Gray is another shade that might not work well with the paneling.

Colors and patterns aren't the only thing to concern yourself with when choosing wallpaper. If you have children or pets, you'll want wallpaper that washes easily, but won't fade. If you're going for an elegant look, wallpaper with foil or velvet inlays are nice, but not easily washed. Don't skimp much on the price of wallpaper; go for quality for best results.

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