How to Design Wallpaper for a Room
Wallpaper has returned from style exile and is once again a favorite among decorators and designers. Using wallpaper correctly requires careful planning. It can be a truly beautiful addition to your home, but it can't be removed or changed as easily as paint. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Decide on the effect you want to create with your wallpaper. If you want to create a soothing room, use pastel or neutral colors, subtle patterns, and plain or soft textures like grasscloth. If you want to energize your room, choose bold patterns, bright colors and metallics.
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Learn wallpaper's golden rule: "The bigger the room, the smaller the pattern, and vice versa." A big room will look like a circus tent with a bold pattern. A small room, like a powder room, can look truly exceptional with a bold pattern.
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Be realistic about the type of wallpaper you choose. Many wallpapers are extremely durable and are good choices for areas that may get a lot of traffic or could get wet. Other wallpapers would be ruined almost immediately by water, food or dirt. Some wallpapers also have a limited lifespan by their very nature. Grasscloth is beautiful, but eventually it will get dusty. If you are absolutely in love with wallpaper that is not very durable, consider using wainscoting on half of the wall to protect it from kids, pets, and other messy creatures in your home.
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Investigate resistance to light. If your wallpaper will be in a sunny room, make sure it's designed to resist fading.
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Consider the time of day you use your room. If you want a room that looks good day and night, you need to live with samples of your wallpaper for a few days. A metallic flocked number may be stunning in the evening, but put you off your breakfast in the morning. Also, colors can change drastically in different lights, especially if you are working with a non-neutral. A flesh color, for instance, may look yellow, orange, or pink, depending on the lighting.
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Design your own wallpaper. For the artistic or adventurous, there are websites that allow you to submit your own designs or photographs and make them into wallpaper (see resources below). You can use family photos, a favorite graphic, or paint, or you can illustrate your own pattern.
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Buy your furniture first. If you are completely re-designing a room, purchase expensive items like your furniture and flooring before deciding on your wall treatments. There are virtually endless choices in wallpaper and paint colors. Upholstery and wood finishes are more limited.
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Tips & Warnings
Change wall treatments in warmer weather to speed drying times.
Amateurs should generally not attempt to hang wallpaper. It takes years to learn to do it flawlessly. Hire a pro if you can afford it. Don't choose wallpaper if you like to redecorate your rooms frequently.
