Wallpaper stores and decorating stores have a great knack for making decorating look cheap, until you add up the total in your shopping cart and see that it is going to cost you a small fortune. So, it is not something you want to mess up. Make sure you buy from a store that will refund you for items you do not use (extra wallpaper rolls, unused paint, etc). Here are some tips that will help you to choose your wallpaper.
The different types of wallpaper
• Embossed paper is textured and very good for painting. Textured paper is easy enough to clean once it is painted, and is not too difficult to hang once you get the hang of it. It is ideal for walls that have imperfections in them.
• Fabric wallpaper is also texture based but is very difficult to hang. It is also very hard to clean, and you should do a little bit of research before trying to hang it yourself. For example, it is recommended that you use a special kind of clear paste when hanging it.
• Flock wallpaper has a pattern to it that has its design raised with a velvet-like material. You will find the design on vinyl or paper, and it is usually difficult to clean. It is very difficult to hang, just like fabric wallpaper. Some types are easier to hang and wash, but most are difficult to clean or handle.
• Foil wallpaper is a metallic looking wallpaper that is very easy to clean once it is up, but is quite difficult to hang because it is hard to keep level and even. You should use a clear adhesive that will help to prevent any bleeding, and it is very difficult to remove after it is hung and dried.
• Grass cloth is a little bit risky, but some interior designers have made it look great. It is woven from strands of grass. It is notoriously difficult to clean and very difficult to hang. Plus, you must use a clear adhesive to prevent any bleeding.
• Vinyl is what most wallpaper is made from because it is very easy to hang and easy to clean. It is also very good for places that have a high-moisture content such as in the bathroom.
Take a stroll around a wallpaper and decorating store
Sometimes all the artist needs to see is the paint before he or she is inspired. Take a stroll around the wallpaper and decorating stores and look at what is on offer. How can you know what you love if you do not explore what is on offer? It may just be a case of you finding the one pattern you love, and then building your design around it.
Consider wallpaper and painting too
You do not need to paint only or wallpaper only. Why not mix the two up. You can paint the top half of the walls and paper the bottom of the wall, with a dado rail or a border running through the divide in the middle. It is not as off the wall as you may imagine, since you probably already paint your ceiling and paper your walls. You can also have paper on the top half of your walls and paint on the bottom half. There are even decorators who will paper the two darkest walls in a room, and will paint the other two walls. You could try painting the wall that the sofa sits against with a really bold color, and papering the other walls.
Copy the decor of another home that you really like
This has been done for generations; since the cavemen painted on walls and their wives asked for a fitted kitchen to compete. You can copy a home you have seen on TV, in magazines or in real life. It makes no difference where you get the idea from, because the chances are that by the time you apply it to your house that it will have evolved into something that is uniquely yours. Consider taking elements from one home and applying it to your home. For example, the color scheme may not suit your home, but the light fittings may be ideal for your home.
Use interior designer software to test your ideas
There are more and more of these kicking around online at the moment, and there are even apps you can download. Do not go spending a lot of money on this sort of software because there is a very good chance that you will only use it once. Still, consider this type of software for your decorating project.
Be adventurous and test a few ideas
Uninspired and boring interior design is common among people who just refuse to try something new. You do not have to completely decorate your room in your new design, just try a micro version on your wall and use your imagination to try to envision it on all of your walls. Test a few adventurous ideas and try something different. It is your house, so do as you please and stop living your life in beige.
Learn about contrasting and harmonizing colors
Look online for a color contrasting and color harmonizing chart. The principal is very simple. You are given a color wheel. Pick a color on it and the colors next to it and around it are its harmonizing colors. The wheel works so that the further around the wheel that you go then the more the colors contrast from the original. If you jump straight across the wheel then that is the color that is a direct contrast to the one you chose. Sometimes contrasting colors look awful and sometimes it works very well.
Understand that different textures can be a good thing
Sometimes having the same texture on every wall, from top to bottom, looks good. But, on many occasions, the uniformity is dull and uninspired.
Having everything matching is never a good thing
Symmetry and having everything match is not a good thing. Good room design is not about creating a symmetric room with everything looking the same. A room should have focal points. It should have points that draw the eye and points that lead the eye.
Choose lighter colors in a smaller room
A small room can be made to look even smaller if it has very dark colors on the walls. Lighter colors (including white) are going to make your room bigger. There are lots of reasons for this, but the most plausible is because lighter colored walls allow shadows to be cast and make it easier to see the corners of the room. This gives the room a little bit more of a three dimensional perspective. The lack of this perspective will make our brains interpret the room as smaller.
Consider white textured paper so you can paint it
Textured paper is going to cover imperfections in your walls. It is also going to give your room a bit more texture and feel. Sometimes a painted wall may look good, but may also create the feeling that you are living in an office or a works unit. Textured wallpaper removes this feeling (and removes any echo factor), and the fact that you can paint it means you are not restricted by color in any way.
