Wallpaper Guide

After you decide on your preferred type of wallpaper, it’s time to choose a design. You may wish to use one pattern across all walls, choose multiple coordinating wallpaper prints, or wallpaper some walls and paint others. Consider room size, how naturally bright or dark the space is, and any limiting features of the space when selecting your wallpaper design. 

Smaller prints or patterns featuring vertical stripes are often best in small rooms because they won't overpower the space, while large rooms have plenty of wall area for larger, bold designs. Beyond pattern size, when deciding which wallpaper designs you prefer, also consider the mood of the room, the colors and styles of your accent furniture, and any room themes or elements you’d like to echo in the print. 

Your wallpaper can work together with trim, furniture, bedding, and decor—but it doesn’t have to match exactly. Explore these tips for making wallpaper designs and room decor work together. 

• Use Popular Wallpaper Designs and Styles: Floral prints, stripes, polka dots, and botanical designs are perennial favorites that never go out of style. Choose from vintage-inspired designs or contemporary wallpaper patterns for a look that you’ll love for years. 
• Pull Inspiration from Bedding and Furniture: While bedding and furniture don’t have to match your walls, incorporating colors from your favorite bedding or furniture can help create a streamlined look. 
• Wallpaper Doesn’t Have to Match: As with mixing and matching bedding, you can combine different wallpaper designs to create a look that’s all your own. Consider pairing florals and stripes, a textured design with a botanical print, or a mini dot pattern with a large-scale blossom print. 
• Create an Accent Wall: You don’t even have to choose between paint versus wallpaper: You can have the best of both by creating a chic accent wall with one—whether it's adorned with wallpaper or painted—and finishing the rest of the room with the other. 
• Split the Space Horizontally: An alternative to an accent wall, try applying one wallpaper pattern to the top portion of the wall, then a different, coordinating pattern to the bottom section, and install a chair rail where the seams meet. For a sophisticated look, choose two different colors of the same simple pattern. 
• Keep Longevity in Mind: When choosing wallpaper for a kid’s room, consider their interests, but also select a design that can grow with them. Add extra personality with fun curtains and decorations.  

Apartments, business locations, and other rented spaces often have restrictions on painting or altering the walls, but removable wallpaper may allow you to add some personality while honoring your lease agreement. Renter-friendly peel-and-stick wallpaper adds temporary color and patterns to your space and, when installed correctly, the adhesive-backed panels are easy to remove without leaving behind sticky glue or bits of paper. Even though temporary wallpaper won’t damage the walls, you may still want to check with your landlord first. 

For a big impact in a rented space, apply wallpaper with a large, bold print to create an accent wall. Choose your decorative pillows, furniture, and bedding with your wallpaper design in mind: Select one of the design’s primary hues and add pops of that color throughout the room for the biggest impact. 

To determine how much wallpaper to order, first, figure out how much space you’re wallpapering. Get your measuring tape, a piece of paper, a pen, and a friend to help. After you take your measurements, you can use a wallpaper calculator to determine how much to order or work out the numbers on your own with a simple calculation. 

When you measure for wallpaper, begin by determining the combined length of the walls—meaning, measure the length of each wall where you intend to hang wallpaper, then add those lengths together for your combined length. Then, multiply the combined length by the height of your walls to get the total square footage required. Don't worry about deducting doors, windows, and other openings at this point; just determine the total square footage. 

For example: if you have two 10-foot walls and two 15-foot walls, your room perimeter is 50 feet. If your walls are 8 feet high and your combined length is 50 feet, you have a total area of 400 feet. 

To calculate how many rolls of wallpaper you should order, first check the square footage of the rolls you’ve selected. Then, divide your total area by the square footage of one roll of wallpaper. That number is the minimum number of rolls you need to wallpaper the space. 

For example: If you have a 400 square-foot room, and your wallpaper covers 26 square feet, you’ll need at least 15.4 rolls of wallpaper. Round up—rather than down—to ensure you’ve got enough wallpaper rolls to complete your project. 

We provide a Wallpaper Calculator on each of our wallpaper product pages to assist you in placing your order.

When wallpapering a space, the general recommendation is to purchase 15 to 20 percent more wallpaper than the calculated total surface area you intend to wallpaper. This overage allows for correcting errors, aligning patterns, and ensuring you have plenty to finish your project. 

When wallpapering your space, choose high-quality wallpaper that suits your needs. You may decide that peel-and-stick wallpaper is best for a temporary space, or you might opt instead for a more permanent paste or glue wallpaper option. Then, choose colors, patterns, and textures to fit your decor style. For more decorating tips and tricks, explore our Guides.