Floral, geometric, vinyl, flocked, striped; there’s such a wide choice of wallpapers these days that finding the perfect one for your walls can be a real challenge. Here I’ll attempt to explain how to achieve a stylish look for your room using wallpaper.

A feature wall is one wall that’s a little bit different than your other 3 and is usually papered with a busy pattern or a bold colour; they’re all the rage right now and can really bring a room to life. It’s a good technique to use if your room isn’t that big, a feature wall can incorporate pattern into your room without shrinking it.

If you have a chimney breast or fireplace in you room them you should choose that wall as your feature wall. Some people only decide to paper the chimney breast whereas some decide to paper the whole wall, both ways look effective.

In terms of colour you can really go wild with a feature wall. If you do decide to go crazy on the patterns though just remember to tone it down with some neutral coloured paint or paper if your room is on the small side to avoid the claustrophobic feel.

Flocked is the wallpaper you feel and go ‘oooooh’, it’s made with fibres which look and feel like velvet. Often flocked wallpapers have intricate patterns and like other busy patterned wallpapers, should be used sparingly and tastefully. For example, to create feature walls. Their floral patterns bring a sense of elegance to a room and look great in bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms.

One of the main trends at the minute is tropical; many people are giving their homes that Caribbean twist. This floral design follows the tropical home furnishings trend and makes a great strong statement in any room.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to get creative, just because there’s enough to cover a whole wall doesn’t mean you have to! Try doing a stylish strip to enhance a photo or wall lamp. I recently was in a hotel in llandudno North Wales and loved the effort which was put into all of the wallpapers styles and each wall played a huge part in giving the room the desired feeling.

It’s not just your living room or bedroom that can be bright and stylish. Take a look at the designs below to see what you can do with your kitchen and bathroom:

I like this kitchen design wall paper because; it’s bright, lively and makes the room a place to enjoy looking at as well as a place to enjoy food!

This bathroom design is simple, elegant and modern, perfect for city living. It makes use of the new geometric trend which is best used in the kitchen or bathroom, but can be used anywhere, depending on your colour scheme. The large flower tiles on the wall prevent it from being too sterile and add a charm to the room. I think the use of colour in this room is clever and stylish as it highlights the sink area and incorporates the lights well.

With the arrival of Feature Walls the popularity of the Split Wall Trend has dropped slightly, however I still feel this technique can look stylish so I’ll explain a little bit about it. There’s several ways to do this;

Three walls one colour, one wall different

Two walls one colour, two walls another

Bottom half of all walls one colour, top halves another

All walls different colours

You can use either harmonising colours or contrasting colours, harmonising for creating a peaceful atmosphere and contrasting for making a bold statement. You also have a choice of materials; do you go for paints, papers or both? Here are some examples of colour combinations:

 

 

Neutrals

 

Creams

 

Yellows

 

Oranges

 

Pinks, reds & violets

 

Blues & Greys

 

Greens

 

Neutral Hints

 

Everyone has different tastes but hopefully there are enough ideas here to get your creative juices flowing. Don’t do something because it’s on trend though, make you sure think it looks good too because it’s you who has to live with it!

 

Section for all the home designs