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Wallpaper ships to 40+ countries · Duties & taxes paid · Australian Made since 2015

Custom-sized wallpaper · Free design consultation · Shipped worldwide

How to Choose Wallpaper: The Complete Guide for Australian Homes

How to Choose Wallpaper: The Complete Guide for Australian Homes

Choosing wallpaper is one of the most consequential design decisions in any interior project, and it is also one of the most frequently mishandled. The mistake is almost always the same: selecting a design based on a small on-screen image, committing to full coverage, and discovering on installation day that the scale, the colour, or the pattern repeat are nothing like what was expected. The solution is not more time browsing. It is understanding the four factors that determine whether a wallpaper will work in your specific room — and testing each one before you order.

We manufacture wallpaper at our Central Coast of New South Wales facility and have done so for more than a decade, supplying homes across Australia and more than forty other countries. Every order is custom sized to the customer's exact wall dimensions. What follows is the guidance we give to every customer who asks where to start.

Southampton Light Blue Wallpaper — styled in a contemporary Australian interior Luxe Clouds in Soft Grey Wallpaper — styled in a contemporary Australian interior Float in Blue Wallpaper — styled in a contemporary Australian interior

Southampton Light Blue Wallpaper  ·  Luxe Clouds in Soft Grey Wallpaper  ·  Float in Blue Wallpaper

Factor 1: Scale

Pattern scale is the most misread quality in wallpaper selection. A large-scale botanical that looks busy on a screen reads as elegant and appropriately generous on a three-metre wall. A small repeat that looks dainty on screen can feel fussy and relentless when multiplied across forty square metres of wall. The rule: rooms with high ceilings and generous proportions can carry large-scale patterns. Compact rooms and low ceilings need either small repeats or non-repeating designs. When in doubt, go larger than you think — small patterns age less well and fix more poorly than large ones.

Factor 2: Colour in Context

Wallpaper colour on a screen is a starting point, not a reliable guide. Your room's light — north-facing warm sunlight, south-facing cool diffused light, artificial warm tungsten, cool LED — will change every colour in the design. A dusty blue that looks perfectly muted on screen may read as too blue in cool morning light, and almost grey by afternoon. A warm botanical on a cream ground may look yellow in artificial light. The only reliable way to assess colour is with a physical sample in your actual room, at different times of day. Our $4.99 sample (48cm × 40cm) is the most important purchase in any wallpaper project.

Factor 3: Substrate

The substrate — what the wallpaper is printed on — determines durability, installation method, and suitability for different environments. Our three substrate options:

  • Paste the Wall Smooth: Non-woven, dimensionally stable, moisture-resistant. Suitable for all rooms including bathrooms. Professional or DIY installation. The most versatile and most recommended substrate.
  • Paste the Wall Linen: Non-woven with a woven texture surface. Adds tactile depth. Same installation method as Smooth. Not suitable for high-moisture environments.
  • Peel and Stick Self-Adhesive: No paste, no water. Repositionable during installation. Ideal for renters and temporary applications. Requires 3 coats Viponds prep coat and 30-day paint cure for best adhesion.

Factor 4: Pattern Repeat and Coverage

Every repeating wallpaper pattern has a repeat distance — the vertical distance between identical points in the pattern. A 64cm repeat means you need 64cm of extra wallpaper per panel to align the pattern correctly across adjacent panels. Larger repeats create more waste. Our custom sizing system accounts for this automatically: you give us your wall dimensions, we calculate the correct panel widths and heights including repeat allowance. You never need to calculate pattern repeats yourself.

Room by Room: Choosing for Specific Spaces

  • Living room: The room where you spend the most time seated at one height. The wallpaper should read well from 3–4 metres. Large-scale botanicals, abstract patterns, and tonal landscapes all work. Avoid tight repeats that read as busy from the primary viewing distance.
  • Bedroom: Calm and considered. Soft botanical prints, tonal washes, and gentle geometric patterns. Strong pattern or high-contrast colour on the headboard wall only — remaining walls in a coordinating paint colour.
  • Bathroom: Paste the Wall Smooth substrate with moisture-resistant adhesive. Apply above the tile line only in shower-adjacent walls. A strong pattern in a small bathroom creates a genuinely designed space rather than a purely functional one.
  • Kitchen: Splashback-adjacent walls require moisture-resistant substrate. The kitchen wall behind the table or bench is the best location — removed from direct cooking splash. Geometric patterns and bold botanicals work well in kitchens.
  • Entrance hall: The first impression of the home. High-impact design is appropriate here — bolder pattern, more saturated colour. The entrance hall is often narrow and viewed at close range, which makes it the ideal place for a design that would feel overwhelming in a larger room.

Designer Tips

  • Order the $4.99 sample (48cm × 40cm / 19in × 16in). Tape it to the wall. Look at it in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. Look at it from across the room and from 30cm away. This is the only reliable test.
  • Measure your walls accurately before ordering. Width × height, from skirting board to cornice. For non-rectangular walls or rooms with alcoves, measure each section separately. See our measuring guide for detailed instructions.
  • Custom sizing means every panel arrives at the exact dimensions you specified — no awkward leftovers, no decisions about where to start the repeat. Production takes 4 business days. We ship to over 40 countries with all import duties covered on wallpaper orders.

Browse our full wallpaper collection, read our guide to wallpaper types and substrates, or start with a room measurement before you order.

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