Wallpaper Buying Guide

So you have decided to wallpaper a room, there are a couple of things to take into consideration before rush out and buy wallpaper.

Consider all the options, there are lots of different kinds of wallpaper that you can buy. So what different types of wallpaper are useful for what rooms?

First consideration is what room is the wallpaper for and what kind of wear and tear will the wallpaper have to endure.

Let DIY Focus guide you through the process with our wallpaper buying guide.

Uncoated Wallpaper

This is a good option for bedrooms and living rooms, a basic uncoated paper can give a new lease of life to a room.
Not to be mistaken for lining paper that basically acts as a first layer to iron out any imperfections on the wall.

Washable or Vinyl Wallpaper

Washable types of wallpaper are great for kitchens where there may be a mess with food, bathrooms and children's rooms avoiding any mishaps with crayons etc..

Textured Wallpaper

For rooms that may have minor imperfections or are slightly uneven a textured wallpaper will help to disguise these slight imperfections, compared to smooth wallpaper that tends to highlight small imperfections and defects.

Patterned wallpaper

If you are a beginner it is a good idea to choose a wallpaper that does not have a pattern or has a pattern that is random and does not require you to match the pattern as you hang the paper.

How Much Wallpaper to Buy

Standard wallpaper rolls are 530mm wide and about 10m in length, this can help you to estimate how much wallpaper you will need. Use this width as a guide to figure out how many strips will be required to paper the entire room.

Multiply the hight of the room by the number of strips required to paper the room to get the total length of wallpaper required. Divide this by the length of a roll about 10m.

Remember that there will be some trimming required so it is worthwhile buying an extra roll. If you do not require the extra roll most DIY stores will refund you for the roll if you return it unopened.

I hope this post has been a good guide to buying wallpaper, I will be following up with the stages for papering a wall in the next post.
If you have anything to add please post below.