How to Choose the Right Wallpaper Type for Your Room
Three questions in order: what is the wall, what happens in the room, how long is it staying, and a room-by-room table for when you would rather just look it up
Choose by the wall first, the room second and your timescale third. A wall that is anything other than smooth painted plaster rules out peel and stick. A room that gets steam or hard wear points to heavy-grade. Everything else is comfortably served by our traditional paper.
Every design we make is available on all three papers, in the colourway you choose, so this is never a decision about the design. It is a decision about the wall it is going on.
The three papers
- Traditional, 150gsm. Super-matte, smooth, non-woven, paste-the-wall. The standard choice for bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms.
- Heavy-grade, 300gsm. Matte with a fine sand texture, vinyl-coated non-woven, paste-the-wall. For rooms that take steam, knocks or cleaning.
- Removable, 180gsm. Super-matte, smooth, adhesive-backed non-woven, peel and stick. For rented homes and rooms that will change again.
Question one: what is the wall?
- Smooth, painted, firmly bonded, fully cured: any of the three.
- Bare plaster or plasterboard: a pasted paper, once the wall is dry and sealed.
- Older painted wall, slightly uneven: a pasted paper. Traditional drapes over minor unevenness better than heavy-grade.
- Chalky or flaking paint: repaint and cure it first, then a pasted paper.
- Textured, Artex or woodchip: none of them until the wall is flat.
This question settles it more often than any other.
Question two: what happens in the room?
- Bedroom, living room, dining room, study: traditional.
- Nursery or child's room: traditional for a wall that stays; removable if the room changes again soon.
- Bathroom: heavy-grade, ventilated, out of direct spray. Traditional is usable. Removable is not suitable.
- Kitchen: heavy-grade, away from the hob and sink.
- Hall, stairs and landing: heavy-grade, for the wear.
- Rented home: removable, with your landlord's agreement.
- Hotel, office or hospitality: heavy-grade. Get in touch if you are specifying for a project.
Question three: how long is it staying?
A design recoloured to suit your own room is not a temporary thing, and most people who hang one intend to live with it. That is what the pasted papers are for.
Removable paper earns its place when the honest answer is "for now": a rental, a first flat, a nursery that becomes a teenager's room, a study about to become something else.
Room by room
| Room | First choice | Also works | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedroom | Traditional | Removable | None |
| Living room | Traditional | Heavy-grade | None |
| Dining room | Traditional | Heavy-grade | None |
| Nursery | Traditional | Removable | None |
| Child's room | Heavy-grade | Traditional | None |
| Hallway and stairs | Heavy-grade | Traditional | Removable |
| Kitchen | Heavy-grade | Traditional | Removable |
| Bathroom | Heavy-grade | Traditional | Removable |
| Rented home | Removable | None | None |
| Loft or attic room | Traditional | Removable | Heavy-grade on slopes |
What does not decide it
- The design. All three papers carry every design, in any colourway.
- Whether you have wallpapered before. All three are manageable on a first attempt on a single wall.
- Hiding a bad wall. None of them will. Fix the wall.
Which wallpaper type should I choose?
Traditional for most rooms, heavy-grade where there is steam or wear, removable for rented homes and rooms that will change.
Is heavy-grade better than traditional?
Not better. Harder wearing and wipeable. Traditional has a finer, flatter finish and is easier to hang.
Can I use different papers in the same house?
Yes, and many people do: heavy-grade in the hallway, traditional in the bedrooms. The same design and colourway prints on any of them.
Which is easiest for a beginner?
Traditional. It is light, forgiving, and slides on wet paste while you line up the seam.
Does the paper type change the colour?
The finish differs, because heavy-grade is matte with a sand texture and the other two are super-matte and smooth, so the same colourway reads slightly differently. Order a sample in the paper you intend to buy.
Which lasts longest?
Heavy-grade, in rooms that get real use.
