What do your walls say about you? Wallpaper is an often overlooked (yet cost-effective) way to bring drama, warmth, and visual interest into your living space. How you choose to design your walls can instantly change the feel of a room. A dark wallpaper can add intimacy and drama to an otherwise stark room, while a neutral palette with a natural texture adds interest without stepping too far outside your comfort zone. With so many patterns, textures, colours, and materials to choose from, wallpaper can feel a bit intimidating – but it doesn’t have to be.

If you’ve visited a Brookfield Residential Showhome, then you know that we love to incorporate array of wallpaper styles in our homes. We connected with Brookfield Residential’s Interior Designer Chloe Leung for her top tips for how to best incorporate wallpaper into your home’s interior design.

Luxe Textures

Textured wallpapers are a great way to add warmth, visual interest, and elegance into a room. With this type of wallpaper, it works best when it covers all of the walls. “One thing I have to encourage is to wallpaper an entire room. When you do that, it gives a different personality and immersive feeling compared to featuring only a single wall,” says Chloe.

In our Showhomes, we almost always wallpaper the Owner’s bedroom as this room is your oasis and getaway. Adding a textured wallpaper throughout instantly makes your room moodier or more peaceful. Grasscloth is great for an Owner’s Bedroom, but beware it can get quite expensive. For a more affordable option, there are many wallpaper companies that produce flat wallpaper with a grasscloth look.

“I love how wallpaper also adds a layer of volume to a room; the textures give the room more definition than flat paint. When going for more of a luxe texture, always stick with neutral colours. The texture will have a variety of colours within it so you don’t need to go out of the box when picking a colour. I love a dark wallpaper with texture,” Chloe continues, “it never makes the room feel dark or too small because the texture usually has a lighter undertone incorporated to help contrast and balance the darker tones.”

A lighter colour with textures creates for a softer feeling room, you can easily play on the textures with your bedding, toss cushions, and furniture. It also provides a unique neutral canvas that can be accented with other colours to really dictate the space’s style – soft pink bedding adds a feminine touch (without being overly girly) while a more masculine space is made warmer and more inviting.

Bold Patterns & Metallics

If you want to try a bolder pattern or a metallic colour, a half bath is the place to start. Think of this space as your favourite piece of jewelry that you save for special occasions. In your home, the half bath is a great space to test drive a striking pattern or a texture that might be outside your comfort zone. Even better, it makes for a great conversation piece when guests come to visit.

Children’s rooms or guest rooms are another space that suit a bold colour. Look for a wallpaper that has colour overlayed with a small pattern as this will break up and tone down the brightness. In a children’s room, this type of wallpaper allows you to allude to a theme while providing a backdrop that can grow with your child and mature with new accessories and furnishings.

Custom Murals

“I love using murals in children’s rooms and nurseries,” says Chloe. “Typically, this is the one type of wallpaper we will incorporate on one or two walls – especially for styles with large, bold illustrations. Often these murals would be too overwhelming and distracting if they spanned the entire room.”

When it comes to picking a mural, the bigger the better so we often look for large illustrations as opposed to small patterns. Don’t be afraid to hang wall art over these murals for a truly unique and layered look.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. In our new Lucca Showhome, we selected a custom mural that lent itself to spanning all of the walls. In this room, the illustration was so large and unique that it needed to be shown throughout the entire room. It would not have the same impact on a single wall with a piece of furniture in front of it.

Make it Yours

Once you’ve made the commitment to wallpaper, your design selection is almost limitless. Make sure you consider the overall style of your home to ensure a cohesive feeling throughout the spaces. Wallpaper provides a level of creativity you won’t find with paint and adds an abundance of personality that allows your home to take on a more customized appearance.

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