Combining wallpaper in a bedroom interior does not end with hanging one type behind the bed and another on the other walls. It is more complicated, and we have prepared photos of bedroom wallpaper combinations with a designer’s analysis.
What Wallpaper to Choose for a Bedroom
In general, wallpaper is better suited to and more often used in classic bedroom interiors. Do not be surprised that most of the photos will be of classic interiors. However, even in contemporary styles, there are situations where no other material will produce the necessary effect.
Classic Wallpaper in a Bedroom Interior
The theory of combining wallpaper will come later. For now, we will simply show the photos and comment on them, finding out why the bedroom interior looks stylish or not so stylish.
The standard and best option for classic bedroom wallpaper is wallpaper with a colored background and a pattern without strong contrast. It can be either a pattern that differs from the main color by one or two shades, or a silver or gold pattern.
Wallpaper with a clear pattern is an accent. You cannot cover the entire room with it. The standard is one wall, two at most. Let’s look at the photos.
Classic wallpaper with a large pattern, especially with gold and silver in the base, looks expensive. The rest of the bedroom has to match. Photos where this rule is not followed:
The second type of classic wallpaper is wallpaper with a contrasting pattern. It may seem that there is little difference between a contrasting and noncontrasting pattern, and no reason to separate them into different types. There is. They are perceived completely differently, and the bedroom design around this wallpaper is built differently.
There is a huge difference between classic wallpaper with a contrasting pattern and wallpaper with a noncontrasting pattern.
Wallpaper with a contrasting pattern heavily loads a bedroom interior with details. If you do not account for this and add more details with bedding, curtains, and other items, you will get a mess. This kind of wallpaper can almost never be used on more than one wall.
Another type of wallpaper for classic styles is paintable wallpaper. There is little point in showing photos because it is impossible to distinguish a simply painted wall from a wall with painted wallpaper in a photo. The texture is visible in real life, but not in a photo.
Contemporary Wallpaper in a Bedroom Interior
Wallpaper is rarely used in most contemporary styles. Paint, decorative plaster, 3D panels, and so on are used for the walls. But when you need a pattern, geometric shapes, or something unusual, wallpaper still saves the day.
An interesting borrowing from classic styles is black wallpaper with a low-contrast or silver pattern. It is used in black in contemporary styles when a little luxury is needed.
Geometric shapes and broken patterns suit some contemporary bedroom interiors fairly well, and they can only be achieved with wallpaper. The same applies to striped wallpaper and small textures.
Neutral wallpaper without a pronounced texture is also an interesting option. Especially considering that minimalism is the basis of all contemporary styles.
Gradients and wall murals are another type of wallpaper that fits contemporary bedrooms fairly well. But be careful with wall murals – it is a very risky move. This option can look stylish or it can look tacky; you need a fine sense of the line. If you know how to use image-editing software, you can Photoshop the wallpaper into your bedroom to estimate how it will look.
Combining Wallpaper in a Bedroom
Few people now hang one type of wallpaper on every bedroom wall. In most cases, two types are used, one as an accent and the other as a background. The accent wallpaper either has a clear pattern, is darker, or has a more saturated color.
Coordinated Wallpaper
Manufacturers account for current trends and have long produced wallpaper collections already intended to be combined within one room. This is a good and least risky option; it is difficult to make a mistake with it.
In these collections, the main and accent wallpapers are usually clearly distinguished, but sometimes they differ only in color. The more saturated one is intended to be the accent.
Sometimes collections consist of different colors with the same saturation. This important parameter allows you to choose any two colors for a bedroom and combine them without worrying about whether they work together. Many people underestimate color brightness and saturation, but these usually determine how well wallpaper combines. Read about bedroom wall colors.
The fact that wallpaper within one collection works together does not mean you cannot still screw up its placement. More on that next.
Combining Different Wallpaper
When you want to combine wallpaper from different collections, you need to think about two things:
- Does the wallpaper work together?
- Which wallpaper should go on which bedroom wall?
To answer the first question, read Combining Colors in an Interior and Combining Wallpaper in an Interior.
The article about combining colors is absolutely required reading. Otherwise, it will look like this:
There are complications with the second point. Placing accent wallpaper behind the bed is considered standard for a bedroom. This is often justified, but not always.
If the wall behind the bed is small because the bedroom is rectangular, making it an accent wall is not the best idea. We have already written about small bedroom design. The same applies when the wall behind the bed is overloaded with details: lights, pictures, a tall colorful headboard, and so on. Next are examples of how NOT to combine wallpaper in a bedroom.
And now similar wallpaper, but with a wall that is not overloaded with details. The difference is immediately visible.
The second option is to make the least busy wall the accent. With this method of combining wallpaper, it usually ends up behind the bed – in most bedrooms, this wall is the least busy. After all, in 99 cases out of 100, the perpendicular bedroom walls have a door on one side and a window on the other.
The third option is the wall behind the TV. The problem here is competition for attention between the TV and the wall. In general, this is not the best wallpaper combination. If your bedroom does not work for the first two options for the reasons given, perhaps you should give up combining wallpaper in the bedroom altogether. Or clear the wall behind the bed.
Wallpaper can also be combined on one wall, for example, by dividing it horizontally or making frames:
Wallpaper That Imitates Wood and Brick
Loft design, Scandinavian style, and minimalism have become especially popular recently. And demand, as everyone knows, creates supply. As a result, a lot of wallpaper imitating natural materials has appeared on the market. And a large number of bedroom interiors have already suffered because of this wallpaper.
Wallpaper imitating wood, brick, and even concrete. There is even wallpaper imitating concrete slabs, with gaps between them and drawn-on rivets. At first glance it looks great, but let’s take a closer look.
Most of these materials have long been imitated successfully in design. Natural wood is imitated with laminate, which, by the way, can also be attached to the wall behind the bed. Real brick is imitated with decorative brick veneer. Concrete and many other things – almost everything – are imitated with decorative plaster.
So why is wallpaper worse? Because it imitates only the pattern, not the volume and texture. And it looks terrible. Even in a photo. Just think about it – even in a photo, you can see that it is only imitation wallpaper. Flat, boring. It looks even worse in real life; this wallpaper will not fool anyone.
The best thing about natural materials or their good imitations is texture and volume. Light and shadow play across them, and we see their depth. That is exactly why concrete and wood look good with contour lighting – it gives the material shadows and depth. Matte and glossy areas and roughness are visible. Wallpaper can never do that. Just look at how bricks and concrete with texture look:
Wallpaper can look great in bedroom interiors in many situations, but imitating wood and concrete is not one of them. The only exception is multicolored versions; at least they are bright.
We hope we have shed some light on choosing and combining bedroom wallpaper and that you find the perfect option for yourself, one that will make you happy for many years! Also read about choosing kitchen wallpaper.
