Design Tips For Picking The Perfect Wallpaper For Your Home's Entryway

Your entryway is one of the first things visitors see when they walk into your home and is the area that sets the tone for the rest of your space. It follows, then, that you would want to make your entryway evoke a pleasant initial reaction. A great way to add charm to your entryway is by choosing the right wallpaper for your space – considering colors, patterns, lighting, and furniture that accommodates the rest of your decor.

First, there are a few things to consider before ordering your wallpaper. You may want to consider the type of material that best suits your needs, such as vinyl or pre-pasted vinyl, which are popular choices for wallpaper application. Peel-and-stick alternatives are a great option for those who are renting or who like to switch up their decor often, as they can be easily removed. With the following design tips in mind, your entryway is on its way to making a stand-out first impression.  

Color is a great starting point for deciding what wallpaper to use for your entryway. It has been shown to impact your feelings and even physiological responses. So it helps to know what kind of emotions you want to evoke in your entryway. Wallpapers with cool colors, like blues and greens, along with soft neutrals, can evoke a sense of calm and relaxation. For feelings like joy and happiness, consider warm tones, such as pale yellow or tangerine orange. Red is prone to elevating heart rates, so it's perfect for amping up the energy and adding a pop of color in your entryway. Brightness can also be a factor. Bright yellow can cause fatigue, but deep greens or pale yellows are better choices for vibrant colors to greet you in your entryway. 

When choosing a color, it's worth noting windows and doorways and how natural lighting may affect your wallpaper's hue. Lighter shades reflect more light, while darker tones absorb more light. North-facing lighting is cool, making colors in your wallpaper, while south-facing lighting radiates a balance of cool and warm colors, which can pick up color more accurately. 

A cohesive transition entryway can tie the rest of your home together. When you're choosing the perfect wallpaper to welcome you at your entryway, it is worth noting your personal style and your home's decor. If you're going for a boho chic look, you might want a pattern that features suns, animal or floral print, which are design elements of this eclectic style. Wallpaper that has either bold or muted colors with geometric and organic patterns is great for emulating a mid-century modern design.

Alternatively, you can also consider your wallpaper to be an accent wall for your entryway. Adding a pop of color, such as a vibrant green or dark blue, to just one wall can be an eye-catching transition from the door to the rest of your home. Or, rather than adorn the entire wall, try applying wallpaper above your painted board and batten. What's more, you can also make a small entryway feel bigger with the use of light colored or textured wallpaper. In that case, avoid using large-scale patterns as they can overpower the space and make your entryway appear smaller. 

Typically, an entryway might consist of console tables, mirrors, jacket and shoe racks, and credenzas. While these are staple furnishings that can provide catch-all storage for keys, coats, and other belongings to leave near the front door, they can also overpower or complement the design element of the space. With that said, factoring in the furniture's style and color in your entryway is essential to choosing the right design. If you have a cramped entryway due to furniture pieces, there are wallpaper designs that will make small rooms look bigger, such as murals and monochrome textures. Textures like as fabric or textile wallpaper can work well with bare entryways as they add dimension and visual intrigue to the space.

You can also assess specific furniture pieces to decide what wallpaper to use in your entryway. If you have a mid-century modern credenza, then you have room to play around with color and textures without one overpowering the other.  For example, if you have a vibrant green credenza featuring geometric shapes, then you might fare better with wallpaper that has muted colors and patterns — skip texture altogether to focus on the accent furniture piece.