The One Thing You Should Always Do Before Choosing & Buying A Wallpaper

Choosing the right wallpaper for a home decor project can be a difficult task. With so many wallpaper patterns, colors, and textures to choose from, it's easy to get overwhelmed by all the options and struggle to pick just one. When you've finally found a wallpaper you love, it may be tempting to buy the whole roll right away. Wallpaper samples often aren't free, and generally require a separate purchase before you pull the trigger on a bulk wallpaper order. The cost for a sample is usually a tiny fraction of what the whole roll would cost, but still — why bother spending the money on samples when you're only going to buy the lot later? But before settling on and buying a whole roll, taking home a sample is an essential step you definitely shouldn't skip.

That's because even if a wallpaper seems like the perfect fit at a store or online, it may end up looking a lot different once you bring it home and start applying it in the space. Scale — or how big the design is in the space — is one of the most important reasons to take home a wallpaper sample. A big, bold, old-world wallpaper pattern or mural might look amazing in a showroom or online, but look overpowering once you see it at home. Likewise, a tiny, detailed motif may be appealing at the store or up close on your computer screen, but could get lost and harder to appreciate if you have a huge wall to cover at home. But scale isn't the only reason why bringing home a sample is important. Things like color and texture, for example, can also appear a lot different in your space than they do online — or even in person at the store.

You'll need to snag a wallpaper sample to make sure the color is exactly what you expected. The shade may look different in real life (sometimes more or less vibrant, for example) than it did on your computer, or you may not be as crazy about the color when you see it in person as you were on a screen.

Even if you have seen a wallpaper sample in person at a store, it's not the same as seeing the sample in your home in the exact spot you intend to use it, where lighting can drastically impact how the shade looks. The lighting in your space can change at different times of day, making the appearance of the wallpaper a little different from morning to night. You'll want to be sure you like how it looks around the clock before committing.

Textured wallpaper is a trendy and popular choice, but it's hard to gauge what that texture will be like until you're holding a sample in your hand. If you're only looking at the wallpaper on a computer screen, getting a sample sent to your home is important. What's more, feeling the wallpaper to ensure that it's durable and of a strong, sturdy quality is essential. You'll most likely have your wallpaper up for years to come, so you'll need to be sure it isn't cheaply made and can withstand plenty of daily wear and tear.