How to choose a wallpaper for your living room to create a bright, personal style
When choosing wallpapers for the living room, you need to understand that they will convey the character of the room, supporting the main idea of the decor. Therefore, their purchase cannot be postponed until the end of the repair. You need to think about what the wallpaper will be at the stage of drawing up the design of the project.
What can wallpaper for the living room
The most popular material for wall decoration is capable of:
- visually change the height of the ceiling,
- visually expand the space,
- zone the room,
- hide minor surface defects.
These effects are achieved through texture and pattern. The color of the wallpaper for the living room is no less important. It should be selected based on the characteristics of the room, furniture and style of decoration, which the entire room will obey. For example, glass wallpaper in cold colors is not appropriate in the classic design of a small hall. But they look great on large walls in modern finishes.
What is the choice of wallpaper based on
Before choosing wallpaper for the living room, decide on the basic idea of the room. Based on this, it will be possible to reduce the range of searches to a variety of coverage and a pattern on it:
- Classic interiors can be harmoniously beaten with paper, vinyl, non-woven, fabric wallpapers.
- Modern design requires new materials. Textured, liquid and textured wallpapers help to recreate the styles "Loft", "Eco".
- Plaid or alternating stripes on a paper backing are in tune with the retro style of old England mansions.
- A small floral print on the walls will complement the design of "Provence", "Shabby Chic".
Wall murals are another affordable way to qualitatively transform the space of any living room. They are able to become a kind of portal to another country or the natural world.
Before choosing a wallpaper for the living room, do not rush to purchase ready-made options. If you want to create a completely unique design, you can order your own print, which is not included in the catalog. For a small surcharge, manufacturers will print a memorable landscape for you, children's drawing, abstraction. Photo wallpaper can be with a 3D effect, which visually pushes the walls apart, erases the edges between adjacent surfaces.
Wallpaper in a small living room should not be dark saturated colors. Otherwise, the already uneasy room will turn into a gloomy closet. The following colors are prohibited:
- blue;
- burgundy;
- purple;
- graphite gray;
- swamp green.
If you really love these shades in the palette, include them in dosage, in the form of an accent. For example, on one wall to highlight a sofa or corner area for appliances and a TV.
Rules for choosing wallpaper in small living rooms
For small rooms, you should choose wallpaper in light colors, the photos confirm this rule in full. The result is a cozy space in which to spend time pleasantly.
Allowed:
- plain dull wallpaper;
- small muted pattern;
- geometric print.
A vertical striped drawing will help to visually stretch the walls. If you want to "expand" the space, the stripes should be oriented horizontally.
How to paste over a room with high ceilings
If the living room is more like a throne room with high ceilings in size, then wallpaper with horizontal stripes will help to correct this feature and add comfort. They should be used in combination with wide moldings. The large drawing serves the same role. Wall murals with a three-dimensional print without an abundance of small details will be appropriate here.
Room illumination and wallpaper color
With the wallpaper for the living room, you need to correlate the location of the room. If it faces north and natural light is minimized, this should be corrected with colored walls.
Looks good:
- warm beige;
- golden;
- lemon yellow;
- cream shades.
Rooms with south-facing windows can be decorated with a cool palette of colors. Green, blue, gray wallpapers are allowed.
Choosing light and dark wallpapers
A huge number of wallpaper color solutions makes it possible to create a unique design of premises. These can be rooms with light wallpaper, rooms in dark colors or contrasting decoration of rooms.
Contrasting principles
Here are examples showing a combination of wallpaper of two colors in the photo. In the living room with such a design solution, recreation areas, receiving guests, watching programs and films are clearly visible. If you don't like contrasts, but do not want to be limited to one color, try combining different shades on the walls. In this case, there is a lot of freedom for imagination.
The combination of dark and light wallpapers can be done in several ways:
- Focus on one wall, decorating other surfaces in a single scale.
- Create colored inserts on opposite walls, placing them symmetrically to each other or with a slight offset to the side.
- Decorate contrasting stripes of wallpaper as a panel, framing them with molding "frames". For example, in the center of a gray wall, place a square or rectangular insert of black wallpaper with a large image of flowers or a geometric pattern.
Light blotches are in good harmony with a graphite shade with soft plant prints.
Here are other examples of how to combine wallpaper in the living room. Use a gradient effect. The transition of halftones creates an interesting optical illusion. The room ceases to be static, it “comes to life”, acquires additional volume and depth.
If you want to use paints more actively, then you can choose not neighboring shades of the spectrum, but "step over" through 2-3 colors.
How to find darker shades of wallpaper
There are many examples of how to successfully fit dark wallpaper into the interior of the living room, the photos are a clear confirmation of this.
The main rule is to dilute dark gray shades and black with other wallpaper or decorative elements. It is not recommended to use monochrome coatings without patterns and prints. They look gloomy, boring and too obviously draw attention to themselves.
In addition, you need to take care of the availability:
- warm lighting in the room and additional lighting on a dark wall;
- an accent piece of furniture or decor against the background of a contrasting surface (fireplace, shelf with antiques, couch or sofa with expensive high-quality drapery);
- racks with porcelain or glass products.
In addition to the dark wallpaper for the living room, you need to make a white ceiling and a light floor. Wall color can be duplicated in curtains, other textiles and furniture upholstery.
Successful options for light walls
Not every apartment owner decides on light wall decoration. Some believe that they create an uncomfortable sterile laboratory environment. But this is not the case. Here is an example of how white wallpaper looks advantageous in the living room, the photo can be safely taken as a starting point for creating your own unique interior.
A little more about the opposition of shades
In all the photos, the combined wallpaper for the living room does not differ in a rich range of shades and halftones. As a rule, these are two or three color variations.
Examples of combinations:
- wallpaper of a brown chocolate shade with gold or silver streaks in the recreation area + other light walls;
- muted purple surface with gray repeating patterns + white ceiling, floor and other surfaces;
- snow-white walls with narrow vertical inserts of dark wallpaper on one wall + a black panel with a light print over the entire area on the adjacent surface.
So that the opposition of colors in the wallpaper for the living room does not irritate and does not create unnecessary variegation, you need to combine favorite shades with neutral colors.
Dark walls are not necessarily black and brown. You can choose from burgundy, emerald or deep blue colors. You can diversify the interior with burgundy or graphite wallpaper.
How to add colors
Bold design solutions include bright wallpapers in the interior, photos of current projects often show options for using red and its shades. Their use has long gone beyond sleeping and children's rooms... The living room with the use of crimson, scarlet and wine colors looks presentable and modern.
As a rule, they decorate one or two accent walls so that the room is comfortable to be in. The pink wallpaper in the living room will create a direct reference to the Barbie house if left alone. Therefore, they decorate only one surface with them, and similar shades are duplicated in decorative elements and textiles.
The pink area needs to be supported in 1-2 details. For example, curtains + a blanket on a sofa or upholstery + pictures in frames + a small rug.
If you really want to decorate all the walls in pink. Opt for delicate nude and powdery shades.
Red and its pronounced halftones are dominant colors. They are capable of both raising your mood and can lead to excessive agitation, irritability and nervousness.
To avoid this, use tones of natural origin:
- wine;
- berry;
- Red tree;
- brick;
- cherry.
This is how red wallpaper can look in the interior of a living room, the photo is just one of many examples of successful combinations.
How furniture is combined with different shades of wallpaper
Wallpapers for light furniture, as well as for dark ones, are selected according to the principle of contrast or color combination from the same spectrum. So white furnishings stand out well against the background of brown, blue, burgundy and black walls.
The same principle works in the opposite direction. But this does not mean that a dark wood table or chest of drawers cannot fit into the interior of the living room, where there is rich black wallpaper. In this case, large furniture should have other colors in addition to dark. For example, contrasting edging on the table top, marble pattern, chrome or silver handles.
In contrast to dark wallpaper, you can use furniture of dairy, yellow, sand shades. Bright accents will help to place green and red blotches in decor items.
To make wallpaper with dark furniture in the photo and in a real setting look natural and harmonious, stop at light walls. One of the surfaces can echo a sofa or dining set.
It is necessary to dilute both light and dark color combinations. A vase, a series of miniatures or cushions is enough to create a complete composition.
Choosing wallpaper for your living room is a fun and creative process. Do not be afraid to deviate from the usual combinations, because a unique design is impossible without bold decisions.