Spare a thought for striped wallpaper

From the Resene decorating blog   › wallpapers

There are many types of striped wallpaper, and a multitude of ways to use it to awe-inspiring effect.

If you're choosing wallpaper for your home, you've probably come across striped wallpaper

There are many types of striped wallpaper, and a multitude of ways to use it to awe-inspiring effect.

It can be an especially handy option if you would like some sort of pattern in a room and have a penchant for the symmetrical!

Bold or Subtle

You can opt for bold or subtle stripes, depending on your preference.

In a relatively uncluttered space such as a dining room or hallway, wallpaper with bold stripes can be a real asset and give your home a much-desired contemporary feel.

It negates the need for extensive decoration, as it can function as a dramatic piece of artwork all on its own.

You can create a Tim Burton-esque look with eye-catching black-and-white stripes, or give one of your rooms some seaside charm with blue-and-white striped wallpaper.

If you want some sort of pattern on your walls, but don’t want it to be too overwhelming, you may want to try wallpaper with subtle stripes.

This type of wallpaper usually consists of two shades that are within the same colour family. Using slightly different shades of grey, beige and other pastel hues is popular at the moment.

These neutral stripes will effectively give a space some character without drawing all of the focus away from any other design features you've dreamed up.

Thick or Thin

You should devote some time to choosing how thick or thin you want the stripes to be. It's often a good idea to pick which colours you want to work with first, before deciding on the type of stripes you'd like to use.

For instance, you may decide that thin black-and-white stripes look absolutely stunning in your dining room, while thick ones make the entire room look like a giant piano.

The latter option could be fantastic if you're a piano enthusiast, but otherwise you might want to work with wallpaper that has thinner stripes.

Tall or Wide

If you're a fashion guru, you may have heard that clothing with vertical stripes can make the wearer look taller and leaner, while clothing with horizontal stripes has the opposite effect.

It's the same when it comes to wallpaper with vertical or horizontal stripes.

If you would like your dining room or hallway to appear taller, try wallpaper with vertical stripes.

If, on the other hand, you want the space to seem wider than it really is, use a wallpaper such as Room 20 Wallpaper 8803-69 from Resene, hung horizontally – and marvel at the optical illusion it creates!

Uses

You can also use striped wallpaper to draw attention to a particular feature of the room that you prize above all others.

For instance, if you have a gorgeous window that's placed relatively high on the wall, and you want your guests and fellow inhabitants to gaze up at its glory, try surrounding it with vertical stripes.

The eye will naturally follow these lines, eventually coming to rest on this window. You can make your windows even more of a stand-out feature if you paint their sills with a solid colour.

If the wallpaper you've chosen has two different coloured stripes, it's common to pick one of these as your main colour and use it for borders, window sills or curtains.

This will tie the room's interior design together nicely, and make the main colour you've chosen really pop out of the wallpaper. If you're feeling extra daring, and you want something that will really impress your guests, you could try mixing vertical- and horizontal-striped wallpaper.

Apartment Therapy reveals that the best way to do this is by visually separating the patterns from each other in some way.

September 17, 2013

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