Wallpaper Designs and How they Repeat - Design Tips
Today we're going to talk about wallpaper repeats.
When you're buying wallpaper, you want to check the repeat size so you know how much wallpaper to order.
Basically, your order will depend on how much waste that you're going to have once you figure out your repeat. Most wallpapers have a repeat and there are several repeat sizes.
We normally work with various repeats which means the pattern will repeat vertically at a certain point.
Wallpaper Repeats
They can be straight across, random, or a measured drop. You can have a ½ drop match, straight match, ¼ drop match, ⅓ drop match or a random match. A random match often works in textures, if they have no repeat you can hang each strip of wallpaper straight across and have no waste of wallpaper when hanging your pattern.
Here is a good example of a half drop, in my Martinique pattern from the Charleston Home collection. You can see the fan coral repeats but it drops half way down across the design. Which basically means if a design is 20 inches wide with a vertical repeat of 20” then the half drop in the repeat will be 10” dropped down across the width of the design. A half drop is great because the design is more open and isn’t so rigid.
At this point, you will have to order some more wallpaper as you will lose 10 inches of wallpaper when you are hanging the wallpaper strips up on the wall. You just look down the wallpaper and will see the fan coral where you need to join up the next strip of wallpaper.
I have also shown the repeat in the banana leaf wallpaper. The pattern repeats at a tall repeat of 36” so the half drop to see the repeat will be 18". This beautiful wallpaper is the Paradisio Palm, from my Anthology Resource collection
If the pattern is straight across or random match, you can hang your pattern and you won't have any paper waste.
Always order more wallpaper to be on the safe side.
A professional wallpaper hanger can help you figure out how much you need as well. There are certain programs online that will also help you figure out how many rolls of wallpaper to order for the room you are decorating.
In our video, we have a granite wallpaper which is a straight match, which means you can line up the little center diamond directly across from one side to the other side and you won’t have any wallpaper waste.
Things to Remember
When you're ordering wallpaper, just look at the repeat as it does affect how much wallpaper you will need for decorating a room. I always order more to be on the safe side. You will have some leftover but if you ever have some damage on your wallpaper pattern, you can replace it with your extra roll. That's the Design Tip for today. Enjoy and happy wallpapering!
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