Wallpaper, as before, remains one of the most sought-after materials for wall decoration. But using this traditional material in a conservative way is completely optional. To make the room “play out” in a new way, you can use such an interesting design technique as combining wallpaper.
This technique is becoming more and more popular, as in modern life there is no place for oppressive monotony. The richness of sensations, changes, originality and freshness of thought - this is what a modern person strives for, including the improvement of his home. Combining wallpaper in the interior allows you to transform the appearance of rooms with minimal effort, completely change the perception of space, place accents, hide flaws, and create incredible visual effects.
Wallpaper Combination: Standard Techniques
A combination of plain wallpaper of similar shades
This option is suitable for a strict interior or for the case when the walls serve only as a background, and there is no need to focus on them. In this case, you need to choose a wallpaper of several shades, one of which will be more saturated. The best option is two shades, for example, plum and indigo, azure and aquamarine, emerald and veridian, sand and ivory.
Balancing a large pattern with plain wallpaper
Wallpaper with large elements looks very impressive, but if they are pasted around the perimeter of the room, they clutter it up and can have an overwhelming effect. A good solution would be to combine them with wallpaper of a harmoniously selected tone without a pattern.
Combining wallpapers with different patterns
A very interesting and bold combination, but at the same time the most complex, requiring impeccable taste and a sense of proportion. Designers recommend using no more than three different types of material.
Here are some win-win combinations that will help you consistently delight your guests:
- stripe + floral ornament;
- abstraction + stripes or geometric shapes;
- floral wallpaper + wood pattern.
The shape of the images can be different, the main thing is not to forget about the compatibility of colors, the shades of the patterns should overlap.
The combination of wallpaper of different colors
This technique also obeys certain rules:
- bright, active colors are best combined with discreet, neutral ones;
- contrasts look very impressive - black and white, yellow and blue;
- when choosing colors, you need to make sure that at least one of them is repeated in interior details, for example, in curtains, furniture, sofa cushions.
Basic combination methods
Vertical striping
A great effect can be achieved by alternating stripes of different colors or patterns. The vertical combination of wallpaper is especially suitable for rooms with a low ceiling, which in this case will appear higher. Wallpaper should not differ in width. At gluing You can alternate stripes through one or one through two. The choice of different combinations can be very diverse:
- stripes of contrasting colors - make the room bright, unique and memorable;
- several shades of the same color allow you to create the effect of a play of light and shadow and ennoble the room;
- the alternation of different patterns or patterns with plain wallpaper makes the room lively and cozy, and also hints at a certain interior style;
- alternating wallpapers that differ in their texture are allowed.
The technical part of this method is not difficult, since the canvases are simply glued end-to-end or overlapped in the usual way. You can choose a non-standard approach by making joints in the form of waves or zigzags.
Horizontal division
The horizontal combination of wallpaper is considered "classic" and fits into the interior of any style. The most standard option is stripes at the bottom and a floral pattern at the top, both parts are separated by a border. In fact, there can be many combinations, canvases can vary in color, pattern, texture. In addition, you can divide the wall not into two standard segments, but into three or even four. Here are a few rules to follow when choosing this method:
- the higher the horizontal strip is, the lighter it should be;
- in rooms with a low ceiling, it is not recommended to glue horizontal strips more than a meter wide at eye level;
- do not divide the room into two equal horizontal parts;
- the height of the joining of the wallpaper when divided into two segments should be selected depending on the height of the ceilings. The border of the wallpaper in a room with a low ceiling should be at a height of no more than 1 meter from the floor, with a high one - 1.5-2 meters.
To avoid mishaps during gluing, use the following practical tips:
- Measure the joint boundaries not from the ceiling, but from the floor, otherwise they may not coincide with the level of the furniture. To do this, mark the points at some distance from each other, and draw a line parallel to the floor.
- You need to start from the top strip, and only after its completion proceed to the bottom one. At the junction, be sure to leave an allowance that is not smeared with glue. To ensure a perfectly even joint, the edges of the canvases will need to be glued end-to-end only after the strips have dried to take into account the shrinkage of the material.
- The unevenness of the joints is perfectly masked by the border. For sheets of the same thickness, a paper border is suitable; for other cases, borders made of plastic, wood or other material are suitable.
Effective Pasting Method
An unusual and original way of decorating is the use of wallpaper inserts. They can be divided into several types.
- Wallpaper pictures. The walls in this case must be prepared in advance, wallpapered, painted or plastered. For the manufacture of inserts, dense wallpapers of good quality with a catchy pattern are selected. Figures of arbitrary size and shape are cut out of them, although rectangles and squares are most often used. The figure is shaped with holdings or planks and looks like a kind of picture.
- Highlight interior details. With the help of wallpaper, you can highlight one wall in the room or effectively emphasize a separate element of the interior. Such inserts often stand out as a bed in the bedroom, a sofa in the living room, a wall with a TV.
- Zoning. Large inserts can divide a room into several zones. This is a great solution for studio apartments or a large room that is used for different needs. This type of insert is often used in children's rooms, dividing the room into a sleeping, play and work area. Pay attention to the correspondence of colors to the nature of the selected zone. The playing space can be decorated with bright colors with colorful drawings, the sleeping corner can be pasted over with wallpaper in calm, soothing shades. Saturated tones are suitable for the working area, inspiring and adjusting to the working mood. A room for two children will help to divide into two personal zones by combining wallpaper of different colors, corresponding to the character of each child. In the kitchen, you can also separate the working and dining areas.
- Photo wallpaper insert. Wall murals can create a truly magical effect in a room. They can increase or decrease the size of the room, more precisely, its visual perception. Vertical images will “raise” the ceiling, horizontal images will make the empty space smaller and more comfortable. Wall murals will help create a special mood and complement the theme and style of the room.Photo wallpaper is best combined with plain wallpaper, so as not to overload the perception.
Patchwork panel
Combining wallpaper with patches is a great way to express yourself and use your creative abilities. To create patchwork panels, you need to pick up the wallpaper and cut it into pieces of the selected size. The flaps are glued to the wall in any order, in any way - end-to-end or overlap, on the entire wall or partially. They can highlight individual details of the room, frame niches or interior items. There are no special rules for this method, it is enough just to choose flaps that are in harmony with each other in texture and color.
Combined wallpaper: a means of hiding room imperfections
You can emphasize the architectural merits or make invisible the shortcomings of the apartment using the following techniques:
- A low ceiling will look much higher if the room is covered with vertical contrasting stripes.
- A large, empty room will become more compact and comfortable if you apply a horizontal combination with a predominance of dark tones.
- A small room will not seem so cramped if the wallpaper on the walls combines white or light pastel colors and narrow vertical inserts decorated with moldings.
- Too much space can also have a depressing effect, so in this case you can use combined wallpapers that include dark tones, wide vertical stripes and ornamental inserts.
- A narrow long room looks more harmonious if the long parts of the perimeter are pasted over with light wallpaper, and the short ones with darker shades.
- A square room will come to life if you combine the wallpaper as follows: one wall has a rich color, the others are lighter and calmer.
- You can emphasize your favorite part of the room and distract from the shortcomings by highlighting the wall or part of it with the help of interesting and bright wallpapers.
As a conclusion, we can add that the combination trend has received support from manufacturers. Increasingly, entire collections of wallpapers are being produced that are perfectly combined with each other in different combinations. Ready-made solutions greatly simplify the process of choosing wallpapers, but at the same time, they do not prevent you from being creative and choosing combinations to your taste.
