4 Myths Of Bespoke Wallpaper Murals Explained & Answered!

The new season’s not quite here yet but already you’re thinking about updating your space.
A new you, new room, a change of theme or home style. You’re thinking options, change, what’s new and what’s possible.

You’re thinking about décor – colours and paints, wallpaper ideas for your living room feature wall. You’ve been looking on the high street and at the outlets, something off the shelf and on a roll but this time you’re looking for something a bit more…..unique.

Bespoke or made to measure wallpapers and wall murals have been around for a number of years now. Technology has caught up and where once a wallcovering print run would have to be hundreds or thousands of linear metres, now just one wall, one panel even, is possible and at a quality that’s as high as anything more traditional processes can produce.
We’ve been involved in custom and digital wallpaper since the start and we can take its individuality and value sometimes for granted.  When we hear from people a little unsure about the whole process, however, we like to go back to basics and see where the jitters come from.

We asked a number of our friends, family and clients what they thought about bespoke wallpapers and what potentially could hold someone back from jumping in.
The pie chart makes it look a bit more scientific than it actually was but their reasons boiled down to:

• Too expensive
• Difficult to install
• Too much choice
• Hard to know quality when online

So,  a good insight into what a range of people thought about custom wallpaper and wall murals and why they might not have considered them before.

We thought about how to tackle these reasons and try to use a bit of our collective know-how to inform, answer and generally help out.
Okay, so here goes.

Cost of bespoke wallpaper

For something that’s created specifically for your wall, we understand that it sometimes seems to carry a premium price tag. However, with bespoke wall art, remember that you only buy what you need – measure the wall, pop in the sizes. No extra roll needed just to be safe.
Any repeating patterns flow across the strips without any waste. Nothing is worse than having lengths left of a wallpaper roll that are now useless because the pattern just won’t repeat where you need it to! With an individually created wall mural designed for your space, this just isn’t going to happen.

Also, and we’ll run through this more when we get to quality, bespoke wallpapers are not usually of the same thickness or type as off the shelf wallcoverings. They should be stronger and more durable, you are paying the extra for quality so make sure you’re getting it!

Installing made to measure wallpaper

Everything that’s a little bit out of the ordinary needs a slight change of method. Not a major change though – it is still wallpaper. Installation guides are all up to date and on the site. There are many videos on YouTube and plenty of help if needed so don’t be daunted. If you’re all geared up with wallpaper ideas for your feature wall, don’t be put off by the putting up!

We think pasting the wall (both our products are paste the wall) is actually a simpler process than pasting the back of the paper and with ready mixed pastes available at the superstores like B&Q, this way of fitting is rapidly becoming the norm.

The width can also be a little bit overwhelming at over double the normal 52cm or so off the shelf wallpapers usually arrive in but, once the panels are laid out and the job started, they never seem quite as large. The big benefit with the wider material, of course, is that there are half as many joins to match up.
The overlap and trim way to join panels is to help with any unevenness in the wall. Once you’ve done a couple of pieces, you’ll be zipping across the room like a pro.

Like any new way of working, after you’ve done it once, it’s not new or quite as different anymore.

We’ve been part of projects from atrium sized feature walls in commercial properties to full rooms being covered in an intricate geometric wallpaper mural. We’ve worked alongside seasoned decorators and first-time newbies and everyone in between. Sure, people are always cautious initially but all the projects ended with the stand back and admire factor!

There’s a tip for trimming panels we posted a while back that we’ll put at the end of this article – we’re always here to help.

Too much choice of custom wallpaper images

Even though we can print any image your heart may desire, we understand that when confronted with a photo library of millions of pictures it can be a case of analysis paralysis!
Which skyline…. beach scene…. tree wallpaper…. flower mural…. When there’s an unlimited number to pick from, its often the hardest selection to make. What did Henry Ford supposedly say about the colour options for a Model T?! Try to stick to a style or theme and explore that for inspiration.

We’re building and curating a quality line of patterns with an emphasis on floral designs and geometric shapes for wallpapers and wall murals. Similar designs are available for our exclusive printed vinyl flooring, glass splashbacks and Feature Tiles.
It is a challenge creating and sourcing what our designers (and hopefully you) think is the next hotness. You’ll see new additions and collections brought in regularly and things switched around.
We’ll always be growing (anyone out there with an eye for designs, do get in touch) but as far as having gazillions of images to choose from, we can’t see it quite happening!

Difficult to know the quality of bespoke wallpapers

Like all online shopping its hard to know and trust something when its, well, virtual. You can ask for samples and read up on it but sometimes you’ve got to take the leap.

Any reputable supplier will hold your hand a little of the way to make sure you’re getting what you expected. We’ll always send out samples and respond but online is tough when it come to things that are tactile like wallpapers.

We can highlight our reviews for confidence and add videos like below to show the texture and print quality:

We can describe as much as possible and fill out the FAQs and guides. Hopefully, we can inform you enough to help with any decision be the final purchase from us or anywhere else.

Media mayhem!

It’s not that surprising there are questions about the quality of bespoke wallpapers when a quick search shows many similar materials yet all very different.
From prepasted to self-adhesive and paper backed to non-woven. Products that need water to be sprayed evenly on the entire wall first and ones that need dunking completely in a trough before hanging. Media weights that are 90gsm, 120gsm, 140gsm, 180gsm and probably everything in between!
All you need to know is that the heavier the weight, the stronger and more durable the material. Don’t be duped by prices quoting the economy grades and then comparing to a higher standard elsewhere. This is why we stuck with one product type for both the textured and smooth wallpapers. Same manufacturer, same stocks, same 350gsm weight.
We went top end with a washable and scuff resistant vinyl on a non-woven grade back so there’s no choice between either price and quality.

Print perception

Another reason the premium product wins out over the cheaper alternatives is down to the amount of ink they can absorb and the increased level of high definition print and clarity.
When you’ve decided upon a New York wallpaper mural or dramatic geometric triangle wallpaper, it has to be manufactured with bite and impact. That feature wall has to be a feature!

It’s the same with the application process. We kept with the paste the wall method as it’s synonymous with the top end bespoke wallpapers. It’s been tried and its been tested and we stick with it (pardon the pun!) because paste the wall works with every type of wall finish out there. If it’s a tricky install, talk to us and we can recommend different adhesives or primers to make sure it all comes out rosy.

All done!

Well, there you go. Did we answer a few of the questions that pop up when thinking about bespoke wallpapers? If you’d never thought of or considered custom wall murals before, did it gave a little insight into the whole hows and whys?
Happy decorating and for more info please subscribe over at the bottom of the main page.

If this was of interest, please share and thanks again for reading!

Tips on bespoke wallpaper trimming:

Paste the wall as required – it’s often easier and less messy to leave a couple of inches dry underneath the overlap between strips – and apply the first panel to the wall. Move into position and do the same for the second panel.

Now before sliding the second panel fully into position, trim a small notch into whichever panel will be on top. Make sure this notch is only part way through the overlap and its also useful if it’s in an area of the pattern that will be the easiest to match – something like strong lines or a change of colour.

If it’s a complex pattern or design, it may be handy to trim more than one triangle along the length. Remember though, only trim into the overlap and definitely not as far as where the main image starts. It should be easy to see the width of the overlap once you’ve seen the panels in position. We aim to print with around a 50mm overlap on either side.

Now when lining up the panels,  ‘look through’ the notch to the panel below and ensure you’re totally lined up.

Line up the strips and trim neatly through the overlap middle of both panels. Take out the excess wallpaper, apply the paste and smooth gently down. Job done.

This guide was originally posted on Facebook here.