Wallpaper

How to choose wallpaper

Wallpaper is the cheapest way to transform a room and the easiest decoration decision to get wrong. The differences between £15-a-roll and £80-a-roll wallpapers are real but not always visible in product photos. The decisions are pattern, paste type, and which wall to paper.

Paste type is the install spec to check first:

• Paste-the-paper: traditional. Apply paste to the back of the paper, fold and let it soak, hang. Higher skill required, longer install.
• Paste-the-wall: modern. Apply paste directly to the wall, hang dry paper. Faster, easier, less mess. The standard for most contemporary brands.
• Peel and stick: self-adhesive vinyl. No paste, no soaking. Right for renters and short-term decoration.
• Pre-pasted: paste activates with water. Less common in the UK.

Pattern repeat matters for both ordering and installation. A small repeat (5-10cm) means little waste; a large repeat (50-70cm) means significant waste and you need to order extra rolls. Random match patterns drop hangs at any height; straight match patterns need specific alignment.

Which wall to paper: feature-wall papering (one wall, not all four) is the safe bet for bold patterns. Full-room papering works for muted, small-scale patterns and traditional damasks. Chimney-breast walls, walls behind beds, and dining-room feature walls are the high-leverage choices.

Quantity: each roll covers around 5 square metres after pattern matching. Measure the wall in square metres, divide by 5, round up, add one extra roll for waste and future repairs. Same batch number across all rolls; colour shifts between batches.

The brands and retailers we list

We pull around 8,700 wallpapers across the UK retailer network.

Robert Dyas stocks the broadest range, including the recognised Galerie brand for designed prints.

The Range covers the value bracket from £8 to £30 a roll.

Filter the grid above by colour, pattern style or price to narrow things down. Prices update daily.