How to find the right wall colour to match patterned wallpaper?

It is more and more common to use paint on certain walls, together with wallpaper, as it helps make the decor lighter, visually expand a room and structure the different areas. It also makes up for the increasing scarcity of plain wallpapers. But how do you choose the right hue for a beautifully harmonious result? Choosing a neutral colour or choosing the wallpaper background colour is rarely a mistake… and wallpaper providers often have inspiring suggestions. But to reach the perfect harmony, you need to listen to your emotions - and follow a few rules. To help you choose, this is an overview, step by step, of the best way to match the colour of a painted wall with a patterned design wallpaper.

Step 1: The right questions to ask yourself before combining a painted wall with wallpaper

What are the characteristics of the room to be wallpapered?

• Who is the room meant for? For your own personal home, you can be whimsical, but renting often implies a more sensible (unfurnished rental accommodation) or agreed upon (furnished rental) choice.
• Which era is the building from? Did you consider the connection between the historical style and the colours? Candied orange or aniseed green shades from the Artsy style will not really be suitable for an Art Nouveau decor...
• What is the function of the room? The colour chosen for a nursery should be soothing, whereas one for a creative workshop should be more energising.
• Is daylight illuminating the room? Is the room you are about to wallpaper light or dark? Where is the window located? A lighter colour opposite the window always boosts the brightness of a room.
• How big is the room? The darker the colours, the smaller the room seems to be. Therefore, it is important to consider the size of the room.
• What is the floor covering? The ceiling? We often tend to only consider the walls, but we also need to look up and down!
• How is the furniture arranged? The room will not stay empty: if a huge wardrobe is positioned against the only light-colour wall, the expected effect will not be achieved!

What do you want for this room?

• What mood do you want to create? Relaxed (soft colours), dynamic (bright colours or strong contrasts), cosy (darker, muted hues) ...
  
• What style would you like? Scandinavian (white, wood, ice blue), Art Deco (striking and gold), folkloric (whimsical and bright colours) ...
  
• Do you want your choice to be bold or understated? Are you adventurous or do you prefer a more classical decor?
• Which walls are you thinking of painting or wallpapering? This question is of significant importance for the colour balance and the room harmony. If the wallpaper pattern is busy, you can choose to apply it to a smaller amount of wall space and paint the remaining walls with just one plain colour.
• Do you want to paint one or several entire walls or just the door frames, the beams, the bottom half of the wall? Painting only the woodwork helps reduce the areas to paint and creates contrasts.
• Reading the above paragraph, you now need to check that what you want is compatible with the room characteristics!

Step 2: How do you match the plain wall colour with the wallpaper you have chosen?

If the background colour of your wallpaper is white (or a light colour):

1.Your wallpaper with a light background is two-tone

• With sparse and light patterns, you would choose a colour similar to the wallpaper background (sensible choice).

• With sparse but contrasted patterns, you might choose the pattern colour (bold choice).

• With abundant patterns, you would choose the pattern colour (balance).

2. Your wallpaper with a light background has a multicoloured pattern

• With sparse and light patterns, you would choose a colour similar to the wallpaper background (sensible choice).

• With sparse but contrasted patterns, you might choose one of the pattern colours for the woodwork, but not on the entire wall.

• With abundant patterns, you would choose the patterns’ main colour.

If the background colour of your wallpaper is a dark colour:

With a dark background colour, you will have to take the characteristics of the room into consideration because dark colours absorb light and make the room visually smaller.

1. Your wallpaper with a dark background is two-tone

• With sparse and light patterns, you would choose a colour similar to the wallpaper background (sensible choice but a darker room).

• With sparse but contrasted patterns, you might choose the pattern colour (bold choice but strong contrast).

• With abundant patterns, you would choose the pattern colour (balance).

• Specific case: with gold, silver, or copper patterns, you can choose a colour different from the base (for instance terracotta if the pattern is a copper colour or ice blue if the pattern is a silver colour).

2. Your wallpaper with a dark background has multicoloured patterns

• With sparse and light patterns, you would choose a colour similar to the wallpaper background (sensible choice but a darker room).

• With sparse but contrasted patterns, you can choose one of the pattern colours for the woodwork or an entire wall.

• With abundant patterns, you can choose the patterns’ main colour.

• To brighten the room, you can choose a gradation of the background colour (adding some white) or a lighter pattern colour.

3. If your wallpaper does not really have a background
If your wallpaper pattern and background consist of just one colour if the pattern is geometric and even (same-width stripes, same-size repetitive motifs), there is no main colour. You would then choose one of the two or three most prevalent colours for the matching paint (according to the style you want, the incident light, etc.).

• Sensible choice
  natural colour (white, linen, string) or light colour.

• More unusual choice
  bright colour or darker colour.

4. Specific case of a panoramic décor/mural

A panoramic wallpaper must be emphasised and should be a real eye-catcher. Therefore, all the other walls should be painted without creating too much contrast. This advice is also relevant for traditional wallpapers with big patterns used as panoramic decor.

• Black and white, two-tone panoramic decor
  The strong and neutral contrast allows using other colours for the remaining walls. White would be a sensible option, a colour related to the decor theme would be a more unusual option (medium blue for a maritime theme, almond green for a forest theme, etc.). Or how about creating a dynamic contrast (e.g. red) or even a “black box effect” like in a cinema (use anthracite grey, never black).
  
  
• Two-tone panoramic decor with a white background and colour patterns (usually navy blue, dark green or brown)
  For a sensible option, paint the other walls in white (you might want to use one of the wallpaper colours on the door frames). For a more unusual option, the other walls would be painted in a shade similar to the pattern colour, but in a lighter hue (for instance lime green for a forest green pattern).
  
  
• Multi-coloured panoramic decor with a white or light colour background
  You can choose either white or the main colour of the mural (for instance emerald green for a jungle mural), but don’t forget to consider the style and the era (the famous panoramas from the Zuber factory shouldn’t be combined with the same hues as reproductions of contemporary works of art).

Step 3: How do you choose the colour that perfectly matches the wallpaper?

How do you choose the right shade?

• The paint must match the wallpaper background or the pattern (a colour difference is possible for accessories but is not desirable for walls). Particular attention is necessary when choosing white as there are a thousand different hues!
• The good old colour chart method is alive and well! Many brands provide a colour chart (cardboard and fan-shaped) which helps make a first choice.
  
• If you are torn between several hues, always opt for the most subtle one (British manufacturers are experts in the art of shades).
• Some paint manufacturers are also wallpaper manufacturers and often suggest suitable combinations.
• Paint visualisers (smartphone apps) provided by some major brands can help you choose, but they cannot replace real visualisation or touching the texture.
  
• Because there are hundreds of shades of green or blue, the colour code is often needed to buy the correct paint. The wallpaper retailer might indicate, as a free service, the colour codes related to your chosen wallpaper.
  
• You can also go to a shop, big or small, where a professional will scan your wallpaper sample and tell you the codes related to the main colours (background and patterns). NB: There are several code systems, but the one most used by Anglo-Saxon designers is the universal colour system NCS (Natural Colour System).
• New apps for Smartphones can detect and identify the colours captured with the camera.
  
• From a colour code or a shade on a colour chart, the paint retailer can provide a mix made in a colour-mixing machine. (Don’t be surprised if a slightly stronger shade is suggested; they know how the specific paint reacts with light.)

How can you make sure that the result will match your expectations?

• Order one or more wallpaper samples (the bigger, the better) and paint samples (there are some sample sizes that let you cover about 1m2).
  
• Get rid of the old wall covering so that the surface underneath is as neutral as possible.
• Check the effect in situ: place the two samples next to each other (in the corner formed by two walls - wallpaper on one, paint on the other) and take your time to look at it at various times of the day (daylight and artificial light).
• Also, don’t forget to check if the colour works with the floor covering and the ceiling (which might also need a new coat of paint!).

Tips

• Can I use a second paint colour?
  The method above allows you to choose the main colour for the wall according to the characteristics of the chosen wallpaper. It is not advisable to paint the walls with two different hues (except for a gradation according to the light exposure). However, there is always the option of choosing a second hue and using it on smaller areas as a contrast colour, on woodwork or even furniture (lighter or darker shades of the same colour for a traditional atmosphere, complementary colour for a lively atmosphere).
  
  
• Can I use plain wallpaper instead of paint?
  There are few plain wallpapers which match design pattern wallpapers to perfection, but it might be interesting to use natural material or imitation wallpapers (linen, reed, wood, copper...).

It’s time to make a decision! Have you already chosen your preferred wallpaper? If you have, re-read the paragraphs for Step 1 to check the relevant questions for your choice, and then continue with the following steps. If you haven’t, take the time to answer every question to make the most appropriate choice possible while still being creative! Do you feel brave enough to express your creative personality on your walls?

About the author: Laure Mestre, À TOUS LES ÉTAGES (AT EVERY FLOOR)
Originally trained in economy and history of society, Laure Mestre set her interior design and architecture consulting agency “À tous les étages” up in the Paris (France) region. In her work with private individuals as well as communities, she endeavours to reconcile functional spaces with harmony, practicality, and beauty. Because every accommodation is there to house people, the human factor is the focus of all of her projects. www.decoatouslesetages.fr