Wallpaper pattern books to look through in the showroom, with everything ordered in to suit the room. Nothing is held in stock, because a paper that suits one room rarely suits the next.
Scale is what most decisions turn on. A pattern that looks right in a book can overwhelm a small room or disappear entirely in a large one, and a repeat that works on a flat wall can fight with a chimney breast or a staircase.
It is worth bringing photographs of the wall, and the room’s other colours. A wallpaper is usually chosen against the fabrics rather than before them.
Judging a paper before you commit
See it big. A pattern that is charming at the size of a book page can be overwhelming across a chimney breast, and the only reliable way to tell is a large sample on the actual wall, looked at over a day rather than a minute.
Check the repeat, because it decides quantity. A large drop repeat means more waste when the paper is matched across widths, and that moves the number of rolls more than the price per roll does. And order everything you need at once: rolls from different batches can differ enough to see.
Where wallpaper earns its place
One wall done properly usually beats four done timidly. Chimney breasts, the wall behind a bed, the inside of an alcove and the back of open shelving all take a pattern well because they are already framed by something.
Halls and stairs are the other place worth being braver, since you pass through rather than sit in them. Textured and grasscloth papers do something different again: they add depth without pattern, and they are forgiving on walls that are not perfectly flat.
Seeing it in person
The showroom is at York House on Vicarage Lane in Bowdon, open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm. An appointment helps but is not necessary. It is a retail showroom and you are welcome to walk in.
Questions we get asked
Do you hold wallpaper in stock?
No, and deliberately. Everything is ordered in to suit the room, so the range is current rather than whatever was bought last year.
Can we take a sample home?
Yes, and for anything you are serious about we will get a large sample rather than a swatch.
Do you arrange hanging?
On a design project, yes. A good paper hung badly is a waste of a good paper, particularly with a large repeat or a delicate surface.
Papers we stock and order in
A sample of the range rather than all of it. Texture is most of what these papers do, and a photograph flattens it, which is the whole argument for coming in and handling the books.
