How to choose the best quality designer wallpaper for luxury living

We’re best known for our extensive range of luxury tiles, for interior and exterior settings, which are available in a wide range of patterns, colours and sizes. However, in line with our objective to keep our product portfolio fresh and exciting, we also offer a premium paint portfolio. And we work with Next Gen Smart Homes, who are an installation partner for smart home automation manufacturer Loxone.

The Agate collection has been inspired by the curved bands of agate stone. Handprinted and created on beautiful textured grounds, such as linen, abaca or paper weaves, this is made to order with a lead time of 4-6 weeks. Showcased here in the colour, Malachite, on Ebony Glazed Abaca by Phillip Jeffries. Photo: Phillip Jeffries

A new partnership

Our latest collaboration within the world of luxury, bespoke interior design is with Phillip Jeffries, regarded as the industry leader in natural, textured and speciality wallpapers. Already the first choice for discerning homeowners, decorators, architects and interior designers, Phillip Jeffries is the global go-to for luxury wallpaper.

Unrivalled selections

Now in its fourth decade, the company was founded in 1976 with just ten grasscloths. From the humble beginnings of the family garage, Phillip Jeffries now stocks more than 1,000 ready-to-ship wallcoverings. The company works hand-in-hand with skilled artisans, to bring beautiful designer wallpaper to upscale homes and projects.

Lustrous velvet adds a new layer of sumptuous comfort with the Velvet Cocoon collection of wallpaper by Phillip Jeffries. Shown here in the colour, Enveloped Blue, this provides the perfect cosy backdrop in this bespoke bedroom design. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

The benefits of luxury wallpaper

After a few decades in the design wilderness, wallpaper is back with a bang. And there are plenty of reasons for its triumphant return. Obviously, the right designer wallpaper has serious aesthetic appeal. The huge range of colours, designs and textures available allows homeowners to showcase their personality and style.

Designed for high traffic and areas, which are high in moisture, such as the bathroom, this Type II performance wall covering from the new Vinyl Renaissance collection by Phillip Jeffries is perfect for creating panels in a luxury home. Featuring a minimalist, elegant washed look, there are a variety of colour options. Champagne Chalice, Stone Serenade and Blushing beauty (l-r) are shown here. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

But wallpaper can be a practical choice, too. It’s durable, easy to maintain, and hides imperfections well – perfect for older/period properties. High-quality wallpapers also last a long time, and can be applied to a variety of surface materials.

How to choose designer wallpaper

Luxury, designer wallpaper can be a big investment. So it’s important to look at a variety of ideas first before making the right choice. However, there are multiple key criteria to consider alongside personal preferences.

The right wallpaper colours and shades

We all have a colour or even more than one that we instinctively like and dislike, which will of course influence any luxury wallpaper purchases. So, if you’re starting from scratch, always take note of a room’s natural light and temperature. A space with lots of ambient window light can support both light and dark shades. However, a deeper colour may feel too oppressive in rooms with little or no natural light, for example.

If you're a fan of modern patterns, you'll love Phillips Jeffries’ new Lustrous Lines collection, shown here in Sable Curves. This is a textile wallcovering, which will add a hint of glamour to walls with fabric, and resembles silk and metallic foil accents in a laminate finish. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

If you’re refreshing an existing room within a house renovation with luxury wallpaper, choose a palette that complements the other tones and shades within the space. This includes not just any other paint colours (e.g. the woodwork), but also the furniture, light fixtures, soft furnishings and floor.

The pros of patterned wallpaper

Paint simply cannot compete with the variety of patterns and textures offered by designer wallpaper. Patterned wallpaper is visually engaging, offers a whole host of different styles and can also enhance the depth and dimensions of a room.

Printed on a beautiful, textured paper wallcovering this new large-scale abstract design, Curves, features a modern, graphic look. Showcased here in Juniper Arcs on Gesso Vinyl Canvas and designed by Phillip Jeffries. Photo: Phillip Jeffries

As with patterned wall and floor tiles, this style in wallpaper makes an instant statement. Pattern can be classic or contemporary. So whether you’re a fan of pretty florals, animal prints or abstract geometrics, there’s sure to be an option to suit.

If you’re worried about overwhelm, experiment with patterned wallpaper in areas in a home that you pass through – such as a hallway – as opposed to rooms you spend a lot of time in.

Inspired by suede, Phillip Jeffries’ new Suede Lounge in White Russian adds warmth and texture to walls and features Citrine dimensional ribbons for an immersive mural from the new Fluent collection. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

Creating a wallpaper feature wall

Patterned designer wallpaper is an excellent choice for a feature wall. You can use it to add impact and interest to a space, with very little disruption to the rest of the room. Feature walls are meant to be bright and bold, so the personality and pizzazz of this type of wallpaper really is perfect for this role. You can even use designer wallpaper to cover just one section of a feature wall, by papering a panel area, to give the appearance of a piece of art.

Our Eternal Spring collection designed by Phillip Jeffries is shown here in Pink on Gesso Vinyl Canvas in this bedroom for an elegant scenic wallcovering mural, featuring birds and butterflies in the natural world among modern silhouettes of camellia and magnolia trees. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

Sizing up the options

With wallpapers – especially the patterned variety – size most definitely matters. The size of the room you plan to decorate should influence the scale of the design. So, if you or your client has a passion for pattern, select smaller prints for a compact space, and go large in a big room. That’s because a small pattern can look fussy in a large setting, while anything too big can overpower a small room.

A painterly botanical featuring abstract leaf silhouettes have been digitally printed on a beautiful, textured wallcovering to create more depth in this new feature wall design from the Sprig Silhouette collection and showcased here in the colour, Honey Lace, on Brilliant Perfect Paper by Phillip Jeffries. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

Where to wallpaper

The clue is in the name – wallpaper is for walls. But using wallpaper for ceilings too is a fast-growing trend. This is a confident interiors choice (especially if bold colours and/or patterns are used), but it’s a wonderful way to elevate a bespoke space and add excitement and personality.

The Metallic Ombre collection by Phillip Jeffries is a design classic, which is showcased here in Pewter on Persian Silver Silk and Abaca. Featuring authentic metallic leafing which is artistically placed by skilled artisans, to produce these distinctive wallcoverings. This luxurious style is perfectly suited to panels. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

Avoid dark, dense palettes and patterns if the room is small, low-ceilinged, or receives little natural light. Choose a bold wallpaper shade to contrast with neutral walls and floors, or mix and match your ceiling and wallpaper pattern for added impact. A striking ceiling wallpaper design often works well with a statement chandelier. Or you could choose a ceiling colour to coordinate with other design accents in a room, such as cushions, rugs and upholstery.

What not to do with luxury wallpaper

What you don’t do when choosing designer wallpaper is just as important as what you do implement. First and foremost, don’t buy before you try. Call in luxury wallpaper samples, and attach them to the areas they are destined for. Leave these pinned up there for a while, and observe how everything looks in all different types of light, both artificial and natural, from morning to evening.

Boucle Strings is a new textured wallcovering, which will add instant warmth and texture to your walls, and is designed by Phillip Jeffries. Featuring a chic, vertical weave reminiscent of a boucle textile, it’s laminated and treated with a stain repellent finish. Colourways showcased here (t-b) are Golden Harvest, Sunlit Prairie, Taupe Trail and Horizon at Dusk. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

Don’t think that patterned designer wallpapers are the only way to make an impact. Plain, textured wallpaper in your preferred colour can look equally stunning.

Crucially, don’t underestimate how much wallpaper you’re actually going to need – especially if your choice is patterned. It’s not just about the size of your walls. You’ll need to take the wallpaper ‘repeat’ and ‘match’ into consideration when calculating the amount of rolls needed. For example, straight match wallpaper must be matched at the same height each time. Drop match wallpapers must match both vertically and horizontally.

Designed by Phillip Jeffries, the Woven Wicker collection features a virtually seamless wallcovering thanks to sustainable, natural paper yarns, which are weaved in to create this wicker-inspired pattern. Showcased here in Soft Blues. Photo: Phillip Jeffries 

Call in the professionals

Luxury wallpaper is an investment. So unless you’re an expert, use a wallpaper professional to apply it. This will avoid issues such as uneven matches, bad trim lines and bubbles. A professional will also use the correct paste and lining paper, to create the perfect canvas.