In the world of interior design, choosing the right colours is paramount and colour trends are a hot topic again as paint brands launch their ‘colour of the year’ for 2024. Valspar announced their colour of the Year for 2024 as ‘Renew Blue’ which is a bold shade of turquoise. Dulux went for the opposite approach for their 2024 colour of the year ‘Sweet Embrace’ and chose a calming and muted shade of beige with undertones of pink.
While it’s common practise to choose a wallpaper that pairs well with a paint colour, many homeowners want to go one step further and get an exact colour match across both paint and paper, but it can be difficult to know how to achieve this. James Mellan-Matulewicz, Creative Director at wallpaper brand Bobbi Beck has shared his expert advice when it comes to getting the exact same colour for your paint and wallpaper.
James’ top tips are;
1. Don’t rely on web colours as a reference. If you’re looking for a perfect match then it’s important to get paper and paint samples in your hands, especially if you’re shopping online. Everyone’s screens have different settings so colours represented online are often distorted.
2. Start with the paper. While some wallpaper brands offer customisation, it’s generally easier to get a custom paint colour to match the paper. The easiest thing to do is to get a paper sample and take it into a local paint store. They can scan the paper with a colour reader and produce a paint in that colour.
3. Double check your quantities. If you’re customising a wallpaper or paint to match, you’re unlikely to be able to return any excess, as typically customised products are non-returnable. It’s therefore important to get as accurate as possible with how much paint and paper you need for your project.
4. Check colours in different lights. Before committing to your colour, it’s essential to sample it in the room you’re decorating. Lighting and surroundings can significantly impact how a colour appears. Test a small area of the wall with your chosen paint colour and observe it at different times of the day to ensure it works well with your wallpaper.
5. Check batch numbers. If you’re ordering from a wallpaper supplier that manufactures in large batches then you should check the batch number before ordering. You want to make sure your sample and final wallpaper order are from the same batch, as you can get colour deviations between print runs.
6. Be realistic in your expectations. While you may be looking for a perfect colour match between your paint and wallpaper its important to remember that they’re not the same products so there may always be some minor colour discrepancies. This could be based on how the paint reacts to certain walls, the different finishes across the materials, such as mattes, satins and glosses and how surrounding colours in the room can affect your perception of the other colours.
—
About James Mellan-Matulewicz
James is Creative Director and Designer at Bobbi Beck, a design and print studio specialising in sustainable luxury wallpaper. He has over 10 years leading multidisciplinary design and visual communication teams. For the past 8 years, he has been working in the interior design industry in creative director roles, overseeing design and interior styling for interiors products.
About Bobbi Beck
Bobbi Beck is a design and print studio specialising in sustainable luxury wallpaper. Its products are designed and made-to-order in its Cornwall-based studio and sold internationally. It is a design brand with a broad style. The team takes inspiration from a variety of sources, creating patterns and murals for a variety of tastes.
Bobbi Beck wallpaper is made to order and the brand offers a colour-matching service, allowing you to customise your wallpaper to a pre-existing paint colour.