The Front Entry is Getting a Makeover

Have you ever put something out into the universe without expectation, and something delightfully unexpected happened in return? A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about choosing wallpaper samples for the Front Entry. You may remember that I left you hanging. Will she choose orange? Will it be black? That exercise made me realize that buying wallpaper from Spoonflower was my choice for this project, but the timing wasn’t quite right. I put the whole thing on the back burner.

Here’s where it gets good. Spoonflower saw my post and offered to sponsor the front entry makeover by providing all of the wallpaper! So, it’s on! The Front Entry is finally getting the beautiful makeover it deserves.

This post is sponsored by Spoonflower. All opinions are my own.

Why Spoonflower?

When I started looking for wallpaper for the front entry, I was not sure what I wanted. I needed a website with plenty of choices since I was starting from scratch. Spoonflower fit my requirements, and I was sidetracked by the adorable table linens and bedding almost immediately. Window shopping is fun.

When I focused on looking for wallpaper, I fell down a search rabbit hole and only surfaced a few hours later.

I mean, just look at these cute little trees. Somebody, please use this print and send me a picture.

Finding patterns I like is one piece of the puzzle, but it is not the only one for me. There is so much waste and overconsumption in the DIY and design world. I will not even pretend that I always make the right environmentally-minded decisions. However, I do check out a company’s business practices and history before I make a large purchase.

My cursory research on Spoonflower uncovered that their designs come from Independent artists all over the world who earn up to a 15% commission from each sale. That was something I could get behind!

When I dug a little deeper, I saw that Spoonflower is also committed to sustainable practices. They print on demand using a fraction of the water of typical printing processes and use cleaner dyes. Also, they source their materials from a small group of trusted vendors. So even though Spoonflower goods ship internationally, it feels an awful lot like shopping local to support a company that aligns with my values.

Buying Wallpaper From Spoonflower – Finding the Print You Want

Finding the print you want admittedly takes some time. When an artist uploads a design, they choose multiple tags, such as trees or green or watercolor. The more descriptive labels, the better. Those tags are used by Spoonflower’s search function–a standard system on many different types of websites.

The benefit of multiple tags is that we can all search for what we want using search terms that mean something to us individually. I might want to search by color, but another person may want to search for allover pattern or stripes.

In fact, I did initially search by color when I fell in love with an orange entryway by interior designer Brian Patrick Flynn. When I typed orange into the search bar, Spoonflower served up a whole lot choices ranging from literal citrus to multi-colored designs that included the color orange–500 pages with 80 options each, to be exact.

That’s a lot.

You can sort a little more by choosing best selling, new, or fresh picks, but it would be nice to have additional filter options, Fortunately, I quickly realized that I was interested in actual citrus, after all, and I narrowed my search. Wallpaper is a big purchase, and for most of us, it is a long-term decision. A thorough search for the right print is worth the time.

Tip: Always buy samples before you commit. I outlined that process in this post: Choosing Wallpaper for the Front Entry

How Much Should I Order?

Although I have wallpapered several rooms, I am not an expert voice in how much to order. However, I can offer some guidelines based on my experience. Please contact Spoonflower if you have any concerns about how much to order.

Once you commit to buying wallpaper from Spoonflower, you will need to decide how much to order. Spoonflower offers three different wallpaper choices, non-pasted traditional pebble, peel and stick removable woven, and prepasted removable smooth. The specs on each are in this comparison chart. I will be using the prepasted removable smooth paper option in BHH.

Taking Basic Measurements:

• Measure the width of all of the walls in feet (round up). Take that total measurement and divide it by two feet (24″) which is the width of each wallpaper roll. The answer equals the number of rolls to buy.
• Measure the height of your walls in feet (round up). This number tells you what length of rolls to buy. For instance, my walls are 10′ high. The prepasted removable smooth paper that I chose comes in 9′ or 12′ rolls. I need the 12′ rolls because horizontal seams are not a thing in wallpapering unless you cannot avoid them.

Don’t order yet!

That measuring method gives you an exact amount without any consideration for mistakes, door and window openings, or pattern repeat sometimes called pattern drop.

Pattern Repeat or Drop

In my wallpapering fantasy, one roll fits perfectly with no cuts, top to bottom. Then, the pattern on the piece beside it lines up precisely without any shifting. This dream scenario does not happen. Take a second to feel sad with me.

Basically, for wallpaper, artists create a square or rectangle panel with their design. The pattern runs off the sides of the panel to prevent a gap in the motif. Then, they copy it vertically, over and over. The same pattern repeats or drops according to the specifications of the artist or the requirements of the printer. If a design is not staggered like that, some allover patterns become stripes or too matchy-match when the paper is installed.

I will have an installation post for you next week that clarifies how this works out in the wild.

The Spoonflower site has beautiful images. The photo below is just a quick screenshot to illustrate pattern repeat from side-to-side.

What does this all mean?

Using BHH as an example, my ceilings are 10′ tall, and I am ordering 12′ rolls, and I may have to shift the pattern up and down a bit to line up the pattern from side-to-side. The fact that the numbers all work easily is a happy and welcome bit of serendipity.

The leftover pieces can often be used under or over doors and windows.

Accounting for Mistakes and Window and Door Openings

This consideration is always a bit of a gamble. All Spoonflower products are made-to-order, and it is essential to read and understand their return policy first.

Here are a few suggestions for DIYers and novice wallpaperers:

• If your room has a simple layout with very few openings, consider ignoring them in your calculations. Then, you will have extra paper in case you make mistakes.
• In a room with complicated shapes, visualize those shapes as full rectangles and order accordingly.
• If your budget is super tight, take a chance on more exact measurements, knowing you may have to place a second order to finish your project.
• In a room with many doors and windows or double openings, it is appropriate to subtract some of those measurements from the number of rolls you’ll need (Don’t forget the pattern repeat!). However, I suggest you split the difference in half or more, depending on your confidence level, to account for mistakes.

Since most orders cannot be returned unless the product is damaged, the idea is to mitigate surplus but keep the project on track too. If you want to play it super safe, you can always order extra later.

Buying Wallpaper From Spoonflower – Placing An Order

Once you know how much you need to order, buying wallpaper from Spoonflower is straightforward. Orders are printed on-demand, and shipping times vary. Orders typically arrive in about two weeks. There are rush delivery options available if you need them.

Which Wallpaper Did We Choose?

It is finally time to tell you which gorgeous wallpaper print we chose for the front entry of BHH. Let me d r a g it out a little more. In the previous post, I narrowed it down to two colorways of Fruit by William Morris. The choices were black or orange.

The color we chose is…

Black!

Every beautiful roll is sitting in a box next to me right now. After a little prep, we will hang it this weekend. Be sure to follow along on Instagram, and I will share a wallpaper hanging tutorial on the blog next week.

Do you have any questions about buying wallpaper from Spoonflower that I did not cover? If you have questions about how and why we accept sponsorships and my commitment to Habitat For Humanity, please be sure to read this post.

The wallpaper is just the first step of the full front entry makeover, and I am so excited to get started.

PS: If you are looking for something custom, Spoonflower can handle that too!

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