How Do You Test a Wallpaper Sample Before Committing to a Roll?
Last updated: October 3, 2026
In short: Tape it where the paper will hang and live with it for a few days. A wallpaper sample shows four things a screen cannot: how the scale sits in your room, how the color behaves in your light, how the surface catches it, and how the pattern reads from across the room as well as from arm's length. A sample costs little compared with a wall's worth of the wrong choice, and it is the one step most buyers are glad they took.
Why isn't a screen enough?
Because a screen shows the picture and not the room. House Digest's Rebecca Corey is blunt about the habit: "but before settling on and buying a whole roll, taking home a sample is an essential step you definitely shouldn't skip." Her reasons are four: scale, which can look overwhelming or underwhelming in your space compared with a showroom display; color, which can look more or less vibrant in real life than on a computer; lighting, which changes through the day; and texture, which only a physical sample can show.
William Blake asked for a similar kind of attention when he wrote of the way "To see a World in a Grain of Sand / And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, / Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand / And Eternity in an hour." A sample is a grain of sand with a whole room inside it.
What should you look for in a sample?
Look at it at two distances. The artist Ana Kraš, speaking to Domino years ago about what she wants from a wall, described a pattern that works at both: "I prefer wallpaper to have interesting lines and details when you come close, but when viewed in total it should be subtle and not take over the space." Stand at arm's length and read the marks; then stand across the room and read the field.
Then look at it across a day. Tape it to the wall where it will hang, and see it in the morning, in the afternoon, and under the lamps you actually use at night. A color that is quiet at noon can warm by evening, and a sheen that is invisible in daylight can come alive in lamplight.
Last, look at its neighbors. Josef Albers taught that a color changes with whatever sits beside it, and a wall is full of neighbors: trim, floor, fabric, a painting. Hold the sample against them.
How long should you live with it?
Longer than feels necessary. Francis Bacon, in his essay "Of Studies," sorted books by the way they should be taken in: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." A wallpaper is a book you will read every day. Taste it first. If it still holds your attention after a week, you have found one worth chewing.
What can a sample do for a designer's client?
It gives the client something to hold, which is a better conversation than a screen. A designer can lay the sample against the fabrics and finishes of the room, leave it with the client for a few days, and decide together. In this studio's Trade Program, designers receive up to five free samples, along with trade pricing and custom colorway and scale on request.
What does a sample from this studio show?
Each of my patterns begins as one of my original paintings, then becomes a printed repeat. The sample lets you judge that in your own hands: the pattern drawn from the painting, and the surface it is printed on, a 20 oz Type II commercial-grade vinyl with an embossed face and a slight strié shimmer. The hand is in the source painting; the roll is printed. Rolls are 24 inches wide, pre-trimmed and unpasted (52 inches for commercial), sold by the yard with a 30-yard minimum and printed to order in about two weeks.
Order the sample first. The roll can wait.
→ Explore the patterns: All wallpaper patterns · Designers and specifiers: Trade Program · The originals: Paintings available now
Frequently asked questions
Should I order a wallpaper sample before buying?
Yes. A sample shows scale, color, light and texture in your own room, which a screen cannot. House Digest calls taking a sample home an essential step you should not skip.
How should I test a wallpaper sample?
Tape it to the wall where the paper will hang. Look at it from arm's length and from across the room, in morning light, afternoon light and under lamps in the evening, and live with it for a few days.
Can designers get samples for client presentations?
Yes. In this studio's Trade Program, designers receive up to five free samples, trade pricing, and custom colorway and scale on request.
What does this studio's wallpaper sample show?
It shows the pattern drawn from an original painting, printed on 20 oz Type II commercial-grade vinyl with an embossed face and a slight strié shimmer, so you can judge the surface as well as the image.
Trade program and designer pricing · Start a conversation about a commission