Why Order Wallpaper Samples Before You Buy

Wallpaper samples are the quickest way to see what a design really looks like on your wall. A screen can't show you texture, thickness or how a shade shifts between morning and evening light. A small swatch can, and it takes the guesswork out of a large, made-to-your-size order. Here's what to check, which material to test, and how to get one.

Order a swatch of the material you're considering, tape it to the actual wall at eye level, and check it in daylight, lamplight and evening shade for two or three days. Compare texture and finish up close and from across the room before you place the full order.

What Can a Sample Swatch Show That a Screen Can't?

A sample swatch shows the true shade, surface texture, thickness and finish of a design in your own room's light. Screens adjust brightness and contrast, so a soft sage can look minty online and muddy on a shaded wall. Holding the real paper closes that gap before you commit to a full wall.

Here's what only the real thing reveals:

• Shade in your light. A north-facing bedroom and a sunny kitchen can make the same design look like two different tones.
• Texture. The woven feel of Canvas Paper, the feather finish of Premium Paper and the caviar surface of Peel & Stick barely show up in photos.
• Finish. Matte and pearl luster behave very differently once a lamp is switched on.

If you'd like to see finished rooms as well, our customer photos show real walls in real homes.

Are Wallpaper Samples Worth It for Custom-Sized Orders?

Yes. Wallpaper samples are worth it whenever a design is printed to your wall's exact size, because a custom print is made just for you. A small swatch costs far less than reprinting a whole wall, and it answers two questions photos can't: does the shade suit the room, and does the finish feel right?

A sample matters most when:

• You're covering a large feature wall or a whole room
• The room gets strong, low or unusual light
• You're torn between two materials, say matte Canvas and shimmering Metallic Pearl
• The design uses deep, saturated or very pale tones, which shift most with light
• You're choosing a metallic or textured finish for the first time

You might skip the sample if you're reordering a material and design you already have on another wall.

Sample Book or Single Swatches: Why Not Both?

The sample book is a paid add-on. It helps most if you’re still deciding between several finishes. If you already know the two or three materials you want, single swatches are enough.

What you want to know	Sample book	Single swatches
Browse many finishes at once	Good	Limited to what you pick
See a finish on your actual wall	Hard to tape up	Easy, one per spot
Compare two finishes side by side	Pages get in the way	Easy
Live with it for a few days	Usually back on a shelf	Stays on the wall

Use the sample book to narrow down the finishes you like, then tape the swatches of your top two or three picks side by side on the wall you're decorating. You can tick several materials at once in the Buy Sample window.

Can You Preview a Design in Your Own Room Before Ordering a Sample?

Yes. Wallanza's See It in Your Room tool places a design onto a photo of your own wall, so you can judge pattern scale and overall style before a swatch arrives. Use the room preview to shortlist two or three designs, then order swatches of those picks to check the real shade, texture and finish.

How the room preview works

1. Open a design you like. Start with our most popular designs and open any design page.
2. Click See it in your room. The button sits next to the product images.
3. Upload a photo of your room. Choose a photo of the wall from your phone or computer.
4. View your room preview. The design appears on your wall. Download the image to share or compare later, or upload a new photo to try another wall.
   

Tips for the most accurate preview

• Capture the full wall, from floor to ceiling and corner to corner, so the design is shown at a realistic scale.
• Include furniture and decor like the sofa, bed or shelves. Seeing the design next to what's already in the room is the whole point.
• Take the photo horizontally (landscape), which fits a full wall better than a tall, narrow shot.
• Shoot in daylight with the main lights off, so the room tones in the photo are as close to real life as possible.

What you want to check	Room preview	Physical swatch
Pattern scale on a full wall	Best	Only part of the pattern
Style with your furniture	Best	Good, up close
True shade in your light	Close, depends on the photo	Best
Texture and thickness	Not visible	Best
Matte vs pearl finish	Not visible	Best

The two work best together. The room preview answers whether a design suits the room, and the swatch answers whether the material feels right. Preview first, then sample your top picks and test them with the checks below.

How to Test a Swatch at Home: A 7-Point Check

Test a swatch on the wall it's meant for, at eye level, for two or three days. Check it in morning daylight, afternoon sun and evening lamplight, then look from across the room as well as up close. These seven checks catch almost every surprise before the full order arrives.

1. Tape it to the real wall. Not a table, a board or the floor. Wall light is different.
2. Check three times of day. Morning, mid-afternoon and evening with your usual lamps on.
3. Step back to your everyday view. Stand where you'll usually see the wall from: the sofa, the bed or your desk. That's the view you'll live with, not the one a few inches from your nose. Keep your room preview image open on your phone to compare the full-wall look with the real swatch.
4. Hold it against your furniture, flooring and trim. A tone that works alone can clash with a warm wood floor.
5. Run your hand over it. Texture you can feel affects how the wall catches light.
6. Test peel and stick on your wall surface. Press one corner of a Peel & Stick swatch onto the wall for a day, then lift it gently to see how it holds and releases. If you plan to move it later, read our guide on whether peel and stick wallpaper is reusable.
7. Compare two finishes side by side. Deciding between two is far easier than judging one on its own.

Still unsure which style suits which room? Our room-by-room guide to choosing wallpaper helps narrow it down.

Which of the 8 Materials Should You Sample for Your Room?

Sample the materials that match how the room is used. Busy hallways and homes with pets suit thicker, scratch-resistant papers. Bedrooms and living rooms suit smooth or fabric-textured matte finishes. Rentals suit self-adhesive options. Pick two or three candidates and compare them side by side.

Room or need	Materials worth sampling	What to check on the swatch
Bedrooms and living rooms	Standard Paper, Canvas Paper, Brush Stroke	Matte finish under lamplight, texture up close
Hallways, kids' rooms, homes with pets	Premium Paper, Canvas Paper	Scratch resistance, sponge-cleanable surface
Rentals and dorm rooms	Peel & Stick, Peel & Stick Fabric	How firmly it holds and how cleanly it lifts
Statement and luxury rooms	Metallic Pearl, Gold Line	Shimmer in daylight vs lamplight, depth of darker tones
Botanical and vintage designs	Gold Line, Brush Stroke	How the natural texture softens the print

Metallic Pearl has a soft pearl luster that moves with the light, which suits geometric designs and art deco patterns.

Gold Line is a non-woven fabric with a natural texture that gives prints a painterly depth, a good match for floral patterns and vintage designs.

For a richer statement wall, sample Metallic Pearl or Gold Line against a few of our luxury designs.

Renters usually compare Peel & Stick with Peel & Stick Fabric first. Both are self-adhesive and remove cleanly, and you can browse the full peel and stick range before choosing.

For thickness, surface and finish side by side, see our guide to choosing a wallpaper material.

The full specs of every material are on our paper types page.

How Do You Get Material Swatches From Wallanza?

Open any design, click Buy Sample, tick the materials you want to compare and add them to your cart. Each swatch measures 17 x 11 inches (about 43 x 28 cm), large enough to tape to the wall and judge texture, finish and shade in your own room.

1. Pick a design. Start from our full wallpaper collection or any style you like.
2. Click Buy Sample. A window shows all 8 materials: Standard Paper, Canvas Paper, Premium Paper, Brush Stroke, Gold Line, Metallic Pearl, Peel & Stick and Peel & Stick Fabric.
3. Tick two or three materials you want to compare, then add them to your cart.
4. Add the sample book if you want it. It is available for an extra charge. Use it to compare the materials you ticked with the rest of the range. 

Ordering two or three materials together is the easiest way to compare finishes on the same wall, in the same light, at the same time. 

Questions People Ask Before Choosing a Finish

How long should a swatch stay on the wall before a final decision?

A swatch should stay on the wall for two or three days before a final decision. Light shifts across the day and with the weather, so a shade judged once at noon can look warmer, cooler or darker by evening. Checking on a cloudy day as well gives the most honest read.

Does a metallic pearl finish look different under lamplight?

A metallic pearl finish looks noticeably different under lamplight. Daylight brings out a soft, even glow, while warm bulbs catch the pearl luster at angles and add depth to darker tones. Checking a Metallic Pearl swatch in both kinds of light shows the full range of the finish before the room is complete.

Can a small swatch show how a large pattern will look across a full wall?

A small swatch shows the true shade and texture but only part of a large repeating pattern. Pairing the swatch with the full design image on the product page, viewed from the distance of a sofa or bed, gives a far better sense of pattern scale across a full wall.

Is a textured finish harder to keep clean than a smooth matte finish?

A textured finish is not automatically harder to keep clean. Canvas Paper and Premium Paper are both sponge-cleanable despite their woven and feather textures. Deep brush-stroke or caviar surfaces can hold dust in the grooves, so a gentle dry cloth first, then a damp sponge, keeps the surface fresh.