A screen, whether it’s your phone, tablet or laptop, cannot accurately replicate colour. Every device displays colours differently depending on its brightness settings, colour calibration and screen quality. Every home has it’s own light and vibe too, so wallpaper and fabric looks different in every home so samples takes out of the guess work.
Samples are the only way to truly know how a fabric or wallpaper will look and feel in your specific space, under your specific lighting conditions, with your specific furniture and finishes.
Professional interior designers order samples as a matter of course, every single time, without exception. It’s not indecision. It’s wisdom.
When you’re browsing and something catches your eye, order the sample. Even if you’re not sure yet. Even if it’s just a maybe. Samples are a tiny investment compared to the cost, and the frustration, of ordering the wrong thing.
Don’t just order your top choice either. Order two or three options that you’re considering so you can compare them side by side. Colours and patterns always look different next to each other than they do in isolation, and seeing them together often makes the decision obvious.
This is the step most people skip, and it’s the most important one.
Light changes everything. A wallpaper that looks stunning in warm afternoon sun can feel flat and cold under artificial evening lighting. A fabric that looks rich and saturated on a bright day can appear almost muddy in a dim room.
Test your samples at different times of day; morning light, midday, late afternoon and in the evening with your lamps on. Hold the sample against your wall or drape it over your furniture in situ. Move it around the room. Notice how it changes.
If your room has limited natural light, this step is especially critical. North-facing rooms in particular can dramatically alter how colours appear, what looks warm in a south-facing room can feel completely different in one that gets little direct sun.
Step Three: Live With Them For a Few DaysStick wallpaper samples directly onto your wall with a small piece of removable tape or a blu-tack dot in each corner. For fabric samples, drape them over or pin them to the furniture or window treatment you’re considering them for.
Then leave them there. Don’t make a decision on the first day. Look at them over several days, at different times of day, in different moods. You’ll notice things you didn’t see at first; the samples you stop noticing are usually the right ones. The ones that start to feel slightly wrong will reveal themselves quickly.
Your fabrics and wallpapers don’t exist in isolation, they need to work with everything else in the room. Bring your sample to sit alongside your existing or planned paint colour, flooring, furniture upholstery, cushions and accessories.
A simple trick: collect all your samples and swatches together on a neutral white or grey background and photograph them. Looking at them through a camera lens rather than in person can give you a fresh perspective and helps you see the overall picture more objectively.
If you’re coordinating fabric across multiple pieces, curtains, cushions, a headboard, an armchair, order samples of all of them together and assess them as a collection rather than individually.
For patterned fabrics and wallpapers in particular, scale is everything, and it’s almost impossible to judge from a small product image.
A sample gives you a real sense of how a pattern repeat will work in your space. A bold floral that looks elegant in a product photo might feel overwhelming on four walls of a small room, or it might look underwhelming as a single statement wall in a large space.
When you have your sample, hold it up against the wall or fold it to roughly the width of a cushion or the drop of a curtain. Try to visualise the repeat multiplied across the full surface. If you’re unsure, take a photo of the sample in place and duplicate it in a simple editing app to get a rough sense of how it will look at scale.
For fabrics especially, texture and weight matter enormously, and they’re things you simply cannot get from a photo.
Run the fabric through your hands. Feel the weight. Consider how it will hang as a curtain, sit as an upholstery, or drape as a cushion cover. If you’re choosing for a practical application, a kitchen blind, a family sofa, children’s curtains, think about durability, cleanability and how it will look after regular washing or use.
There is no such thing as ordering too many samples! The small cost of a sample is nothing compared to the cost, financially and emotionally, of committing to the wrong fabric or wallpaper for a whole room.
Professional designers will tell you the same thing every time: never skip the sample stage. It’s not a luxury or an indulgence. It’s the sensible, confident way to make a decision you’ll be happy with for years.
Ready to get started?Browsing our full collection is the perfect place to begin. Found something you love? Add the sample to your basket and see it in your home before you commit, that’s exactly what samples are there for.
Because the best interior decisions are the ones you make with confidence. And confidence comes from seeing it, touching it and living with it first.
Explore our wallpaper and fabric today and order your samples.
Not sure where to start? Our team is always happy to help, whether you need advice on coordinating fabrics and wallpapers, guidance on pattern scale or recommendations for your specific room and lighting. Get in touch and we’ll point you in the right direction!