Metallic Wallpaper

Metallic wallpaper and what the shine does

A metallic finish is directional. Light crossing the wall at an angle comes back off the metal; light striking it square on mostly does not. The pattern carries the metal while the ground stays matte, so the same panel reads as quiet texture at two in the afternoon and lifts into shine when the lamps come on.

Rooms that suit it

The curated set runs to 101 hand-picked designs. Gold dominates: veining through pale and dark marble, fine line work in geometric repeats, gilded botanicals on a matte ground, and dense Mughal-style pattern that wants a wall to itself. Silver and grey run cooler. Give it a wall light travels across, a passage's long side or a stairwell landing. It struggles where a ceiling tube floods it head on.

Sizing, pricing and fitting

It is sold by the square foot and cut to your wall, not as fixed rolls, from Rs 129 per square foot. The print arrives in sections of 2 to 4 feet, each carrying a half-inch to one-inch overlap so a fitter can slide the pattern into register. Past Rs 5,000, fitting is free on walls up to 10 feet in major cities; taller walls, ceilings and curves can cost more.

Care and the wall beneath

Metallic reports what lies beneath it: every ridge and filled crack takes a highlight of its own, so the wall wants to be clean, smooth, oil-primed and dry before fitting. Damp is worse: seepage surfaces as bubbling months later, and a bubble breaks the highlight's run. Clean with a damp cloth and a light hand; pressure burnishes a print.

Metallic wallpaper: common questions

What is metallic wallpaper?

Wall covering whose pattern is printed in a metallic finish, so parts of the design throw light back while the ground stays matte. The effect changes with the angle you stand at and with the hour, which a flat print does not.

Is gold marble wallpaper too much for a living room?

Not on one wall. Marble veining settles when it has plain painted walls opposite and one light source crossing it. Over all four walls of a 10 by 12 room it competes with the sofa and the curtains. Choose the wall you look at from the seating.

How do I measure for it?

Floor to ceiling and corner to corner, then put both figures on the product page. Take the tallest and widest points if the wall is not quite true: surplus is trimmed at the edge, while a shortfall cannot be filled.

Every design is printed to order in India, on a non-toxic, PVC-free surface.