What to Know Before Hiring a Wallpaper Designer (and Why Bespoke Wallpaper Is Worth It)

When most people think about transforming a space, they imagine one of two things — a DIY refresh or hiring an interior designer, selecting paint colours, and browsing ready-made wallpaper collections.

But did you know you can commission an artist or engage a wallpaper designer to create one-of-a-kind artworks for your walls?

It occurred to me recently that this service is something not everyone realises is possible — and yet, working with an artist for a bespoke artwork or wallpaper design can completely redefine how a space feels. Whether you’re refreshing your home, elevating a commercial interior, or seeking a signature feature wall for your brand, a custom wallpaper design transforms your wall into something meaningful, memorable, and uniquely yours.

As a Brisbane-based wallpaper designer and artist helping clients across Australia and beyond, I create bespoke patterned wallpapers, fine art prints and one-of-a-kind wallpaper murals that combine hand-drawn details, hand-painted illustrations, and a deep sense of place.

Here’s everything you should know before embarking on your own wallpaper design journey — and why bespoke wallpaper might be the most rewarding design decision you make.

Why Bespoke Wallpaper Designs and Wallpaper Murals Are Growing in Popularity

In recent years, I've been delighted to see a shift towards personalised, story-driven interiors — spaces that authentically reflect the people who use it and what they love. No more cookie cutter selections and copy-paste interiors. Why settle for generic when you can have something unique to you?

While off-the-shelf wallpapers can be beautiful, they often lack the nuance and connection that come from working directly with an artist.

I recently spoke with a potential client about a wallpaper mural she had found online, but the architecture wasn't quite right — she would prefer an Indian style building. After asking some questions, I discovered she would love to feature the sacred site, Kusum Sarovar. Her excitement at being able to incorporate her favourite things had her thinking. She asked if she could also incorporate plants that held meaning - such as jasmine for her daughter's namesake. The answer is YES.

A custom designed wallpaper allows you to get very specific, infusing your space with identity and artistry. It can be as bold or subtle as you like — from a hand-painted landscape to a delicate watercolour pattern that ties into your room's colour palette. Each design is created specifically for your walls, meaning no repeats, no stretched stock imagery, and no compromise on scale or finish.

If you’d like to see what’s possible, explore some of my recent custom wallpaper projects featuring transformed homes, special wallpapers for community destinations and brand-driven storytelling murals for commercial spaces.

How to Find the Right Wallpaper Designer for Your Space, Hospitality Project or Commercial Fitout

When you begin your search, try looking beyond big wallpaper brands or retail stores. There are many companies that claim to offer 'custom wallpaper' but are essentially offering the same service — 'custom printing'. These companies take stock images and stretch the image to fit your wall size. They may offering different wallpaper or vinyl finishes.

Instead, search for custom wallpaper artists or bespoke mural designers — these are the creatives who focus on original artwork and collaboration.

Here are a few steps to find the right wallpaper designer for you:

• Research portfolio styles: Look for designers whose work resonates with your taste — whether it’s illustrative, abstract, whimsical or architectural.

• Check services: Not all artists offer large-scale wall murals; some focus on pattern design, others on large-format art.

• Read about their process: Successful bespoke wallpaper design involves consultation, concept development, and the creation of unique artwork tailored to your space. Check to see if they include printing and professional installation.

• Know your preferred design option: You can work with a wallpaper designer for a seamless repeating pattern or a mural. Or both!

If you’re based in Australia, consider working with an Australian wallpaper designer (like myself, based in Brisbane) who will arrange payment in your currency, plus collaborate locally with you and your interior designer / builder. I coordinate the entire process for my clients and have helped clients in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Los Angeles and London.

If you're based outside of Australia, you may find a wallpaper designer closer to home — or if you love my art style, consider collaborating with me remotely! Working with a wallpaper designer who charges in AUD may be a cost effective way to achieve a luxury outcome. I ship my wallpaper to many clients overseas.

Choosing an Art Style That Reflects You

Every wallpaper designer has a distinct art style, and finding one that aligns with your vision is key. Some artists specialise in hand-painted mediums and textures, others in digital illustration, while some — like my work with Tiny Giraffe — blend multiple mediums.

Choose an art style that brings you joy and harmonises with your space, light, and architecture — it can be as subtle or as bold as you like. The result is wall art that feels like it is true to you and was always meant to be there.

Because wallpaper is printed, you may find that modern wallpaper designers specialise in digital art. If an artist works in physical mediums (such as acrylics, oils or watercolours), they also need to have the technical skills (or team) to have their artwork scanned, digitised and laid out.

That is where I excel as both an artist and designer. With a background in graphic design, I know how to create in digital and traditional methods. I also know how to prepare a pattern or mural in vector or raster format.

Here are a few examples of what’s possible:

• A hand-illustrated city map mural that tells your story of place and belonging.

• An abstract watercolour pattern featuring botanical shapes evoking calm and connection to nature.

• A minimal line art composition that complements a contemporary office or foyer.

As an artist and wallpaper designer I identify as a mixed media artist, blending crisp, digital linework (or line art), hand-painted watercolour (abstract and realist styles) as well as organic hand lettering. I love mixing these to create a distinctive style of my own and this has developed over the last 10 years. Currently I'm exploring acrylics and art-in-bark textures. In future, I look forward to incorporating art-in-bark (the collection of native barks, foraged from the ground and applied with glue in thin layers) as well as nature elements from my landscape photography.

If you are stuck with finding an artist or choosing a favourite art style, try to think of 3 descriptive words to describe the aesthetic you are after and use that as your visual filter. Here at Tiny Giraffe, I often ask my clients what words they would use to describe my art style and their most common words were elegant, modern and feminine.

Curate Your Inspiration

Before reaching out to a designer, spend some time gathering visual inspiration. Pinterest and Instagram are wonderful starting points, but so are your own travel photos, purchased artworks, architecture references, vintage finds and textures in your surrounds that move you.

You can find inspiration in homewares and stationery you've bought previously. You might like to visit a friend's house to see what draws your eye, drop by a local flower market or pick up leaves and seedpods on your walks. Jot down anything (colour, theme or shapes) that light you up. This is an exploration in discovering yourself!

If you're gathering inspiration for a commercial space or your own business, start with your branding and build on this. Your branding includes logos, fonts, icons, illustrations, colours, moodboards and imagery. If you worked with a graphic designer worth their salt, you should have a brand guideline document with all of this in one document. Once you've identified your brand aesthetic and brand values you can find imagery that supports and builds on these. Still unsure? That's where a good wallpaper designer with great communication skills can provide a lot of value.

It can also help to identify who the space is for, what would be of value to them and how you'd like you'd like them to feel in the space  — such as calm, inspired and joyful. If any images evoke those feelings, you know you're onto something.

When you meet with your wallpaper designer, share what draws you to each image — even if you don’t love every element. Be sure to point out what you do and don't like. A good designer will interpret your references into a coherent, personalised concept that feels like you.

A really good wallpaper designer will also take the time to understand you, ask what is important to you and tease out your personal stories. That is my greatest skill at Tiny Giraffe - listening!

Tiny Giraffe specialises in bespoke wallpaper design that connects people to place. I love to create artworks that celebrate the spirit of travel — the places we leave our hearts, our everyday adventures and our dreams for the future. If you work with me, you can expect that I will ask you questions relating to these themes.

To me, our stories are worth sharing and celebrating. Take some time to write a few notes about your most meaningful stories, memorable places and favourite things. Paris, croissants and coffee? Yes, please. Community film destination, subtropical plants, art-deco shapes — now we're talking!

Understanding Custom Wallpaper Costs and Process

A custom wallpaper mural (or patterned wallpaper) is both a work of art and a design solution — and the investment reflects its bespoke nature. Wallpaper designers can offer several levels of service, from simpler pattern repeats to detailed panoramic designs that wrap four walls of an entire room. If you have a budget, please share this with your wallpaper designer upfront, so that design expectations can be discussed.

When planning your budget, consider that it will need to cover the following:

• Design fee: covers concept sketches, mockups, revisions, wallpaper samples and final artwork preparation.

• Production and printing: this depends on wall sizes, materials and finish type

• Installation: often handled by professional wallpaper installers but a full-service wallpaper company like Tiny Giraffe can handle this for you.

You have options when it comes to choosing a wallpaper finish and this will affect the cost. Be sure to ask your wallpaper designer what finishes they offer. Tiny Giraffe offers matte, linen and metallic non-woven, paste the wall options. Installation is included in your quote if you work with Tiny Giraffe.

The timeline for bespoke wallpaper will vary depending on the following elements:

• Wall sizes

• Number of walls

• Art style and level of detail/complexity

• Wallpaper finish.

  
  

At Tiny Giraffe, most of my wallpaper projects are completed in 4 to 6 weeks. I also offer a rush fee for urgent projects, reducing the timeline to around 2 weeks. Because my wallpaper printers are based in Australia, I can send a wallpaper to print and have it shipped in as little as 2 days as part of the rush fee.

Don’t hesitate to ask your designer for an investment guide, estimate or quote early in the process. If you’d like a sense of pricing and options with me, you can book a consultation to discuss your space and vision.

Why Do People Invest in Bespoke Wallpaper Design?

There are many reasons why people work with me as an Australian wallpaper designer.

Perhaps you will identify with these:

1. Building or renovating your dream home and have the desire to create a space that is authentic and unique to you

2. You have purchased a new home and want to make it feel more personalised

3. You have an old or deteriorating wallpaper that needs to be replaced

4. You have a large blank wall that is hard to fill, even with large scale artworks

5. You want a unique arrival and welcome experience for guests and clients

6. You understand the value of art and visual relief in gathering and movements areas like foyers and hallways

7. You have an iconic project that deserves wow-factor.

One of the reasons I started offering a bespoke wallpaper service was because I could see that people struggled with the following:

• Finding and selecting a wallpaper or wallpaper mural that they loved that had the right art elements, colours and scale

• Finding a wallpaper mural that fit long walls and didn't need to be joined to another

• Finding a wallpaper mural that fits the aesthetic and brand story of a business

• Purchasing the correct amount of wallpaper — many websites make it hard to calculate the number of rolls or how much extra to allow for

• Wallpaper murals often provide a more elegant finish than painted murals

• Trying to find a reputable wallpaper installer.

I know that offering a bespoke service takes the hassles, headaches and time out of the equation when browsing for wallpaper online, as well as providing a unique, one-of-a-kind artwork that leaves a lasting impression.

Ultimately, investing in bespoke wallpaper design is a special, exciting experience of joy and collaboration, resulting in a dream space tailored to you.

Why Bespoke Wallpaper Is the Ultimate Design Investment

Unlike off-the-shelf wallpapers, bespoke wallpapers offer an original artwork created for you and your space alone. It enhances not only aesthetics but also emotional connection, storytelling, and property value.

Clients often tell me their custom wallpaper becomes the most talked-about feature of their space — a reflection of who they are and what they stand for. Whether it’s a hospitality venue, a corporate office or a home renovation, custom wallpaper brings artistry and soul into everyday environments. Bespoke wallpaper brings joy, connection and belonging to everyone who sees it.

If you are a visionary, collaborative, community-driven or expressive person, the experience of engaging a wallpaper designer is a special experience — one to remember and cherish.

How to Get Started With a Wallpaper Designer

Wallpaper design is a collaborative process, so start the conversation early — especially if you’re working alongside an interior designer, architect, or builder. Most of my bespoke projects take between 4 to 6 weeks from idea to installation.

You will find that many designers (myself included) only take on a limited number of commissions each year to ensure each one receives the attention it deserves.

The best way to get started on a bespoke wallpaper project is to simply reach out via phone or email to arrange a discussion or site visit. I often visit my clients and measure their walls for them.

If the wallpaper designer is not in your area, providing photos and dimensions of your walls via email is the best way to get started. Don’t hesitate to ask your wallpaper designer for advice on how to get the ball rolling.

If you’re dreaming of a wall that feels truly your own, now is the perfect time to begin.👉 Enquire About a Custom Wallpaper Design

FAQs About Hiring a Wallpaper Designer

Can I hire a wallpaper designer for my home?

Absolutely.

A wallpaper designer can create custom murals and patterns that fit your exact wall dimensions, colour palette, favourite themes and aesthetic — turning your home into personalised works of art. This is how we make your house feel like a home!

How much does a bespoke wallpaper design cost?

Costs vary greatly depending on wall quantities and sizes, art style, level of detail, wallpaper finish and whether or not installation is included. It may also vary depending on how renowned the artist, their location and the currency they charge in.

With Tiny Giraffe, you can expect to pay anywhere between $300-600/m2 AUD, with a minimum investment of $4,900 AUD. Wallpaper can be a cost effective art solution where applied across large walls or many walls, such as hotels and residential towers with foyers, lift lobbies and hallways.

Bespoke wallpaper is a luxury service that is worth investing in and can be more accessible than people think. Each of my projects includes concept development, artwork creation, high-quality printing and installation. I take care of the entire process for you!

How high can you go with wallpaper?

My wallpaper installers will work up to 6m high! Perfect for two storey or double height atrium spaces.

Do you work with interior designers and businesses?

Yes, I regularly collaborate with business owners, developers, interior designers and architects to bring branded, site-specific wall art to life across homes, offices, hotels, cafés, cinemas and retail spaces. In fact, 90% of my work is commercial and I absolutely adore working with talented designers, architects and business owners to bring spaces to life.

I love to match colours to furniture selections and physical samples you provide me, be it a paint swatch, a piece of fabric or a colour code from a standardised system such as Pantone. As a designer, I work best with CMYK or HEX codes. You can see my work with interior designers Onyx Studio and Rylo Co. For the Nambour Cinema project I worked with the interior designer's carpet selection and for the Pally Pub mural I tied my colour palette to a feature paint colour 'Black Water' by Dulux.

Bespoke wallpaper is a terrific way to help your business stand out. Clients and customers are forming an impression of your business in the first 3 seconds. This is your opportunity to elevate your space and position your business as offering luxury products or premium services. As an artist and designer, I am perfectly positioned to use your brand design guidelines and create amazing walls that blend art and branding. I often blend logos and signage artfully into murals.

What types of wallpapers do you offer clients?

Tiny Giraffe offers four types of wallpaper:

1. Premium, smooth, matte, non-woven wallpaper (it is robust yet soft to touch like my fine art cotton rag artworks)

2. Textured linen non-woven wallpaper

3. Metallic non-woven wallpaper

4. Vinyl (my least preferred and unsustainable option but is great for high traffic or wet areas).

I have spent many years researching the very best materials and wallpaper printers to work with the incredible suppliers I have now. Even better, they are sustainably sourced and printed in Australia meaning my projects are designed, printed and installed locally.

How long do wallpapers last?

You will get 10 years + from your wallpaper if you take care of it. My very first custom wallpaper mural was created for George at Boutique Residential in Sydney in 2017. George and I worked together on a second Sydney wallpaper mural in 2024 - we visited his original Sydney mural together recently and it is in pristine condition, like the day it was installed!

Final Thoughts

Hiring a wallpaper designer isn’t just about styling and decorating — it’s far more meaningful. It's about embedding story, identity and art into the very fabric of your space and connecting the people who use it.

If you’re seeking a wallpaper design or mural that feels timeless, expressive, and entirely unique, bespoke wallpaper could be the key to transforming your environment. The process is extremely collaborative and my clients tell me that the experience of creating something bespoke together is just as enjoyable as the final beautiful outcome.

You can explore my portfolio of custom wallpaper murals for inspiration, or book a collaboration call to start your own design journey.