Pattern Repeats And Pattern Matches - Commercial Wallcovering
Pattern repeat is the vertical distance between the points at which the wallpaper pattern repeats itself, or "starts over” in a wallpaper roll. Most of our wallcoverings have 33.33 inch vertical repeats. Meaning, as you unroll a roll of wallpaper, you will see that the pattern usually “starts over” every 33.33 inches.
Pattern match refers to the way that the pattern drops* line up horizontally, or “side to side” on the wall. In a straight match repeat, every drop of wallpaper will line up horizontally in an identical fashion to the previous drop. This does not mean that it is a mirror image to the prior drop, which is a different type of pattern match. Imagine a standard grid. In a half-drop repeat, every other drop is staggered, or offset vertically at the halfway point of the previous pattern’s vertical repeat start point. Imagine a brick wall on its side, in an up-and-down fashion, where the bricks are staggered vertically instead of horizontally.
The pattern repeat and match must be taken into account when determining how much wallpaper you need in order to ensure that the wallpaper lines up as intended. Since there are no horizontal seams in wallpaper, you must ensure that you have the appropriate number of pattern repeats available for each drop of wallpaper. We strongly recommend that your roll counts be calculated by a professional wallpaper installer.
*A drop refers to the vertical piece of wallpaper that you cut from the roll to hang on the wall. A drop is typically around 9’ in height, in order to accommodate a standard 8’ ceiling.