Drapehaus
Drapehaus
Preparing the room
Drapehaus
Preparing the room
Wallpapers
Hotels, restaurants, offices and retail need wall coverings that look good on day one and still look good after years of traffic, cleaning and the monsoon. That means contract-grade papers, specified to be repeated.
Pattern
Walls (width in metres)
Roll width
Pattern repeat
Rolls to order
5
4 + 1 spare, same batch
Drops
12
3 per roll
Wall area
17.4 m²
before doors and windows
An estimate for planning, assuming 10 m rolls. Doors and windows rarely save a whole drop, so they are not deducted. We measure and count drops on site before anything is ordered.
In short
By the Drapehaus studio · How we write
Is it right for you?
A commercial wallcovering is judged on its fifth year, not its first day. Hotel corridors take suitcases and cleaning trolleys, restaurant walls take chair backs and kitchen air, and guest rooms are cleaned daily by people working quickly. The covering has to resist abrasion, stains and knocks, clean without losing its colour or texture, and still be obtainable in the same design when a damaged section needs replacing.
Contract wallcoverings are made for that life. Most are vinyl faces on fabric or non-woven backings, heavier than domestic papers, with surfaces designed to be scrubbed. Many come in wider contract widths, which means fewer seams on a long corridor wall and a faster, cleaner installation. Where regulations or an operator's standards require it, they can be supplied with a fire-performance classification.
It is the right choice for boutique hotels, rental villas run as a business, restaurants, offices and shops. It is not the right choice for the delicate end of the market: grasscloth, silk and hand-printed papers can be used in a hotel suite or a private dining room, but they should be specified knowingly, with replacement stock held and housekeeping briefed.
The details
Commercial walls take knocks from luggage, chairs and cleaning trolleys, so we specify heavy-duty, scrubbable vinyls and, where required, fire-rated coverings with certification.
For hotels and multi-room sites we document the specification so the same paper can be matched when rooms are refurbished years later, and we schedule hanging around your opening hours or occupancy.
Your options
Commercial wallcoverings are graded by how much wear and cleaning they will take. These are the types we specify, matched to the spaces that suit them.
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The honest view
Built for cleaning
Scrubbable grades take the daily cleaning of a hotel or restaurant without the colour washing out or the surface wearing through, which painted walls in the same positions rarely manage.
Resists knocks and scuffs
A textile-backed vinyl absorbs impacts from luggage and furniture that would chip plaster and paint, keeping corridors presentable between refurbishments.
Fewer seams on long walls
Wider contract widths reduce the number of joins on a corridor or ballroom wall, which looks cleaner and gives fewer edges for trolleys to catch.
Consistent across many rooms
A documented specification means the same covering, colourway and method can be used in every room and reordered for later phases or repairs.
Fire performance on record
Where required, coverings can be supplied with a classification from the manufacturer, so the finish can be shown to meet the project's fire strategy.
Heavy vinyl does not breathe
A sealed vinyl traps moisture in a damp wall. In a building with external walls exposed to the monsoon, the walls must be tested and put right before hanging.
Longer lead times on volume
Large quantities from one batch, special colourways and fire-certified stock can take longer to supply, so ordering has to be planned into the programme.
Discontinued designs
Contract ranges are updated over time. Without spare stock held from the original batch, a replacement years later may have to be a close match rather than an exact one.
Harder to remove than domestic papers
Heavy vinyl on a fabric backing is strong by design, and removing it at refurbishment takes more labour than stripping a non-woven, especially without a primer beneath.
Side by side
For a hotel room, corridor or restaurant, these are the realistic choices. The right one depends on how hard the wall is used and how often it is cleaned.
| Contract vinyl | Domestic wallpaper | Scrubbable paint | Wall panelling | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resistance to impact | High | Low to moderate | Low, chips | High |
| Cleaning | Scrubbable | Wipe at most | Washable | Wipe |
| Look and texture | Wide contract range | Widest range | Colour only | Timber or laminate |
| Fire classification | Available where required | Rarely documented | Available for some paints | Depends on material |
| Repair | Replace a drop | Replace a drop, if stock | Touch up, may show | Replace a panel |
| Moisture in wall | Traps it; test first | Some papers breathe | Mineral paints breathe | Ventilated if battened |
| Refurbishment effort | Moderate | Low to moderate | Low | High |
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Many hotel corridors combine them: a durable panelling or dado below, contract vinyl above, and paint on ceilings and service areas.
Rather see it in your own room?
We bring samples to the house, measure every window, and specify for the light and exposure you actually have.
Room by room
Medium-duty vinyl on the bed wall or throughout gives character and cleans well. Protect corners and the wall behind luggage racks, where knocks concentrate.
The strongest case for heavy-duty textile-backed vinyl. Wide rolls reduce joins, and a dado rail or corner guards add protection where trolleys pass.
Contract vinyls and coated non-wovens cope with chair backs and cleaning. Keep coverings clear of kitchen doors, where heat, grease and steam escape.
A rental villa is a home used commercially. A washable contract grade on a feature wall gives warmth without the fragility of a domestic designer paper.
Contract vinyls and textile coverings bring texture and some acoustic softening to meeting rooms, and stand up to chairs, whiteboards and frequent cleaning.
Only on internal walls well clear of steam and splash, with strong extraction and fungicidal adhesive. Treatment rooms and steam rooms need tile, stone or specialist finishes.
Spaces open to the garden or beach take rain, salt and wide humidity swings. A mineral finish or sealed panelling usually outlasts any wallcovering there.
In depth — tap a heading to read
Contract wallcoverings are described by their resistance to scrubbing, abrasion, impact, tearing, staining and light. The manufacturer's data sheet sets these out, usually against recognised test methods. We read them against the space: a corridor needs impact and abrasion resistance first; a restaurant needs stain resistance and cleanability; a sunlit lobby needs good lightfastness so the covering fades evenly or not at all.
The backing matters as much as the face. Woven and knitted fabric backings give tear strength and help the covering bridge small cracks as a building moves. Non-woven backings are lighter and strip more easily. Paper backings belong in domestic use rather than in hard-working commercial spaces.
Cleanability should be matched to housekeeping, not only to the brochure. If rooms are cleaned with a particular product, we test it on a sample before specifying. Some cleaning chemicals dull or discolour vinyl faces over time, and it is far easier to change the cleaning product than the walls.
Specify against how the wall is used and cleaned, not against the most impressive grade available.
In a hotel, restaurant or office, wall finishes form part of the building's fire strategy. The concern is how a surface reacts to fire: how easily it ignites, how quickly flame spreads across it, and how much smoke and burning droplets it gives off. Wallcoverings are tested and classified on these properties, and the class required depends on the building type, the escape routes and the local regulations and operator standards.
Two points are often missed. First, a classification usually applies to the covering as tested on a particular substrate with a particular adhesive, so the system matters, not the roll alone. Second, the requirement comes from the project, typically the architect, fire consultant or the operator's brand standards, and should be stated before a covering is chosen.
Our role is to supply coverings that carry the manufacturer's documented fire performance where the project requires it, hang them as that documentation specifies, and hand over the paperwork for the building's records. We do not certify buildings ourselves, and we will always ask who sets the requirement.
Commercial buildings near the sea face the same monsoon as homes, with a difference: heavy vinyls seal the wall completely. If an external wall takes in rain from June to September, a vinyl covering holds that moisture in the plaster, where it feeds mould behind the covering and weakens the adhesive. The problem shows first as black spotting at seams and lifting at the top of drops.
The defence is the same order of work as at home, applied more strictly. Walls are tested before hanging, and damp is fixed rather than covered. Where a building is air conditioned, the covering and the air conditioning work together; where it is naturally ventilated, a more breathable contract non-woven or a mineral finish may be the better choice. Fungicidal adhesive is standard for any commercial job in this climate.
Seasonal buildings deserve particular care. A hotel or rental villa that closes or runs at low occupancy through the monsoon should keep air moving and humidity managed in wallpapered rooms, or the first job of the new season will be repairs.
On a multi-room project, consistency is the product. We confirm quantities for the whole job, order from a single batch where possible, and record the covering, colourway, batch, primer, adhesive and hanging method for each room type. Spare stock is set aside and labelled, because a replacement drop from a later batch rarely matches closely enough on a long corridor wall.
That record is what makes future work simple. When a room is damaged or a wing is refurbished years later, the operator can reorder with confidence or know early that a design has been discontinued. It also lets a new maintenance team repair a wall correctly without guessing at the adhesive or method.
Commercial hanging is planned around the business. In a hotel we work room by room or floor by floor so the rest stays open, keep noise and smells to agreed hours, and hand rooms back cleaned and ready. In a restaurant we often work on closed days or overnight. Every phase is agreed in writing so reception and housekeeping know which rooms are out of use.
The monsoon low season is often the natural time for larger jobs, because occupancy is lower. It is also when damp problems are easiest to see, which helps the wall assessment, provided rooms can be dehumidified so the adhesive dries properly before guests return.
Living with it
State which cleaning products and methods suit each covering. A short card for the housekeeping team prevents the harsh chemicals that dull vinyl faces over time.
Scuffs and splashes come off contract vinyl easily when fresh and much less easily once they have set in humid air. Deal with them on the day.
Walk the corridors and rooms at the end of each rainy season, looking for lifting seams or spotting, which point to moisture in the wall behind.
Corner guards, dado rails and luggage-rack backs reduce damage where it concentrates, and are far easier to replace than a length of covering.
Store spare rolls flat in an air-conditioned store, labelled with the batch number and the rooms they match, so repairs are straightforward.
Avoid these
A designer domestic paper in a hotel corridor looks worn within a season. Use a heavy-duty contract grade where luggage and trolleys pass.
Selecting a covering and then discovering it lacks the required classification means starting again. Confirm the requirement with the project team first.
Sealing a wall that takes in monsoon rain traps the moisture and leads to mould behind the covering. Test and treat the wall before hanging.
Years later, the design may be discontinued or a new batch may not match. Buy and store spare rolls with the original order.
Without a written specification, repairs rely on guesswork. Keep a room-by-room record of the covering, batch, adhesive and method.
Checklist
More in wallpapers
Wallpaper in this climate lives or dies on two things: whether the wall behind it is dry, and whether the paper and adhesive can cope with humidity.
Our work
From the Journal
All articlesOur process
One team from the first visit to the last bracket, so nothing is lost between the person who specified it and the person who fits it.
FAQ
Yes, where the project requires it. We supply coverings with fire certification for hospitality and commercial spaces.
Yes. We phase the work room by room and schedule around guests and opening hours, often using the monsoon low season for larger jobs.
Contract wallpaper, or contract wallcovering, is made for commercial use: heavier, more durable and more cleanable than domestic paper, usually a vinyl face on a fabric or non-woven backing. It is tested for properties such as scrubbability, abrasion and, where required, fire performance, and is often supplied in wider widths for long walls.
A well-chosen contract vinyl on a dry, primed wall typically lasts until the next planned refurbishment, and is often replaced for a change of scheme rather than because it has worn out. Its life is shortened by damp walls, harsh cleaning products and unprotected impact points such as corners and luggage areas.
Yes, in the dining room. Contract vinyls resist chair knocks, splashes and regular cleaning. Keep them away from walls next to the kitchen pass or doors, where heat, grease and steam are concentrated, and use a fungicidal adhesive in a humid building.
The requirement comes from the project: the building type, its escape routes and the applicable regulations, usually interpreted by the architect or fire consultant, and sometimes by an operator's brand standards. We then supply a covering whose documented performance meets that requirement and hang it as the documentation specifies.
Yes. We phase the work by room or floor, agree hours for noisier work, and keep adhesive smells and dust away from occupied areas. Rooms are handed back clean and ready. Larger jobs are often planned for the quieter monsoon months.
Usually a washable or contract grade on the walls that take most wear, and perhaps a finer domestic paper in a room that guests use gently. A rental villa is a home in appearance but a commercial space in use, so durability and the ability to repair matter more than in a private house.
Next step
For a commercial project, a Drapehaus visit starts with the building: which walls take the most wear, which face the weather and how the spaces are cleaned. We test walls for moisture, confirm any fire-performance requirement with your team, and bring contract samples to see in the actual light of the rooms and corridors. We then measure, schedule the work around your occupancy, hang the coverings and hand over a written specification with spare stock labelled. Book a site visit and we will walk the building with you.
