In a hotel corridor, an office or a restaurant a wall has to do more than in a living room. Suitcases, cleaning trolleys, chair backs and daily cleaning leave their mark, and depending on the building fire safety requirements apply. At the same time the wall has to carry the design – after all, it shapes the first impression of guests and clients. This checklist helps you choose the right wallpaper for a commercial project.

1. Clarify fire protection first

Before colour and pattern, it should be clear which fire behaviour requirements apply. In Europe the fire behaviour of building materials is classified according to EN 13501-1. Which class is required in a room depends on the building type, its use and whether it is an escape route. This is set by the building's fire safety concept – in commercial projects this question therefore belongs at the start, together with the architect or fire safety planner.

Where a non-combustible surface is required, class A2 glass fabrics are an option. You will find them in the category Non-combustible glass fibre wallcoverings (A2). The classification of each product is stated in its technical data sheet – ask for it for your project documentation.

2. Durability and cleaning

Symbols on the label of every roll show how much the surface can take. For commercial areas these details matter most:

  • Wet cleaning: "spongeable", "washable" and "scrubbable" describe increasing levels. For corridors, restaurants and hotel rooms the wallpaper should be at least washable, ideally scrubbable.
  • Lightfastness: in rooms with large windows, high lightfastness prevents colours from fading unevenly.
  • Impact resistance: in heavily used areas, glass fabrics or robust non-woven qualities have a clear advantage over paper wallpaper.

Check these symbols in the product data sheet or on the label for every wallpaper you shortlist.

3. Design for commercial spaces: Zambaiti Contract

For hotels, offices and demanding commercial areas we carry the Zambaiti Contract line by the Italian manufacturer Zambaiti Parati. It combines Italian design with robust materials and is intended for professional wall design in architecture, hotel and restaurant projects. The technical properties of each item are given in its product data sheet.

If you are looking for a particularly striking effect – in a lobby, a showroom or a bar – the designer licence collections offer designs from brands such as Lamborghini, Philipp Plein and Elie Saab.

4. Think about acoustics

Open-plan offices, meeting rooms and restaurants often have a reverberation problem. Wallcoverings with an acoustic effect can help without additional panels on the wall. One option is SYSTEXX AcousTherm, which combines acoustics and thermal insulation in one wallcovering.

5. Large quantities: mind the batch

This point is particularly important in projects: wallpaper is produced in batches, and the shade can vary very slightly between two batches. On a single wall or a long hotel corridor this shows immediately.

  • Order the entire quantity for one continuous area at once, so that all rolls come from the same production run.
  • Plan a reserve for later repairs and store it with the label (batch number).
  • For phased construction: clarify beforehand whether the desired batch will still be available later.

Calculate the quantity with our wallpaper calculator; how the pattern repeat affects the number of rolls is shown in the article How many rolls of wallpaper do you need?.

6. Plan maintenance and renovation

In commercial spaces you do not paper just once. Consider in advance how you will renovate in five or ten years:

  • Glass fabric is simply repainted – ideal if colours are refreshed regularly.
  • Non-woven wallpapers can usually be peeled off dry and replaced quickly.
  • Individual damaged strips can only be replaced invisibly if rolls from the same batch are still available – another reason for a stored reserve.

Checklist for your project

  1. Fire protection requirement per room clarified (class to EN 13501-1)?
  2. Cleaning requirement set (at least washable, ideally scrubbable)?
  3. Lightfastness checked for sunny rooms?
  4. Acoustic requirements considered?
  5. Total quantity per area calculated and ordered in one batch, reserve planned?
  6. Technical data sheets available for the project documentation?

Advice for projects

For projects with larger quantities or special requirements, contact us directly: via WhatsApp at +49 178 265 93 11, by e-mail at info@erdecoshop.de or through the contact form. Our showroom is in Neckarsulm; in the Stuttgart area we can also take care of the wallpapering on request.