It's a pretty shade of gold, but it's different from your inspiration picture which is more beige. Either will be fine. Do you have the artwork already for the room? If so, that may help swing your decision in one direction or the other....

I love that shade. I think the darker grasscloth masks the texture a bit. I'm not sure I would do all four walls in it. Maybe just one or two?

I've always loved both grasscloth and slate, and think they will be beautiful in your space.

About the color you posted - I'm assuming you've already verified that it looks good with your sofa? That will be important of course... The photos (probably just lighting or monitor) suggest you have a bit of a warm vs. cool undertone conflict.

Are your friends suggesting you go darker and less neutral? (IMO, that could look terrific also.) Or lighter and more neutral? (I wouldn't.)

Overall, I'd say you want enough 'personality' in your grasscloth so that it doesn't disappear visually. If it's too light and too evenly colored, it could -- at which point, it's hardly worth the premium price.

in my opinion going darker would make the room seem small, and be a bigger color commitment that's harder to decorate around.

I don't think you are off-base with choosing a color that you are comfortable with. But a darker color isn't going to make the room seem small. As for being harder to decorate around, I don't think that's necessarily true. It may just be a different decorating path to take.

I happen to like a monochromatic look, so having the wallpaper and sofa close in color would not concern me. Other people like more contrast.

However, as others have said, since the sofa and wallpaper are similar, you want to make sure there isn't an odd, unexpected clash of tones between them.

Wow, lots of responses really quickly!

Samples are not here yet - I am ordering them online this morning after picking a couple of beige ones. My other half seemed to have a color like blue/red on their mind but they don't seem to have thought it through with our furniture and what you can see from adjacent rooms.

The white patches on the wall are from drywall work that was done. The previous owners put up victorian crown molding and baseboards and the caulk pulled off some of the drywall texture when it was removed. The walls have a light roll on texture. In places where a nail hole was filled there is no texture, but it's still there everywhere else. Not enough texture to get in the way of grasscloth, but the different areas are enough to be annoying and obvious when painted.

Areas not pictured are mostly windows - the formal living room and entry hall each would have only one full wall to do.

@AnnieDeighnaugh - I'll have to look closely at the pictures behind the couch. They haven't been up in a long time due to construction going on everywhere, but they have leaves on them and are a beige-tan in color. I remember the frame having some gold to it.

@ Lotteryticket - The texture blotches are a big factor with going with all four walls, although areas not shown are mostly windows. My only other option is to skim coat the walls entirely, sand and hope it comes out smooth. If I trimmed the grasscloth areas down I would do just the wall behind the couch and the entry hall.

@sweeby - The wall colors probably look funky because of the primed areas on the wall vs. the old wall color, which was sort of a cream with a bit of green mixed in. The walls were filthy when I moved in and I could have picked a better color to paint them. The sofa is a celery color but it takes on a gold/yellow tone too depending on what else is going on in the room. It's a chameleon; when it was in my old place with beige berber carpet it didn't look green at all.

My friends don't really know about the colors, for the most part they're confused that someone would do anything other than paint the walls.

@ graywings - I think I get what you're saying...

It sounds almost like I should stick with the 5 grasscloths I'm getting samples for + maybe grab a couple of lighter ones just to see. The one I linked to is the lightest of the bunch so far - here are the other samples from Steve's Blinds and Wallpaper:

Book #: 2356, Pattern #: X0LG7PC
Book #: 447, Pattern #: X6NUU8WGP
Book #: 1433, Pattern #: X5MGHUGT
Book #: 1113, Pattern #: X1CKEHES

This post was edited by schicksal on Thu, Jul 3, 14 at 8:53

I was thinking - if the flooring + grasscloth brings out the yellow shade in the sofa I'll be ok? What if it brings out the green?

Maybe...
with yellow sofa tones, go for a more tan grasscloth
with green sofa tones go for more of a beige?

Luckily the throw pillows (matching upholstery with the chair) tend to work the same way the sofa does with regard to changing color.

This post was edited by schicksal on Thu, Jul 3, 14 at 10:40

Do you follow The Designers Attic blog? She lists discounted designer fabric and wallpapers. She has several good grasscloth wallpapers up today. I love this Schumacher one, and she had 18 rolls available.

I think sometimes with grasscloth the weave can get too small, so you lose some sense if the texture, so I'd watch out for that.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Designers Attic