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31 living room wallpaper ideas
One of the simplest ways to change up your living room is with wallpaper, whether you want a calming vibe using soft neutrals or a real hit of colour and pattern, and there are so many designs to choose from.
When it comes to living room wallpaper, murals are so popular right now and really express your personality – you can even design your own. Wallpaper can also be used to highlight a particular architectural feature such as a chimney breast or alcoves – and think about the fifth wall aka the ceiling, to really make an impact.
'When choosing wallpaper, consider the size of a room. Smaller scale patterns work well in big rooms, but can overwhelm smaller spaces,' explains David Harris, Design Director at Andrew Martin. 'Larger scale patterns work well in most rooms but think about lighting, as this can affect the look of wallpaper and make a colour appear lighter or darker.'
To make larger living rooms appear more intimate, opt for darker, more dramatic tones such as purple or navy, or for a compact lounge, lighter hues such as grey will create the illusion of space.
Importantly, think about the style of your home too, as this will affect your living room wallpaper design. 'Traditional patterns often suit period homes better, whilst kitsch patterns can add a sense of fun,' explains David Harris. 'Don’t be afraid to combine different patterns. Mix classic designs such as stripes or florals with exotic styles such as ikats and kilims. Avoid making the space look too busy by choosing patterns in colours that complement each other.'
So on that note, get some inspiration for the main room in your home with these living room wallpaper ideas.
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 1: Keep It Fresh
There is nothing more fabulous than expressing the beauty of spring and summer through wallpaper. Whether you opt for prints of climbing roses, green foliage (like this one from John Lewis) or a pretty display of flowers, they are perfect for bringing the garden into your home.
Pictured: Modern Country collection at John Lewis.
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 2: Abstract
Blue and grey are among the greatest of friends, blending into one another so seamlessly. Looking to totally transform the look of your interior? Why not consider an abstract-inspired wall mural, such as this calming design from Graham & Brown. It's guaranteed to bring a creative presence to any living room.
Pictured: 'Dismorr related forms' bespoke mural, Graham & Brown, £32
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 3: Green and White
You can't go wrong with a green and white colour scheme. Cool-toned green is often associated with nature, while shades of white generally tend to keep rooms fresh and airy. Tie the two together in the form of wallpaper and you've got a match made in heaven.
Pictured: Living room room set from Dunelm
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 4: Keep Calm
'Small wallpaper designs are often the most successful for calming interiors, such as pretty and discreet florals,' says Patrick O’ Donnell from Farrow & Ball. 'Try to avoid anything too challenging or busy – regarding the palette, think soft greys, neutrals, dusty pinks, or pale greens.'
Pictured: Wallpaper by Farrow & Ball in 'Atacama', £114 for 10m roll
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 5: Tall Order
Stripes never fail to please and are a timeless choice. Stripes work well in all rooms but are particularly good if you have low living room ceilings as they give the illusion of making the room look taller.
Top Tip: Stripes look good teamed with panelling and if you are yearning for the Bridgerton look, they aren’t called a Regency Stripe for nothing!
Pictured: Heritage Stripe in Grey, Graham & Brown
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 6: Subtle Shading
A lovely way to add colour to a plain living room is with ombre wallpaper. Choose your favourite shade then have a wall that begins with a deep tone at the bottom and graduates to a paler shade at the top. It's subtle, calming, and easy to live with, especially in this lovely blue.
Pictured: Horizon Deep Blue wallpaper, Elizabeth Ockford
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 7: Think About Shelving
If you have wallpaper offcuts from a previous project, why not use them to put a patterned backing to a set of shelves? It looks much more interesting than plain white and means if you don’t have enough books or accessories in your living room, there is always something lovely to look at.
Pictured: Hornbeam wallpaper BP5001; shelves in Pointing Estate Eggshell, both from Farrow & Ball
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 8: Dark Patterns
Don't be afraid to go dark in a living room – you can tie the scheme together with bold, punchy accents, like this burnt orange armchair. Wooden furniture grounds the scheme.
Pictured: London Wallpapers, New Bond Street - Hide, Little Greene
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 9: Curved Motifs
Soft and gentle, this beautifully tactile scallop design gently dances across the length of the paper, creating an inherently sophisticated feel in a living room environment.
Pictured: Arcade BP 5305, Farrow & Ball
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 10: All The Arches
Do you have arched alcoves in your living room? This more traditional, retro-style floral wallpaper is used in a wonderful way. The patterned paper really makes these arches stand out, especially set against the plain dusky pink wall. Shelves have been placed in front of it, but it's the shape that adds personality to this room and showcases the wallpaper.
Pictured: Floresta wallpaper in pink; Pink Cloud emulsion, both Woodchip & Magnolia
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 11: Tranquil Scenes
Bring relaxed holiday vibes to your living room with a wallpaper design which reflects soft tones and tropical elements, like this Caribbean-inspired large scale painted palm tree wallpaper. Here, dark contours of the palm stems blend with pastel greens and sandy shades of gold, in a hazy, calming composition.
Pictured: CAYO LARGO Wallpaper, MINDTHEGAP
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 12: Panelling
Create interest with wallpaper panels. This all over lattice design works perfectly against the dark grey; it's a subtle pattern and not too big but it stands out. The design is reminiscent of tiles and has a touch of Morocco about it.
Top Tip: This living room wallpaper idea works particularly well tall ceilings.
Pictured: Quatrefoil Kohl wallpaper, Paper Library
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 13: Rustic Joy
For a rustic, country-style inspired living room, opt for an intricate botanical design. This wallpaper print is inspired by a brightly coloured swatch found nestled in an old fabric mill. Named after the flowering South American desert, this playful print is the ultimate in escapism.
'Wallpapers can add another dimension of warmth and textural interest to a room, from small motif designs to the more graphic. They are also a great way to hide flaws if your walls are not in the best order,' explains Patrick O’Donnell, Brand Ambassador at Farrow & Ball.
Pictured: Atacama BP 5804, Farrow & Ball
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 14: Flamboyant Blues
The colour blue can make you feel calm and relaxed or vibrant and energised, and can work well in a living room. Complement an all-blue scheme with blue paint on doors and around fireplaces, and printed wallpaper on the four walls. This flamboyant peacock feather design provides a splash of colour.
Pictured: Carlton House Terrace - Blue Plume, Little Greene
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 15: Energise Your Space
This gorgeous design — featuring muted pink florals and crisp green leaves — will transport you to a luscious summer garden. Fun yet liveable, it's ideal for anyone looking to shake up their living room scheme (and create real wow factor).
Pictured: 'Tigerlily Lush' wallpaper, Graham & Brown, £65
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 16: Diamond Life
A simple, geometric design that is bold but not overpowering will give a lift to any living room. This combination uses the softer end of the palette with a chalky grey linen upholstered sofa and muted yellow walls.
Top Tip: Choose cushions that complement the colour scheme but also add pattern and texture.
Pictured: Geometric Mustard, I Love Wallpaper
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 17: Sleeping Beauty
This lovely Brambleweb wallpaper is used as a feature on one wall with a complementary paint shade on the other walls. To take the scheme one stage further, why not use fabric in the same design to cover an armchair?
'Living rooms are the obvious place for wallpaper, you can make a statement or add atmosphere. Paper the entire room and ceilings to envelop the space, Brambleweb wallpaper is perfect for this, the tangled vines appear to have been growing up the walls for years, like a modern day sleeping beauty,' says Abigail Edwards, Wallpaper, Fabric and Accessory Designer.
Top Tip: You could even add a cushion in the same fabric but a contrasting shade for a complete look.
Pictured: Brambleweb wallpaper in Nude, Abigail Edwards
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 18: Brightly Coloured Florals
Love jewel colours? Bring colour and character to your living room with punchy hues. Team wall panelling with a pretty, floral wallpaper design to make your room sing with personality.
Pictured: Bougainvillea (Rouge, Leaf Green & Cerulean Sky on Charcoal), Cole & Son
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 19: Make A Statement
Go bold! Murals have really grown in popularity in recent years. With a big pattern like this, there is no need for artwork, the wallpaper does the talking, so it's designed to be used on one wall only. In yellow and grey, this wallpaper would be great teamed with a mustard armchair, cushions or rug.
'With trends like maximalism, murals work hand in hand to pack that punch and maximise your living space,' says Amy Hillary, Interiors Writer at Wallsauce.
Pictured: Transparent Gold Wallpaper, Wallsauce
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 20: In The Frame
If it's a beautiful wallpaper, why not frame it? Wallpaper can make fantastic art work. This wonderful, one-off marble wallpaper print is £95 from Nat Maks – Natascha Maksimovic is a print maker and illustrator and makes them in her studio in Margate. This design is perfect in this lounge room with its peach and blush palette.
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 21: Artful Dimension
Make a feature of bespoke furniture in your living room by using patterned wallpaper to accentuate its design and features. This charming wallpaper print wonderfully adds so much extra detail, giving the bookcase within the arched alcove an extra dimension beyond its artfully styled shelves.
Pictured: Shop the Heritage Revival trend at John Lewis & Partners
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 22: Art Work
In a big open area like a loft-style living room, zone the space with a huge mural. Although it's large, it's quite calming due to the grey and white monochrome palette and simple design – it looks like a painting.
Top Tip: Murals are so versatile as they can be made to any size.
Pictured: Miami Palms Mural Wallpaper, Forest Homes
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 23: Fake It
If you yearn for a library or just love this quirky design, it’s been used here to great effect. Using it on the near and far walls leads you in, and it is complemented perfectly with the deep pink woodwork which echoes the spines on the 'books'.
Top Tip: It would be great in a small space too.
Pictured: Fornasetti Senza Tempo Ex Libris wallpaper, Cole & Son
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 24: Floral Delights
You can't go wrong with a floral living room wallpaper. Pick a bold and whimsical pattern to make a statement.
'Wallpaper can help make small spaces feel more intimate and add interest to larger rooms by creating another layer of pattern, and there is no rule regarding the scale of design – using a large design in a small environment can make a striking visual statement,' says Patrick O’Donnell, Brand Ambassador at Farrow & Ball.
Pictured: Onism Ecru, Woodchip & Magnolia
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 25: Double Up
For an interesting living room wallpaper idea, choose your colour palette then use different patterned wallpapers in different areas. Choose one for the walls and a different one for the chimney breast. It will define the areas in a complementary way. Then follow the theme on the armchair with different fabrics on the body of the chair and the sides.
Pictured: Alcove walls: Norcombe in Welkin; Chimney Breast: Cones in Lint; Skirting and fireplace painted in Shirting no. 129, all Little Greene
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 26: Look Up
Don't forget about the ceiling. It's often just painted white and forgotten about, but decorating the ceiling can make a huge difference to a living room. Complete the look with a complementary wallpaper as seen here, or use something completely different.
Pictured: Tessella BP3608 on the ceiling and BP3601 on the walls, both Farrow & Ball
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 27: Optical Illusion
It really looks like there are carvings on the wall, but no, it's wallpaper. It would really make a statement in a living room, dining room or hallway.
'Rather than the delicate patterns you used to see on your grandma's wall, murals deliver a much more impactful presence,' says Amy Hillary at Wallsauce. 'Although the material is traditional wallpaper, murals are designed with images rather than repeating patterns.'
Pictured: Opal mural by Ella Doran, Surface View
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 28: Get With The Beat
If mid-century is your thing, choose one of the stunning styles from Mini Moderns – this one is called P.L.U.T.O in Emerald and Silver. With bold stripes and circles, this wallpaper is named after the Pipeline Under The Ocean – a WW2 fuel line built under the English Channel from Britain to France. It's eco too, printed using water based ink on papers from sustained forests.
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 29: Section Off
Another clever living room wallpaper idea is to use it as a partition. In a through room, use wallpaper to define the spaces. This fun but sophisticated flamingo design gives the room a Miami feel, further complemented by the retro-style palm leaf fabric on the curtains and the white metal pool chair.
Pictured: Zanzibar wallpaper; Parlour Palm Citrus Fabric, both Scion
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 30: Glamorous Touch
For the eccentrics amongst us, use this wallpaper on all four walls, but it would also be fabulous on a feature wall. With sweeping tangles of chains, pearls, jewels and frogs, it’s like being inside a fairy tale.
Pictured: Tiana Antique, The Curious Department
Living Room Wallpaper Idea 31: All The Colours
Susi Bellamy is renowned for her intricate designs with mirrored patterns taken from her original artwork and marbled papers. It’s like looking through a kaleidoscope with all the different colours.
Because there are so many colours in it, it’s easy to pull out shades for furniture and accessories as she has here with red, orange and pink.
'This paper would work well for a feature wall or inglenook in a modern apartment or retro style home,' says Susi Bellamy, Wallpaper, Fabric and Accessory Designer. 'Perfect for dark corners to add some bold colour and pattern or behind a sideboard for some "modern art for the wall".'
Pictured: Pietra Blue mica non-woven wallpaper; Grey Stucco kaleidoscope oblong velvet cushions; matching velvet shade; Pietra Blu velvet storage stool, all Susi Bellamy
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