How to Create Impact with Wallpaper
Using wallpaper is an effective way of achieving a beautiful, inspired interior. Combined with paint, wallpaper can transform the look and feel of a living space, bringing a textural element to the walls.
Each Little Greene wallpaper colourway is presented with a selection of coordinating paint shades, making it simple to create perfectly coordinated schemes.
Explore our tips and guidance for incorporating wallpaper into your home to create design impact. Discover how to select a wallpaper that's perfect for your space.
How to use wallpaper
There are many ways to bring beauty, impact and personality to your home using wallpaper. You might transform an entire room with bold combinations of colour and pattern, or simply incorporate wallpaper on one wall to create a highlight.
Using wallpaper on a single wall or chimney breast is a great way to create a focal point within a room. Consider the architectural features and natural lighting to select the best space to apply wallpaper.
For a room with impact, use wallpapers on all four walls in an all-over scheme. Select complementary paint shades for your woodwork and door frames for a coordinated finish.
In period properties with original features, consider introducing wallpaper above or below the dado rail. This approach will provide interesting textural contrast and allow you to combine your design with coordinating paint shades.
How to choose your wallpaper
When selecting a wallpaper, we always recommend ordering samples of your chosen designs. Place the samples on different walls around the room to ensure you are happy with the pattern and colour in varying lights.
Our wallpaper samples are A4 size to give you a good indication of the pattern. To view larger samples, visit your nearest Little Greene stockist or showroom to browse our wallpaper books.
Bedroom wallpaper
For a tranquil bedroom scheme, consider a soothing wallpaper design that will create a relaxing environment at the end of the day.
Use wallpaper on a single wall behind the bed to create a focal point within the room. Paint woodwork and trim in a complementary hue for a coordinated finish.
Aderyn – French Grey
Select a delicate floral pattern in a muted colourway to create a calm, tranquil space. Choose a timeless pattern like Aderyn – French Grey, an elegant bird and floral trail featuring magnolia and peony flowers. Gentle and inviting, this wallpaper offers a restful, comforting feel that is perfect for a bedroom environment. It pairs beautifully with the French Grey neutrals on woodwork.
Moon Daisies - Garden
For something a little bolder, but still drawing inspiration from nature, try using Moon Daisies – Garden combined with Pea Green on woodwork. With reassuring simplicity, this classic floral design has its origins in a late-19th-century wallpaper found at Oxburgh Hall. The centres of the daisy flowers have been flocked, providing a beautiful textural backdrop that feels cosy and inviting.
Kitchen Wallpaper
In a room that is often the liveliest area of the home, do not be afraid to be a little bolder with your design choices!
The kitchen is the perfect place to experiment with stronger colours and patterns, providing a creative space to be enjoyed. Consider the use of colour highlights to add a playful element to the room, for a space that feels vibrant and energetic.
Little Greene wallpapers are washable or spongeable to maintain a clean kitchen without damaging the print.
Briar Rose – Green Stone
Our Arts & Crafts style ‘Briar Rose’ wallpaper provides a subtle, classic finish. Select the Green Stone colourway to embrace a combination of calming, neutral tones for a more traditional kitchen design.
The original design was discovered as loose samples at Oxburgh Hall, featuring characters from ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ among the roses. In contemporary kitchen settings, this stylised floral print provides an excellent way to soften hard surfaces and create a homely, characterful scheme.
Spring Flowers – Garden
Combining paint and wallpaper gives you the opportunity to inject personality into a scheme and reflect your own sense of style. Spring Flowers is a small-scale print that looks beautiful when embraced on every surface to enliven an interior. Pair the Garden colourway with coordinating, vibrant greens, Hopper and Garden, on the woodwork and cabinetry.
Bathroom Wallpaper
In well-ventilated bathrooms, introducing wallpaper enables you to add texture and interest to existing features.
Floral and botanical patterns work wonderfully in bathroom settings to evoke the calming, soothing qualities of the natural world. Embrace nature-inspired wallpapers in your bathroom scheme to create a sanctuary where you can relax and unwind.
Poppy Trail – Masquerade
Poppy Trail is a flamboyant, large-scale floral pattern in a sophisticated, two-tone design. In the Masquerade colourway, it provides a beautiful warm backdrop for bedrooms and bathrooms, partnering well with complementary paint shades. Consider introducing a contrasting colour highlight such as Yellow-Pink on the lower walls to add personality and interest.
Aurora – Achillea
Designs that evoke nature such as Achillea – Aurora will invite the serenity of the outdoors into your home. Create a scheme that is reminiscent of our natural surroundings to provide both comfort and calm in your bathroom. This tranquil deep teal colourway will immerse your bathroom in the soothing colours and patterns of nature for a relaxing retreat.
Hallway Wallpaper
In large, open hallway spaces, you can experiment with statement patterns to create an entrance with immediate impact.
These areas provide the opportunity to incorporate a design or colourway that may not sit as comfortably in your living space or bedroom. As hallways are transitional spaces, you can embrace colour and pattern with more confidence.
Mr Straw’s Greenhouse – Air Force Blue
This playful design in a bold blue colourway is inspired by a greenhouse filled with succulents and cacti, owned by brothers William & Walter Straw. It’s a fabulous, lively design to transform your hallway into an uplifting space that reflects your own personality.
Aderyn – Olive Colour
A wallpaper with a bold pattern of birds and flowers like Aderyn – Olive Colour makes a striking impact on all walls. Embrace a deep, cocooning ambience by accompanying this design with related dark greens on the doors and skirting boards.
Hencroft – Blue Primula
Hencroft is one of our most-loved floral wallpapers that adds interesting character to the walls of your home. Give your hallway an elegant, curated feel by pairing Hencroft with coordinating paint colours on the woodwork. Grey Stone is a wonderful choice to partner with this inviting colourway on a neutral ground.
Explore our online gallery for more colour and room inspiration. Request wallpaper samples to begin planning your scheme.