13 Living room wallpaper ideas

If you want to drastically change the look of your living room without paying for expensive construction work, wallpaper is your best friend. Use it to create a calming oasis, a bright and playful environment or a dark and moody snug.

Whatever your tastes, our living room wallpaper ideas have got you covered. But first…

How to choose wallpaper for your living room

Before we reveal our 13 inspiring living room wallpaper ideas, we want to share a bit of info about how to choose the right wallpaper for your home.

Every living room – and homeowner – is different. So, if you’re wondering which wallpaper is best for a living room, that will depend on a number of factors unique to you, including the:

• Size of the room. While larger patterns work well in both large and small living rooms, smaller patterns can make a small living room feel too busy
• Feel of the room. Dark and dramatic colours like purple or navy can help to make your living room feel cosy and intimate. On the other hand, lighter colours like pale grey and white can make a space feel bigger
• Lighting. The lighting in your living room can change the way that wallpaper looks and make colours seem lighter or darker
• Style of your home. Traditional patterns tend to work well in period homes, while modern homes can be more playful with bold patterns or combinations of classic and more exotic styles
• Features of the room. If your living room has architectural features like alcoves and chimney breasts, you can use wallpaper to help draw attention to them

Living room wallpaper ideas

Now for the bit you’ve been waiting for! Here are 13 living room wallpaper ideas to draw from when you’re planning your living room overhaul.

1. Go monochrome

Monochrome wallpapers are safe yet stylish – they go well with a range of different colours, making it easy to style your living room in complementary shades, and they work in both classic and modern homes.

This is a colour pallet that’s been popular for decades now, so it’s unlikely to feel dated for a long time yet. The wallpaper here has been made to mimic faded vintage tiles – a striking statement without being so loud that it detracts from the rest of the homeowner’s design choices.

2. Style it with stripes

Can you get much more classic than stripes?

This modern living room sports wide stripes in soothing grey and white tones, adding character while blending in with the rest of the room. We particularly love how the homeowner has used it to create a real moment around this small sideboard, with gorgeous roses to boot.

3. Play with materials

If you’re after something a bit different, you’ll love this terrazzo living room wallpaper idea. A fraction of the cost of installing actual terrazzo, this wallpaper gives a similar feel with a modern twist – and makes the perfect focal point.

Better still, the pops of pink in the wallpaper tie together the pink tones in the rest of the room perfectly.

4. Use it as artwork

Pick the right wallpaper and it can add as much interest to your living room as a work of art. Here, the homeowner has covered half the wall in a swirling blue vintage wallpaper and kept the other half painted a crisp white – separating the two with white beading in a way that’s reminiscent of the edge of a picture frame.

All in all, it makes for an eclectic, asymmetrical look that’s bursting with personality.

5. Go traditional

If you live in a period home (or wish you did!), there’s a huge variety of traditional wallpapers that could be perfect for your living room. In this image, the homeowner has opted for a delicate floral wallpaper in neutral tones, maintaining the sense of space and brightness while allowing the property’s period features to pop.

Just look at that beautiful parquet flooring!

6. Embrace texture

Wallpaper can be a great way to add some texture to your living room, making it feel richer and more inviting. This wallpaper has a polished plaster effect that adds surprising depth to the space. Its warm grey tones are complemented by charcoal shades in the furnishings, resulting in a picture-perfect finish that’s both raw and modern.

7. Have fun!

Your home is your castle, so it’s only right that you should let your personality shine through and have some fun. This living room has been decked out in bright blue wallpaper that’s covered in pink flamingoes. It’s bold, it’s different, and it can’t help but put a smile on your face.

8. Try a trompe l’oeil

While we’re on the topic of fun, there can’t be many things more fun in the world of interior design than a trompe l’oeil. This wallpaper has been made to look like a tall stack of logs, bringing a warm and rustic feel to this Scandinavian-style living room. We love how the homeowner has placed a real stack of logs next to it – the perfect accessory to get away with the illusion!

9. Opt for dark and moody

This image proves how dark colours can make a big living room feel cosy and intimate. The charcoal tones of the wallpaper combined with its rich pattern have created a moody atmosphere ideal for entertaining friends in the evening.

10. Be bold with florals

This isn’t the first floral wallpaper on our list of living room wallpaper ideas, but it’s definitely the most bold. Covered in giant roses, it makes the furniture in front of it look teeny! All in all, it makes a dramatic statement while being soft and feminine at the same time.

11. Keep it geometric

If you live in a modern home, you can’t go wrong with geometric wallpaper. The homeowner here has opted for pale grey tones, allowing the wallpaper to bring texture and interest to this living room without being overbearing.

We particularly love how the triangular shapes in the wallpaper are echoed in the pendant lights and coffee table – that’s clever design right there!

12. Enjoy botanicals

Houseplants have been shown to improve mood, reduce stress, boost creativity and increase focus. This wallpaper may not be the real deal, but having a host of tropical palm leaves adorning your walls certainly can’t hurt, right? Together with the real houseplants scattered around the room and the cute flamingo prints, the result is a tropical paradise that brings the outdoors in.

13. Go all out with a wallpaper mural

Wallpaper murals are really popular at the moment. They’re fun, dramatic, and can transport you to wherever you want to go, from the comfort of your living room (plus, they’re significantly cheaper per m2 than the typical mural painting cost). This wallpaper mural features a quaint town sitting amongst woodland and mountains – the perfect form of escapism for an urban apartment!

FAQs

Should I wallpaper my living room?

Yes! If you’re tired of your living room and want to change the look of it drastically without spending an arm and a leg, wallpaper can be the perfect solution.

Although wallpapering tends to be more expensive than the typical painter and decorator prices for painting a room, wallpaper also tends to be longer-lasting. This means you’ll usually end up saving money in the long run.

Our guide to wallpapering costs has more information.

Which type of wallpaper is best for a living room?

The best wallpaper for your living room will depend on your tastes, the size of your living room, the style of property you live in, your living room lighting and more.

If you live in a period home, traditional wallpaper styles can be very effective, while if you live in a modern home, you can often be bolder with prints and colours.

Where to put wallpaper in a living room?

Instead of wallpapering every wall in your living room, the current trend is to choose just one. It’s usually best to pick the wall that you’d like to form the main focal point of the room – usually, the one facing the door, as this is most noticeable when people enter.

You can also use wallpaper to highlight features in your living room – like a chimney breast or alcoves – or you can use a strip of wallpaper to bring attention to a piece of furniture. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even wallpaper the ceiling to make a real impact. The sky (or in this case, ceiling!) is the limit.