6 Best Wallpaper Designs for the Living Room

Choosing wallpaper designs for a living room is a big decision, especially seeing as you probably spend more time in the living room than you spend anywhere else! Your living room is the place where you relax and spend time watching TV or listening to music. It’s a sanctuary where you chill out at the end of a long day. It’s also the center of the home; a space for family and fun.

When it comes to choosing a wallpaper, you want to strike a balance between making a visual impact and matching the wallpaper to your furniture, decor, and the aesthetic of your home. It can take a little trial and error, but with these living room wallpaper ideas, you can transform your living room into a comfortable and inviting space.

1. Retro Prints

Retro prints can take many guises in living room wallpapers; Baroque, Art Deco, geometric patterns, abstract designs, and other modern takes on classic designs.

Retro doesn’t have to mean bold, but it can if you're going for a feature wall or want to create a focal point in your living space. If you are looking for something slightly more muted but want to maintain that retro feel, a sage green Art Deco wallpaper is a great choice. This wallpaper guarantees the “wow factor” without overpowering the room.

2. Mood-Enhancing Colors and Prints

Wallpaper sets the mood for a room. If you want something fun to lift your mood after a hard day, why not choose a color and pattern that evoke happiness? The colors used in interior design can affect our mood, productivity, and even recovery from illness, so choosing one that boosts your mood is important.

• Mood-lifting colors. Yellow is a great example of a color that can lift our spirits, bringing sunshine and brightness into your living room. Shades of pink can have a similar effect.

• Mood-lifting prints. This doesn’t have to come in the form of floral designs; polka dots, stripes, or splash patterns can be perfect for a fun living room. If you do love floral designs, cherry blossom wallpaper mixes the beauty of a salmon-pink background with yellow-and-white flowers for a wallpaper that screams happiness.

3. Chevron or Herringbone Patterns

Chevron or herringbone patterns are modern patterns that work exceptionally well in living rooms and provide a great complement to the different colors, shapes, and textures that are already in the room. As an example, blue chevron patterned wallpaper could work just as well with bright yellow furnishings as with more subtle shades of black, white, gray, or neutrals.

Chevron patterns can be very playful, providing an opportunity to experiment with contrasting prints and textures in your living room decor in general. This will add layers to your living room, creating areas of contrast for a living room that’s both modern and chic.

4. Oversized Bold Prints

Oversized prints are all the rage at the moment in living room design. Large prints can give a sense of drama without any need for overly bright colors. A great example of a large-size print is this Amelia floral wallpaper which, though bold in its design, uses muted colors that work well in any living room.

If you’re not into floral designs, other natural motifs or beautiful repeated patterns can work wonderfully on a larger scale; think metallic leaves, damask patterns, or even geometric shapes for a dramatic living room wall.

5. Floral Designs

While they were especially popular in decades past, floral designs don’t have to be pink and old-fashioned. Modern floral designs come in many forms that appeal to both sexes and create drama and sophistication in your living room. For city-based houses or apartments without a garden, floral designs are a way to bring a sense of nature into your home.

Floral designs come in tight, intricate designs and larger, more flowing designs like this blossom wallpaper design. Whether you’re looking for whimsical wallpaper or want a more dramatic look, there is a floral design for your living room.

6. Neutrals

Neutrals as a living room wallpaper idea will never go out of style. Perhaps you favor a minimalist, clean look in your living room; alternatively, you might prefer to pair colorful, statement furniture, and decor such as floor lamps with a more muted wall. Either way, neutrals are always going to be a great option.

Is a Neutral Wall Boring?

Not necessarily! Neutrals come in so many shades, patterns, and textures that you can create interest and contrast even with neutral shades.

Neutral backdrops can also be matched with colored accents in the wallpaper to maintain a largely neutral wall with subtle splashes of color.

Textured Neutrals

Adding texture to a neutral design is a modern way to add an extra dimension to your living room without necessarily going for bright colors or bold prints.

Possible textures to look for:

• Grasscloth is a classy material that adds style and interest to a neutral wallpaper.
• Metallic lines provide some subtle texture when printed on a neutral base.
• Crocodile prints and faux leather-effect wallpapers provide a subtle reminder of outdoor life.

What to Take Into Account When Choosing Living Room Wallpaper

With so many great wallpaper patterns from which to choose, these questions will help you to find a winning design.

What Is the Function and Feel of Your Living Room?

A living room is a non-negotiable space in a house that brings the family together. Unlike a dining room, a living room serves many different purposes in the house; that's why it's important to reflect the purpose of your living room in your wallpaper choice.

Is your living room formal, fun, or relaxed? Is it a family room where young children play, or is it a room that reflects your mature and more sophisticated tastes? Either way, you can use your wallpaper to set the right tone.

• For a formal look, larger patterns with bold colors create a sense of drama in the room. 

• For families with small children with sticky hands, very light-colored wallpaper can be risky; opt for designs with small, close, delicate patterns or darker and more durable tones.

What Are You Trying To Accentuate?

Just as we do when we dress ourselves, we want to adorn our walls with wallpaper that brings out its best features and draws attention away from the things we don’t want to accentuate.

• Vertical stripes and patterns make the ceilings look higher. This is perfect if you want short walls to appear a little taller.

• If width is what you’re looking for, try a horizontal pattern instead.

Combine Wallpaper With Decor Wisely

Mixing and matching requires a balance between having enough color, pattern, and drama to create interest and keeping a room from looking overly busy. If using different colors, patterns, or textures, try to repeat the same accent color to create continuity throughout the room.

Texture, Color, or Both?

Want to elevate your living room but not convinced by bold colors or patterns? You’re not alone. Choosing textured paper such as grasspaper adds a new dimension to a room without any need to commit to loud colors that you may get tired of in the future.

Choosing a natural or toned-down color in a textured wallpaper also allows you to play with different concepts in your living room with the added bonus of being able to opt for more dramatic colors in your furnishings if you want.

How Can I Wallpaper My Rented House or Apartment?

We usually associate home decorating with property ownership, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Renters can create the look that makes them happiest even in rented accommodation with removable wallpaper collections that you can hang and remove without damaging the wall underneath.

The Living Room: The Center of the Home

Making your living room special for you, your family, and your guests is important because it's the center of your home. Your living room is the focal point of so many special memories; setting the backdrop for Christmas and 4th of July decor, birthday parties, and sporting team victory celebrations.

With the right wallpaper, you can make your living room unique, inviting, and memorable, and transform it into a space where you feel comfortable spending hours by yourself, with family, or friends. The living room holds a special place in every family's home, and with wallpaper, you can make it your own.