Wallpaper ideas for a nursery, for little girls and boys, for tweens and for teens rooms.
When it comes to decorating your child’s room, there’s nothing more transformative than wallpaper, whether on one, two, or all four walls. The trick comes in choosing the right kind of wallpaper as there are so many considerations – your child’s age, their gender, their likes and dislikes, whether they’ll be spending a little or a lot of time inside, and their favourite colours.
With so many factors to bear in mind, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. However the good news is that choosing wallpaper for your child’s room doesn’t have to be that hard – take a look at our top tips and start creating a space that’s home to imagination and magic.
Choosing wallpaper for your nursery
Decorating your baby’s nursery can be a hugely emotional experience, particularly if you’re expecting your first child. What’s important to remember here is that it’s never too soon to start planning – because your due date will soon be upon you before you know it!
The number one consideration for your nursery is to choose materials that are safe for baby, and to bear their developmental stages in mind. At first they’ll only be able to make out light/dark contrasts, and after a few months, they’ll begin to recognise primary colours. Choose patterns and colours that will stimulate them and grab their attention, and fill your nursery with warmth and love.
Our recommendations:
- Focus on colour. As we’ve said, colour is important – but you don’t have to only stick to brights, and you definitely don’t have to go the pink or blue route. Instead, why not choose a more gender-neutral colour like mint green or soft yellow, or even black and white with pops of colour. Soft neutral tones also work well, lending themselves to brightly hued accessories.
Eijffinger Mini Me wallpaper & mural
- Don’t neglect styling. Sure you’re decorating a nursery for a baby who's not style aware, but it’s still a great idea to style your baby’s space beautifully as well. Choose a theme such as contemporary, scandi, boho, or more, choose a wallpaper design that fits, and style your nursery with a few well-chosen decorative or quirky pieces.
Eijffinger Mini Me & Stripes + wallpapers
- Be bold and go bold. Traditional nursery patterns from the past often rely on small, delicate patterns but décor times have changed. Just because you’re decorating a nursery, don’t think you have to stick to tiny patterns – babies can see contrast from a young age, so if you want to choose a bold pattern or large-scale mural for your little one, then follow that instinct. The colour doesn't also have to be bold.
Eijffinger Wallpower Junior murals
- Adapt trends to your taste. You can stick to trends, but you can also make them your own. Take florals for example. They’re all the rage right now, but that doesn’t mean your baby’s room has to look like a bower of flowers. Instead choose a pattern that incorporates other elements as well, such as animals or pastels, and adapt the trend to suit your taste. You’ll still be in style, and you’ll have added your own personal touch for baby. Try a Circle sticker for a quick easy addition.
Eijffinger Favourites Circle stickers
Choosing wallpaper for girls’ and boys’ rooms
The big bonus about choosing wallpaper for slightly older boys and girls is that you can afford to be more adventurous. So if you’ve been waiting to fill your child’s room with patterns and colours, now’s your chance!
Children 6 and upwards are more likely to spend more time in their rooms pursuing their own interests, so the more inviting you can make the space, the better. It’s at this age their personalities start developing as well, so you can ask them for input too (although you’re allowed to veto the more ‘out there’ suggestions!). Make it interesting, make it engaging, and most of all, make it wonderful.
Our recommendations:
- Bring the outside in. Who says children can’t appreciate botanicals? Bringing quirky plant-themed designs indoors will give them an appreciation for nature, and help create an exotic, storybook mood. Plus if it can help educate them at the same time, all the better!
Eijffinger Rice wallpaper & Wallpower Junior mural
- Explore their interests. It’s always a good idea to support your child’s interests, so whether they’re into dinosaurs, ballerinas, trucks or animals, your wallpaper choice can help reflect this. Plus, if or when they get tired of one interest and move onto another, you can easily change their wallpaper to match.
Eijffinger Mini Me wallpaper & Favourites Circle sticker
- Tell a story. How much do children love bedtime stories? Now with a carefully chosen kids bedroom wallpaper they can let their imaginations run wild, all day and all night. Choose a whimsical design for your child’s room and add a touch of magic to the everyday.
Eijffinger Wallpower Junior murals
- Make a play corner. Children’s bedrooms tend to be multi-functional, and used for sleeping, playing and working. Keep these interests separate with cleverly placed wallpaper, and mark out a specific play corner with fun wallpaper and accessories. One room, so many different uses! Try a 'glow-in-the-dark' or 'chalk-board ' wallpaper for some fun.
Eijffinger Mini Me 'Glow-in-the-Dark' & 'Chalk board' wallpapers
Choosing wallpaper for tweens
Get ready – puberty is on the way, and this could start bringing about considerable changes in your child’s physical and emotional state. At the same time though, your child’s personality is becoming more evident every day, and it’s now possible for them to give more valuable input into the decoration and styling of their room.
Not only could this be a significant bonding experience for both of you, it’ll also allow you to help them develop their own sense of style and personal expression, not to mention their taste level as well. Enjoy the experience – the dreaded teen years will soon be upon you!
Our recommendations:
- Give pastels a chance. Bold colours are always a fun choice, but don’t overlook the impact that pastels can have too. Often a more sophisticated choice for a growing child, pastels can help make the most of the natural light in a room, and will complement most colour schemes and themes as well. Mixed pastels are great but why not pair a single pastel shade with black and white for a crisp striking look.
Eijffinger Rice wallpaper & Wallpower Junior mural
- Bear longevity in mind. You’ll no doubt have to replace your tween’s wallpaper over the years – as such it makes sense to go with designs that aren’t necessarily for children’s rooms. This way you’ll be able to easily change the wallpaper without having to constantly change the styling as well, making it more cost-effective and giving your tween a ‘grown-up’ room their friends will envy. Stripes are always smart or why not try a mural for some alphabet stickers for fun.
Eijffinger Stripes + wallpaper & Wallpower Junior mural
- Go quiet. Is your child more of an introverted, sensitive soul? Then give them a room that reflects this quiet sweetness – something muted, delicate and soft. Soft watercolour effects or giant painterly flowers could do the trick.
Jannelli & Volpe Atelier wallpaper
- Or go loud. On the other hand if your tween has more of on outgoing, extroverted personality, give them a bold, vibrant space to let their personality shine. Think bright colours, striking patterns and daring styling – design choices to bring out the best in them and allow their voice to be heard.
Eijffinger Wallpower Favourites mural & Eijffinger Stripes + wallpaper
Choosing wallpaper for teens
Now comes the most challenging time of all – the teen years! If your child hasn’t undergone a complete personality transformation then you’re lucky – most teens go through drastic behavioural changes as they try to understand who they are, and the space they occupy in the world.
What this usually means for you is a lot of resistance as they push boundaries, but if you’re determined to redecorate their room to reflect this new stage in their life, then don’t be put off. Enlist their help instead so that they can create a safe space for themselves – one that’s a haven away from this new world they’re suddenly inhabiting. Remember that they’re most likely to hate everything you choose (because as a parent you are now the most embarrassing being on the face of the planet) but stick with it, breathe deeply, and enjoy the process.
Our recommendations:
- Go grown-up. No more dinosaurs and rocket ships here – your teen will want a more sophisticated living space now. Thankfully this doesn’t mean you need to stick with plain and boring – there are plenty of patterns and colours that will bring life to a space, while being age-appropriate for a teenager at the same time.
Eijffinger Stripes + mural & Rice wallpaper
- Go crazy. Your teen wants just one wall done up in a pattern that you think is completely mad? Just go with it. Wallpaper is easy to remove, plus you want to encourage them to express themselves too, even if it means choosing a pattern and a style that’s not to your own personal taste. Plus, statement walls are always an eye-catching choice, and a mix of colours and patterns could turn out to be more visually gratifying than you think.
Eijffinger Stripes + wallpaper & Vivid mural
- Go abstract. Things don’t have to match perfectly, things don’t have to be bold and bright and in your face. Sometimes an understated décor choice can have a far bigger impact than a bolder, more obvious one. Go with your teen on this, and if they’re more into monochrome, support their style. Try a black and white graphic pattern or add a pop of sophisticated colour for some fun.
Eijffinger Wallpower Favourites mural & Stripes + wallpapers
- Go big. Murals make an amazing statement, particularly if you can tie them into your teen’s interests at the same time. That feature wall they’re so keen on? Cover it with a mural, or go all out and do wall-to-wall mural fabulousness if that’s what they’re into. As long as they’re happy, that’s the number one goal.
Eijffinger Wallpower Junior & Wonders murals
Keeping it tidy
As you already know, keeping children’s rooms tidy can be somewhat of a challenge – then there’s their natural clumsiness to contend with too, as their hand/eye coordination develops and they grow into their bodies. So be prepared for a lot more wear and tear in their rooms than in other parts of the house, and choose your wallpaper based on:
Durability – You’ll be pleased to know that today’s wallpapers are far more long-lasting than those from your own childhood. Made from paper pulp with textile fibres added, they’re now known as non-wovens or 'paste the wall' wallpapers and are stronger, more stable, and easier to hang. As for upkeep, vinyl quality wallpapers are washable and can be an excellent choice as they’re so easy to clean – just wipe with a damp cloth and you’re done. They are also wonderfully durable as well, with scratch-resistant and water-resistant properties. Anything that can have sticky marks and dirty fingerprints wiped away in seconds needs to be at the top of your list. You can thank us later.
Washability – Always choose your wallpaper carefully based on the age and activity level of your child – and if you’re not sure, today’s wallpapers come with various wash symbols to make the entire process as easy as possible. What you’re looking for are the symbols for spongeable, washable, extra washable and scrubbable – these will let you know that your wallpaper choice is easy to clean, and will look good as new no matter what activities or foodstuffs it’s subjected to.
In addition to durability and washability, you’ll also want to make sure your wallpaper is top quality as well – that there are no shade variations between rolls, no printing flaws on the roll, no pattern matching issues or no pixelation on large murals. It may be for a child’s room, but you still want your child to have the very best – and you want to make sure you’re getting great quality.
Remember, no matter what age your child is or what their interests are, we have hundreds of designs for you to browse at Dreamweaver, all designed and crafted to the highest standards, and all ready to be given a loving home. Simply visit us for a consultation or shop our range online, and get ready to transform your child’s living space with colour and love.