How to choose the perfect wallpaper for a nursery

Decorating a nursery is one of those projects that is super exciting. It’s nowhere near as stressful as designing a kitchen or a bathroom, where there are so many design and layout decisions to make, and it’s a project you can fully relax into.

But where do you start? With so many beautiful designs available, choosing wallpaper can feel a little overwhelming. Do you go for a traditional baby-themed design, something inspired by nature, or a bold mural that transforms the entire room?

When I was planning our own nursery, I knew I wanted something a little different. I absolutely love woodland themes, and I wanted to create a room that felt peaceful, welcoming and full of character. We eventually chose a beautiful woodland mural from Photowall, featuring foxes, deer, rabbits and all sorts of other animals.

Looking back, I think choosing the wallpaper first was one of the best decisions I made. It gave me a starting point for everything else, from the paint colours to the furniture and finishing touches.

If you’re planning a nursery of your own, here are some things I’d consider before settling on a design.

Summary

• Look beyond traditional nursery designs and consider woodland, botanical, abstract or storybook themes that your child won’t quickly grow out of
• Decide whether repeating wallpaper or a statement wall mural would work best for your room and the look you’re trying to achieve
• Use your wallpaper as inspiration for choosing complementary paint colours, furniture and accessories
• Think carefully about your room layout, including wall space, furniture placement, windows and shelving
• Make smaller nurseries feel spacious with carefully chosen patterns, lighter colours and murals that create a sense of depth
• Mix patterns and textures by combining wallpaper with complementary curtains, bedding, wooden furniture and decorative accessories
• Consider custom wallpaper if you want something more personal or need a design that fits your room perfectly.
• Always order samples before committing so you can see how colours and patterns look in your home under different lighting conditions
• Choose a design that can grow with your child and transition from nursery to toddler bedroom without needing a complete makeover.

1. Think beyond traditional nursery themes

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with choosing a nursery wallpaper that’s covered in teddy bears, rainbows or little stars. But if you want something that will still look lovely when your baby becomes a toddler (and eventually a much bigger child), it can be worth thinking beyond these stereotypical patterns.

Some of my favourite nursery schemes use themes that work in both an older child’s bedroom as well as a baby’s.

I might be biased but woodland designs are a brilliant example. You can truly embrace natural and earth colours, including greens, creams, browns and natural wood, and the little animals can look so adorable. What we love most about our woodland wallpaper is the way both kids point out all of the animals. When it was Hallie’s room, she was always pointing at each animal and saying its name or the noise it makes, and now Harrison does exactly the same. I think the owl is his favourite.

The combination of woodland wallpaper, soft green walls and light wooden furniture is something I still absolutely love, but you could also consider:

• Botanical wallpaper with delicate leaves, wildflowers and branches
• Abstract shapes, including scallops, arches, dots and geometric patterns which can be playful and fun
• Storybook illustrations like whimsical landscapes, little cottages, animals or magical forests
• An ‘under the sea’ theme, with whales, turtles, fish and coral, suitable for both boys and girls
• Character-inspired wallpaper, including Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh or Bambi.

The trick is to choose something you genuinely love and you’ll never get bored of it.

2. Decide between wallpaper and a wall mural

One of the biggest decisions is whether you want a traditional repeating wallpaper pattern or a mural that covers an entire wall. Both can look fantastic, but they do create quite different effects.

Repeating wallpaper

Traditional wallpaper is ideal if you want a more subtle backdrop. A repeating pattern can be used across one wall or throughout the entire room, depending on how bold the design is.

Smaller patterns tend to be easier to work around when you’re introducing other decorative elements, such as shelving, artwork or patterned curtains. They’re also a great option if you have a particularly awkward room layout, with lots of doors, windows or alcoves.

I am a bit obsessed with how subtle this repeating wallpaper is:

Wall murals

A mural can completely transform a nursery, even if the rest of the room is fairly simple, and can be used to set the general theme from the get-go. Rather than having lots of little decorative items competing for attention, the wallpaper itself becomes the main attraction.

The only thing to be wary of is that murals can reduce the usable space in the room. You likely wouldn’t want to put a huge wardrobe in front of your mural and cover it up, so really think about where your other big pieces of furniture can go. You also won’t want to put shelves on your mural, which has really limited us in Harrison’s room.

3. Use the wallpaper to create your colour scheme

If you’re anything like me, you probably have a Pinterest board full of nursery inspiration before you’ve even bought a tin of paint!

The trouble is, it’s easy to end up with lots of lovely individual ideas that don’t quite work together.

My advice would be to choose your wallpaper first and then pull out two or three colours from the design to use elsewhere in the room.

For example, a woodland mural might contain:

• Sage green foliage
• Soft beige and cream backgrounds
• Warm brown tree trunks
• Little touches of terracotta or mustard

You could use sage green on the surrounding walls, cream for the furniture and natural wood for the cot and shelving. This is what I did in our nursery, using Lick Green 09 on the walls and ceiling, using a complementary colour that doesn’t necessarily compete for attention.

And yes, I painted the ceiling too! It might seem like a small detail, but having the same colour across the walls and ceiling helped everything feel much more cohesive.

Don’t forget your flooring

Flooring is another permanent feature worth considering before you commit to wallpaper.

If you’re choosing carpet, look for a shade that complements the background or softer colours in your design. Natural wood flooring can work beautifully with woodland, botanical and neutral schemes.

You don’t necessarily need everything to match perfectly. In fact, a little contrast can make the room feel much more interesting.

4. Choose the right wall for your wallpaper

This is probably one of the most important practical considerations, particularly if you’re choosing a mural.

A beautiful wallpaper design can lose some of its impact if half of it disappears behind a wardrobe or chest of drawers, as I’ve already mentioned.

Before ordering anything, measure your walls and think about where your furniture will sit. For a mural, I would usually look for the largest uninterrupted wall in the room. This might be the wall behind the cot, although it could equally be the wall opposite the door or the one you see first when entering.

Consider the following:

• Will the mural still be visible once the cot is in position? Avoid placing the cot beneath wall-mounted artwork or decorative items.
• What tall furniture will be in there that could block the mural?
• How will the wallpaper sit around the window frame and will the design be interrupted?
• Where will you put shelves if they can’t go on the mural?

If you’re ordering a mural, some suppliers allow you to preview or adjust the crop of the design. This is incredibly useful if you need to move an important detail away from a wardrobe or window.

5. Make a small nursery feel bigger

If you have a small nursery, you might be thinking ‘I definitely can’t go for wallpaper’, but you absolutely can! Many people also make the mistake of assuming that small patterns and plain walls are always the safest option, but a large-scale mural can actually look fantastic in a small room, provided you have enough uninterrupted wall space to appreciate it.

The trick is to avoid having too many competing elements.

A mural with a soft background and plenty of breathing room can create a lovely sense of depth. Landscapes, forests and mountain scenes are particularly good at this. Alternatively, if you prefer repeating wallpaper, look for designs that aren’t overly dense or high-contrast.

6. Mix wallpaper with furniture and textiles

Once you’ve chosen your wallpaper, it’s time to think about the rest of the room.

One of the easiest ways to make a nursery look professionally designed is to introduce a mixture of textures rather than relying entirely on colour.

For a woodland nursery, for example, I’d look at:

• Light wooden furniture
• Soft cotton bedding
• Woven baskets for toy storage
• Textured rugs
• Natural linen curtains
• Wooden shelves and little animal decorations.

This is where you can really bring a theme to life without making everything feel too matchy-matchy.

If your wallpaper is particularly detailed, you can keep the curtains and bedding relatively simple or contrast them completely, like I did in my daughter’s room. She has a bold floral wallpaper behind her bed and then spotty curtains. It works because, although the patterns are different, they share similar colours, which helps tie everything together.

On the other hand, a more subtle wallpaper can be paired with patterned cushions, curtains or bedding to introduce a little more personality.

I also love the idea of using simple picture frames, wooden toys and little decorative pieces to complement the wallpaper rather than trying to replicate it everywhere.

7. Consider custom wallpaper for something a little different

If you’ve spent hours browsing nursery wallpaper and still haven’t found quite the right design, it might be worth looking at custom wallpaper.

Depending on the supplier, you may be able to choose a design, adjust the dimensions or customise the placement of particular elements. You could even create a nursery around something meaningful to your family, such as a favourite landscape, a particular animal or an illustration inspired by a story you love.

Custom designs can also be useful when you’re trying to achieve a very specific colour palette. Rather than compromising on a wallpaper that almost matches your scheme, you may be able to find something that works much more naturally with your chosen paint and furniture.

Just remember to check the dimensions carefully and make sure you’re happy with the final design before placing your order!

8. Order samples before committing

This is something I would always recommend when decorating any room, but especially when choosing wallpaper for a nursery. Always get a sample, as the colours can look completely different on screen compared to in real life.

A soft sage green might look quite grey in one room and much warmer in another, depending on the lighting and surrounding colours.

Before ordering, I’d recommend:

• Ordering a sample wherever possible
• Holding it against the wall where you intend to use it
• Looking at it in both natural daylight and artificial lighting
• Comparing it with your paint samples, flooring and furniture
• Checking how the design looks from different angles and distances.

If you’re ordering a mural, make sure you understand how the panels fit together and whether the design can be adjusted to suit your wall dimensions.

It’s also worth checking the manufacturer’s installation instructions, including the recommended adhesive, preparation requirements and drying times.

9. Choose something your child can grow into

One thing I would always consider when decorating a nursery is how easy it will be to update the room later. Babies don’t stay babies for very long (although some of those sleepless nights might make it feel otherwise!).

Before you know it, you’ll be swapping the cot for a toddler bed, adding toy storage and finding yourself surrounded by books, games and far too many cuddly toys.

That’s why I think themes such as woodland, nature, botanical and abstract designs work so well. They’re playful enough for a nursery but can easily transition into a toddler or children’s bedroom, and you can always introduce more age-specific decorations as your child grows, whether that’s colourful artwork, favourite characters or themed bedding.

If you’re planning a bedroom makeover for an older child, I’ve also written about helping your child settle into a new bedroom, including how thoughtful decorating can help make their space feel familiar and welcoming.

Nursery wallpaper ideas: creating a room you’ll love

Decorating a nursery should be fun and enjoyable, so try not to stress! There are so many beautiful designs available, and you really don’t need to follow a particular trend or stick to traditional baby colours.

If I were starting our nursery again, I’d still choose a woodland mural in a heartbeat. I loved how it gave the room a clear direction and made it feel like somewhere special, without needing to spend a fortune on decorative extras.

The most important thing is to choose a design that works with your space, complements your furniture and gives you a starting point for the rest of the room.