Wallpaper - Not Just for Walls!

Wallpaper is a really great way to add instant impact to your interior scheme.

The last few years has seen an explosion of new wallpaper designers & manufacturers and there is now more choice than ever before! But what if you’d like to add a little pattern to your home but aren’t ready to commit to a whole room?

There are plenty of ways that you can get creative with wallpaper. Reinvent a favourite item of old furniture or upscale a piece of cheap modern furniture. The possibilities are almost endless, the only limit is your imagination. Try wallpapering ceilings, doors, cupboards and wardrobes (both inside and outside), table tops, desk doors and drawer fronts, bookshelves or room dividers.

Many more objects can all be re-invented beautifully, even with wallpaper cut-offs.

Here are some of our favourite examples.

Wardrobes.

We love a good IKEA hack. It’s a great way to create something that is unique to you without breaking the bank. We absolutely LOVE what Jenny Kakoudakis from seasonsincolour.com has done with this IKEA Pax Wardrobe! Jenny has used the classic Hicks Hexagon Wallpaper by Cole & Son. Non-woven wallpapers are particularly suitable for covering furniture, but you could use paper-based varieties too. Who’d have thought that a cheap basic wardrobe could look so cool! 


Staircases.

Walls next to staircases and in hallways can often get overlooked, primarily as they can be tricky to wallpaper due to the height and shape of the walls. Using wallpaper on your stair risers is a much easier way to transform your space with pattern. We like this simple yet effective example from bowerpowerblog.com.

Ceilings.

How dreamy is this nursery? Not only does it have our favourite Cole & Son Nuvolette Cloud wallpaper on the ceiling, that blush pink panelling is stunning!

Image credit @andreazappone

Cupboards & Cabinets.

Covered in Circus Wallpaper by Cole & Son, this cupboard certainly makes a statement! Keep the rest of your interior scheme quite simple and let your furniture do the talking.
If you plan to cover larger wooden surfaces like wardrobe doors or sideboard fronts with patterned wallpapers, we recommended that you cover both the inside and the outside. Wood expands very slightly when it absorbs the wallpaper paste, and it will shrink again when it dries. This can lead to doors or fronts bending or warping slightly if only one side is wallpapered. Wallpapering both sides will avoid this.

Bookshelf Interiors.

This is a great way to introduce wallpaper with minimal effort and expense! This black bookcase has been given a stylish makeover with a chic art deco style wallpaper.

Doors.

This door looks fabulous covered in the iconic Woods wallpaper by Cole & Son. Wallpaper just the door and keep your walls plain, use contrasting wallpaper for the walls and the door or go bold and use the same paper on your walls and door… Just don’t forget to use a door handle that stands out or you might never find your way out of the room!

We also love this Banana Leaf print wallpaper too. This striking door & walls combination is certainly not for the shy and retiring! Photo credit: House Beautiful.

Splashbacks.

Revamp your kitchen in a jiffy with a water and heat resistant unbreakable pvc wallpaper splashback. These innovative splashback panels can be applied over existing tiles and is also very easy to remove making it a great way to personalise your rental home! You don’t have to confine this backsplash to the kitchen… they work really well in bathrooms too!

We hope this has inspired you, there are so many ways that wallpaper can have an impact on your home decor.

Why not take a look at our Pinterest board for more fab ideas!