For many people, the living room is where they first dare to give a whole wall colour or pattern. Rightly so, as no room gets looked at more. But choosing living room wallpaper does not start with the design. It starts with the wall: which one you pick, what stands in front of it and how much light it gets. Then comes the mood, and only after that the pattern. Below we work through that order, with designs we see in real living rooms and a worked example for measuring up.
Start with the wall, not the design
In most living rooms you paper one wall and keep the rest calm. That is not penny-pinching but a deliberate choice: one wall with character draws the eye, while four walls in the same design make the room feel smaller. Which wall it should be depends on how you use the room.
The wall behind the sofa
This is the classic, and for good reason. You do not stare at it all evening, but anyone who walks in sees it straight away. The sofa keeps the bottom metre quiet, so a large motif above it really comes into its own. Do check the height of the sofa back, though: a design with its main shape at 80 cm will largely disappear behind the cushions.
The TV wall
In many living rooms the wall with the TV is the least attractive one: a black screen, cables and a unit underneath. Wallpaper fixes that by giving the TV a backdrop instead of a dark hole in a white wall. Choose a design that stays calm at eye level here, because a busy pattern right around the screen will compete with the picture. How to work out the size of a section like that is covered in our article on wallpaper behind the TV.
A wall with no furniture
A long wall beside the stairs, the chimney breast or the wall in the dining area: nothing stands in front of these, so this is where the largest motif can go. These are exactly the walls that often get skipped because there seems to be nothing to do with them. A large design gives them a purpose, even without a cabinet or a painting.
Choose the mood: warm, calm or modern
Once the wall is settled, you choose a direction. Almost every living room wallpaper idea falls into one of these three, and the rest of your interior decides which one fits.
Warm: earth tones and terracotta
Terracotta, ochre, copper and sand make a living room feel cosy without turning sweet. They sit well with wood, cognac leather, linen and plants. Boho Love Copper has large overlapping circles in terracotta, brown and black on a light, woven-look background. Happening Warm places tall, curved leaf shapes in orange, terracotta, sand and aubergine side by side, with a nod to the seventies. And Home Terra is quieter: graphic quarter tiles and arches in terracotta and sand with a stone texture. More on working with these colours in our article on warm colour wallpaper.
Calm: Japandi and Scandinavian
If you want the wall to add atmosphere without demanding attention all the time, choose a design with little contrast. Flowing Leaves Beige has large tone-on-tone leaves in beige on a linen texture, Enjoy Scandi soft rounded blocks in beige, cream and a touch of pale blue, and Trondheim Taupe looks like old plasterwork with fine cracks. Designs like these also work in a small living room, and alongside light wood, rattan and white linen. You will find more in this direction under Japandi wallpaper and Scandinavian wallpaper.
Modern: graphic and colourful
A modern living room with clean-lined furniture can carry a bold wall. Warm Retro has overlapping ovals in orange, petrol blue, ochre and green, which instantly makes it the focal point of the room. Keep everything else calm: a plain sofa and few other colours. If you want graphic but with less colour, have a look at geometric wallpaper or abstract wallpaper.
Scale and pattern: how big can the motif be?
With living room wallpaper, most regrets are not about colour but about scale. A large motif on a narrow wall shows only part of the design, and a small motif on a long wall can look busy. Two rules of thumb:
- Wide wall, large motif. The more wall you have, the bigger the pattern can be. Circles of half a metre or more only really work on a wall that is three metres wide or more.
- Lots of furniture in front, finer pattern. If a cabinet or a high-backed sofa stands against the wall, you will only see the top of a large motif. A finer pattern stays recognisable.
Light matters too. A dark design on the wall opposite the window looks rich during the day, but on a wall that gets little light of its own, the same design soon feels heavy. If in doubt, choose a lighter colourway or a design with a light background.
Made to measure: one continuous image across the whole wall
All our wallpaper is printed on non-woven wallpaper, in drops 50 cm wide. For most designs one roll covers a wall of 200 × 280 cm; the exact size is listed with each product. If your wall is a different size, we make the wallpaper to measure. You give us the width and height of your wall and we print the design for exactly that wall, so the motif runs across the full width.
To measure: take the width and height at the widest and highest point, because walls are rarely perfectly straight, and add 5 cm to both for trimming at the ceiling and skirting board. An example: the wall behind the sofa is 360 × 255 cm. You enter 365 × 260 cm. The width is rounded up to whole drops, so 400 cm, and made-to-measure wallpaper costs €29 per m². For this wall that is 4.00 × 2.60 m, €301.60 in total.
Want to see how a design works out at your size first? In the wallpaper configurator you pick a design, enter your wall size and see the price straight away.
Order a sample first
Colour on a screen is never quite colour on the wall, especially with earth tones, which look different on every screen. A small sample of 12.5 × 18 cm costs €2.50 and, ordered before 4pm, arrives within 1 to 3 working days. With a large motif, a large sample of 50 × 100 cm is more useful, for €25, because it also shows you the scale. Put the sample up on the wall you want to paper for a few days and look at it in the morning and in the evening. Our wallpaper is printed after you order; allow 2 to 8 working days for delivery in the Netherlands. We deliver wallpaper throughout Europe.
Hanging it
Non-woven wallpaper is the easiest wallpaper to hang yourself. The paste goes on the wall, not on the paper, so you do not need a pasting table or soaking time. On a roll the drops are numbered, so the pattern runs on in the right order. The full step-by-step guide is in hanging non-woven wallpaper, and what is involved in ordering to measure is in our guide to made-to-measure wallpaper.
Frequently asked questions
Which wall in the living room is best to wallpaper?
Usually the wall behind the sofa or the TV wall, because that is what you notice first when you walk in. A long wall without furniture, such as along the stairs, is ideal for a large motif.
Does wallpaper make a small living room look smaller?
Not if you choose one wall and a design with little contrast. A light, calm pattern adds depth. Paper every wall in a dark or busy design and the room will feel smaller.
How much does wallpaper for a living room wall cost?
Made to measure, wallpaper costs €29 per m², with the width rounded up to 50 cm drops. A wall of 360 × 255 cm comes to €301.60. If your wall fits one or more rolls of 200 × 280 cm, you can also order by the roll.
Can I put new wallpaper over my existing wallpaper?
It is usually better to strip the old wallpaper first. New non-woven wallpaper bonds best to a smooth, even wall. With old paper wallpaper or loose seams, the old layer can come away and take the new one with it. How to judge your wall is explained in non-woven wallpaper over existing wallpaper.
Getting started
Browse every design in our wallpaper, or start with a style: modern, Japandi, bohemian or country. Torn between two designs? Order a sample of each and hang them side by side on the wall.
Wallpaper for your living room wall
Choose a design and we print it to the size of your wall, in 50 cm drops with a continuous motif. If you are unsure about the colour, order a sample first.
