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Elevate any space with these tried-and-true wallpaper patterns hand-picked by designers.
Welp, wallpaper is back. The former design faux pas has re-emerged as a popular trend, seen everywhere from upscale hotels and high-end home design to your neighbor's powder room and restaurants. To celebrate its triumphant return, and all the innovative prints and patterns being used, we tapped some of our favorite tastemakers and designers from around the country. Their answers ranged from a warm and neutral grasscloth-inspired wallcovering to a bold, animal-print wallpaper. Here are the best wallpapers for 2022, according to designers.
Beth Kooby, interior designer at Beth Kooby Design in Atlanta is pumped that wallpaper is trending again. She shared, "I've been using wallpaper with gusto for several years now, and it's such an easy way to inject character into a space. I'm also a big fan of grasscloth as it not only adds color, but texture as well. It's a little harder to change out than plain paint, but much more fun and doesn't have to be a permanent choice." Kooby continued, "In my own house, I have it in several rooms, including the ceiling in my husband's office, which makes for fun Zoom calls. With all the recent love for color and pattern, wallpaper is just one more layer of fun design!"
For a specific pattern, Kooby especially loves Moooi's Extinct Animals Collection. "I used two different colorways in bathrooms, and it's sublime! I would also use it in a dining room. It has a wonderful enveloping quality and is definitely a conversation piece. Each animal has its own story. And the hand of the paper feels like suede. Visually and tactilely, it's stunning," she gushed.
Schumacher is a favorite of Merrill Lyons, principal of Lyons Studio in New York, New York. The designer explained, "I really love this Schumacher wallpaper we used in a bedroom in one of our projects. It's fun, but not too overwhelming for a bedroom, and it took a fairly plain white condo bedroom and transformed it into a playful oasis."
Lyons has another favorite Schumacher wallcovering that was used in a recent project. She shared, "There is something I love about using a wallpaper that is geographically or culturally relevant to the home we are designing. In a Brooklyn brownstone [I designed], I knew the wet bar would be the perfect fit for Saul Steinberg's classic New York New York wallpaper. Using a white background wallpaper on a feature wall where the surrounding walls are white really helps it feel almost like a hand-drawn mural on the wall. It fits seamlessly with the surrounding room."
Though she hasn't used this in a project yet, Lyons can't wait to find the perfect spot for this embroidered sisal on paper beauty. She added, "I absolutely love 'Armour' by Holly Hunt. It's a new paper made of textural grasscloth that has graphic elements layered and stitched to the surface. This is not your average wallpaper, and it certainly isn't for your average budget, but it sure would elevate any space in which it was installed."
Lauren Lerner, founder and principal designer of Living with LoLo in Phoenix, Arizona, loves this wallpaper from Caroline Cecil. This versatile design started out as a hand-carved stamp! Lerner has used it on both walls and on a ceiling before. She explained, “The graphic print and neutral colors make it an easy pattern to layer into almost any space. There are so many fun and interesting papers out there that, many times, they are the jumping-off point of the room for us.”
Mark Cutler, co-founder and designer of LA-based cutlerschulze, prefers to use wallpaper in less obvious ways, like ceilings, closet doors, or as a way to liven up the backs of open cabinets. He explained, "If we do use as directed (on a wall), we tend to use a lot of grasscloth. The warmth of the texture can transform a large space into an inviting and welcoming one."
His favorite pick is a Phillip Jeffries wallpaper he has loved for years. "It's a hand-painted grasscloth called Fade. It's the perfect combination between art and wallpaper. We tend to use it in more special locations; for instance, in [one home we designed] in Atherton, we used it to cover the panels that disguised the TV. The design reads almost like a decorative screen and is perfect for that sort of use," the designer shared.
April Jensen, founder and interior designer of ADJ Interiors in St. Louis, Missouri, is a big fan of Lindsay Cowles's papers for their multitude of colors and textures. Her favorite wallcovering at the moment is this tidal pool-inspired offering.
According to Jensen, "The color is the main draw... beautiful shades of green-celadon, jade, Verdi-mixed with black, platinum and vintage white…[that] is literally an expressionistic painting on heavy-weight paper."
ADJ Interiors is in the process of using it in a bar [with] sexy antique mirrors on Sherwin Williams' Iron Ore cabinets mixed with natural white oak accent pieces. The designer expanded, "I could see this paper, pattern, color used anywhere—it's very versatile. It could be a beautiful ceiling, create wall panels to accent a long hallway, [or] envelope an entire room to create an unparalleled but classic mood with [a] vintage vibe. You can mix any type of metal with it! In the bar, we are using unlacquered brass hardware and plumbing fixtures so that over time they will patina with the same gorgeous Verdi green and rich texture."
Another Jensen pick is this fun Abnormals Anonymous option. “The name says it all—it has amazing movement that just makes you happy,” the design pro enthused. “While the paper is very simple, it really creates quite a statement. I see so many things when I view it—ribbon, the sea, mountains, feathers…your imagination can go wild, and any visitor to a space that is privileged enough to embrace this paper—well, they are in for quite a treat,” she explained. Jensen would use it on a ceiling, an entire room or as an accent to a space.
She continued, “I feel like this paper is timeless and could as easily be in a bedroom as a hallway or upfront and center in the largest room of the residence. Whether it is a traditional space or modern— use it!” Though it’s available in 10 other hues, the designer is drawn to the celadon and navy colorways.
Anne McDonald, owner and principal designer of Anne McDonald Design in Minneapolis, Minnesota, enjoys this wallpaper, which she says isn't something that will immediately knock your socks off, but when done with a tonal paint color, it's like a warm hug.
"What I love about this paper is that it is a riff on grasscloth, but more elevated and feels more like a linen fabric wall than grasscloth. It could go in almost any room and have a subtle but strong impact," the designer explained. "I think a lot about scale when selecting a wallpaper, too. I often go towards papers that have a very small repeat or a whole room mural with no repeat. This way, you can still hang art and feel like your eye moves around the room without too much of a pause." For this particular paper, McDonald has used it in a dining room and painted the trim work Farrow and Ball Setting Plaster for the tonal feel she prefers.
Bryan Frost, the owner of Black Awning Interiors in Orlando, Florida, has been obsessing over this palm paper's nostalgic regency feel. "It's perfect in a topical mid-century home," said Frost, who recently used this paper on the bathroom ceiling for an unexpected "glam" application. With a fitting name like Palm Spring, Frost next plans to use this paper as an accent wall in an upcoming client's guest bedroom project.
Another Frost favorite, this collection is inspired by tribal villages of Hazaribagh in Northeastern India. It’s also a feel-good pick since The Tribal Women Artists Cooperative (TWAC) receives a commission for each yard sold. The design pro expanded, “I LOVE this wallpaper. I’ve used it for a client's bathroom powder. [It’s] a beautiful application with a worldly perspective one can appreciate. Very powerful and bold in a small space!”