Kids' room wallpaper: choose beyond the toddler years

A nature design leaves room for new interests

If you'd like toys, books, and pictures to change the room's character, the wallpaper can provide a more open backdrop. Meadow Grass has fine grass stems rising from the lower edge, with a more open area above. The warm beige background leaves room for different colors in the rest of the room.

Here, we'd pay particular attention to furniture height. A low bookcase can leave plenty of the grass visible, while taller storage may cover the details you want to see. Choose the wall for the area that will remain above and beside the furniture.

Let your child help choose when possible. Show a few distinctly different designs and talk about what they enjoy in the pictures. A current favorite animal can be just as good a reason to choose as a color you like yourself. It helps to know what matters to each of you.

Keep the wallpaper and change the smaller things

A blanket, a few framed pictures, or a new desk lamp can change the room without redecorating the walls. Choose the wallpaper colors alongside the furniture that will stay for a while. Smaller things that are easier to replace can carry more of the passing favorites.

You can order a wallpaper sample, a small printed piece of wallpaper, to compare the colors with your floor and furniture at home. Look at it in daylight and with the room's lights on. Place it beside bedding or a storage bin you want to keep.

The samples for these murals show reduced images. They help you choose colors. Use the preview to judge how large the animals or grass stems will be on the wall and where they will sit.

Choose for the room you use now

Future furniture is worth thinking about, but the wallpaper should feel right today, too. You can't know what your child will enjoy in a few years. You can choose a good place for the image and colors that work with what you already have.

Take a photo from the doorway and one from your child's bed. Check what shows in both views. Choose the animal scene if you want the wall to have characters to discover. Choose a more open nature design if you'd rather let the room's belongings change its overall look over time.