Mid-century modern wallpaper: choosing shape, color, and scale

For a mid-century-inspired room, choose broad color blocks as the main color accent or circles and semicircles for a denser graphic rhythm. Compare the designs with your existing wood tones and fabrics, then check how much wall will remain visible around the furniture.

Large color blocks give the wall a clear role

Color Block Study is one of our most ordered geometric designs. Rectangular fields of teal, plum, ochre, and orange form a painted composition. The colors are distinct, while the brushwork gives the surface a less rigid feel.

We'd choose it when the wall should be the room's main source of color. A low sideboard leaves plenty of the colored shapes visible above it. Behind a desk, the design gives you a backdrop without needing to add more pictures there.

Enter the full wall dimensions in the preview and see which color blocks fall closest to your furniture. You can move the image to choose the composition. That's especially useful if you want to keep a particular orange or teal section in view.

The samples for these murals show scaled-down images, so use them to judge colors and the preview to check the size of the shapes. Choose Color Block Study for the room's main color accent and Bauhaus Geometric, Green for a denser graphic rhythm.

Circles and semicircles create a different rhythm

Bauhaus Geometric, Green has circles, semicircles, and lines on a green base, with blue and mustard details among its colors. It's our choice when you want more small shapes to look at, rather than large color blocks dominating the wall.

We'd choose these two contemporary designs from our collection for a mid-century-inspired room because of their shapes and colors.

For a clear place to show the geometry, start with an accent wall. Check how much of it will remain visible once the furniture is in place. A tall bookcase breaks up the design more than a low sideboard does.

Pick one color to start with

If the room already has plenty of teak or other warm wood, try green or blue wallpaper tones for a stronger contrast. To keep the overall palette warmer, start with ochre or orange in the design. You can order a wallpaper sample, a small printed piece of wallpaper, to see how the colors work with the wood at home. Hold it next to the wood and compare them in the room's usual light.

You can then repeat one or two colors from the wall elsewhere to bring the room together. A mustard lampshade or a blue detail may be enough. The wallpaper can carry more colors than the furniture.

Give the geometry room beside other patterns

A rug with a clear grid or a graphic upholstery fabric will be visible alongside the wallpaper. Look at them together before deciding how much wall space to cover. If both have lots of small shapes, try a design with larger color fields as another option.

If most of your fabrics are solid colors, there's more room for detailed geometry on the wall. Look at the wallpaper from where you usually sit, so you can judge its rhythm at the distance you'll see it.

The samples for these murals show scaled-down images, so use them to judge colors and the preview to check the size of the shapes. Choose Color Block Study for the room's main color accent and Bauhaus Geometric, Green for a denser graphic rhythm.