Ideas & planning
How to choose wallpaper for a small room
Quick answer
There are two ways to go: keep it light with a pale ground, mid-scale pattern and plenty of background showing, or go bold and embrace the cosiness with a dark or large-scale design on every wall. Both work; what makes small rooms feel cramped is a muddle of competing patterns.
Scale
Small-scale prints can look busy from a distance; a mid-scale pattern with space between motifs often reads calmer.
Colour
Pale, warm grounds reflect light. Dark grounds blur corners and can make a small room feel larger in the evening.
Placement
Papering all walls and even the ceiling avoids chopping the room up.
Designs to try
Botanical
Rossiter Scattered Leaf Wallpaper
3 colourways · 53 cm repeat
From £44.20 per roll
Tropical
Cambrey Rainforest Wallpaper
3 colourways · 64 cm repeat
From £44.20 per roll
Spots & Dots
Edmund Painted Spot Wallpaper
3 colourways · 53 cm repeat
From £44.20 per roll
Tropical
Nolan Rainforest Wallpaper
3 colourways · 64 cm repeat
From £44.20 per roll
Toile
Trevose Pastoral Toile Wallpaper
3 colourways · 53 cm repeat
From £44.20 per roll
Toile
Flaxton Garden Toile Wallpaper
3 colourways · 53 cm repeat
From £44.20 per roll
Moroccan
Edmund Medina Star Wallpaper
3 colourways · 53 cm repeat
From £44.20 per roll
Art Deco
Vivian Deco Fan Wallpaper
3 colourways · 53 cm repeat
From £44.20 per roll
Questions & answers
Does dark wallpaper make a room look smaller?
Not necessarily – dark walls make corners recede, so small rooms can feel more enveloping rather than smaller.
Should I use vertical stripes in a small room?
Vertical stripes can make a ceiling feel taller.
More guides
Wallpaper for renters: what you can do (and ask first)Feature wall ideas: where to put one and what to chooseWallpaper murals: how to choose, measure and orderCan you put wallpaper in a bathroom or kitchen?Wallpaper for kids' rooms and nurseries: a practical guideHow to choose a wallpaper colour for your roomBest wallpaper for north-facing roomsBest wallpaper for rooms with low ceilingsAll guides