Many people believe that dark wallpaper will make a room feel smaller and potentially even claustrophobic, but when styled in the right way, dark wallpaper can make a space feel wonderfully inviting.
With the right lighting, styling, and accessories, even black wallpaper can give your home decor a modern update. From black to navy blue and from deep purple to forest green, read on to find out how to place dark wallpaper centre stage in your home decor.
How To Use Black Wallpaper In Your Home
Most homeowners steer clear of black wallpaper, believing it to be too overpowering and claustrophobic-feeling, but it can be a great way to make a real statement with your home decor.
5 Of The Best Black Wallpaper Designs
Plain black wallpaper does run the risk of feeling oppressive if it’s used to paper an entire room, but using it on a feature wall or opting for a design with a hint of a pattern can add a little something extra to your home decor.
Here are five of our favourite black wallpaper designs:
- The A.S. Creation Flocked Floral Damask Black Wallpaper (£16 per roll) has a vintage feel thanks to its damask pattern, which will create a dramatic look behind a headboard for a boudoir feel
- Create a feature wall with a cool, industrial feel with the Muriva Bluff Embossed Brick Effect Black Wallpaper (£18 per roll). This black brick effect wallpaper provides a twist on classic red brick designs
- Add extra texture and a luxurious feel to a room with the Superfresco Easy Crocodile Skin Animal Pattern Textured Vinyl Black Wallpaper (£19 per roll). Crocodile skin wallpaper is a bold choice, but it’s a great way to add a touch of your personality to your home decor
- Metallic flecks can brighten black wallpaper, adding an extra touch of sparkle and luxury to a room. The A.S. Creation Industrial Stone Concrete Wallpaper (£16 per roll), features flecks of gold to create an abstract, textured effect that breaks up the otherwise plain black wallpaper beautifully
- Black wallpaper provides the perfect background for floral patterns; go bright and bold, or keep things muted with an illustrated black and white design – A.S. Creation’s Floral Sunflower Textured Black Wallpaper (£20 per roll) would fit the bill perfectly
How To Accessorise Black Wallpaper
The first rule of using black wallpaper is to avoid putting it in a small room to prevent it from feeling claustrophobic. Instead, use it in a room that gets plenty of natural light, or that uses mirrors to create the illusion of extra space. If there isn’t much natural light to work with, make sure there’s plenty of lighting instead, and maybe even a fireplace to make the rest of the space feel cosy and warm.
Use black wallpaper to create a feature wall, and paint around it in bright white or a pastel colour to bring a softer feel to the room. Dark wallpaper makes for a striking feature wall behind a TV, headboard, or bookcase, so think about where it could work best in your home – it’s a particularly good choice for a bedroom if you prefer total darkness as you get to sleep.
Bold, bright furniture and accessories can look particularly striking against black wallpaper; think mustard yellow, hot pink, turquoise, lime green, or vibrant orange.
Alternatively, you could lean into the gothic theme that black wallpaper conjures up and go all out with plenty of candles, soft furnishings in dark floral designs, and quirky skull ornaments to add extra character.
How To Use Navy Wallpaper In Your Home
Although navy blue wallpaper isn’t quite as dark as black wallpaper, it does still run the risk of making a space feel smaller if it isn’t used in the best way. Whether you’re planning to use it in a kids’ bedroom or your bathroom, there’s a navy design for you.
5 Of The Best Navy Blue Wallpapers
From plain navy to patterned dark blue wallpaper, there’s a design to suit every style in our collection. Check out five of our favourite options:
- Wall panelling is very on-trend at the moment, and you can recreate this effect with wallpaper, thanks to the Holden Decor 3D Wood Panel Effect Navy Wallpaper (£12 per roll), which will save you time on both panelling and painting
- Gold can add an extra touch of luxury and a vintage feel to navy wallpaper. The Arthouse Henna Navy Gold Damask Wallpaper (£12 per roll) features a gold damask-like design on a dark blue background for a navy wallpaper with a difference
- Navy blue wallpaper in a kids’ bedroom is perfect for mimicking the night sky, and it provides the ideal background for space-themed wallpaper, like the Arthouse Spaceman Astronaut Space Planets UFO Kids’ Bedroom Navy Wallpaper (£12 per roll)
- Dark blue also provides the perfect background for a peacock pattern, allowing the colours of the birds’ feathers to really stand out. Try the Rasch Portfolio Peacock Metallic Wallpaper (£12 per roll) on a feature wall in your living room or bedroom
- Deep blue is a great colour to use in a bathroom, with the Antibacterial Blue Ocean Sea Life Wallpaper (£17 per roll) with its white illustrated fish, crabs, and lobsters the perfect choice in a bathroom, en-suite, or downstairs loo
How To Accessorise Navy Wallpaper
Navy wallpaper provides a great background for metallic photo frames, vases, and other ornaments to stand out against; try to stick to either gold, silver, or bronze to keep the look feeling smart and intentional.
Accessorise with light wooden furniture such as pine to help make the room feel bigger and brighter rather than opting for oak, which will feel darker and potentially more oppressive. Position mirrors around the room to make it feel even bigger.
Navy blue wallpaper is the perfect choice to bring a nautical feel to your bathroom decor, and it’s also incredibly effective in a child’s bedroom, where it can be teamed with glow in the dark stars to mimic the night sky. If your little one is really into space at the moment but you’re worried they may grow out of it, opt for a plain navy wallpaper and themed accessories rather than an all-over space pattern to save you needing to redecorate in just a year or two.
How To Use Dark Purple Wallpaper In Your Home
Dark purple wallpaper can have an almost mystical feel, while plum-coloured wallpaper could make a room feel smaller if used on every wall in a space that’s already relatively small. However, by thinking about the placement of your purple wallpaper and the decor of the rest of the space, it can be a great addition to your home’s aesthetic.
5 Of The Best Dark Purple Wallpaper Designs
Whether you prefer plum, mauve, or even burgundy, dark purple wallpaper can be incredibly effective at making a space feel cosy and warm, making it the ideal choice for a living room or bedroom. Here are five very different purple wallpaper designs to try:
- Keep it simple with the textured linen effect of the Arthouse Linen Texture Effect Paper Modern Pattern Heather Wallpaper (£16 per roll). Due to the textured effect of this wallpaper, it runs the risk of blending in a little too well with a carpet, so create a contrast by pairing it with tiled or wooden flooring
- Break up a dark purple block with a repeating pattern, like the tiny gold triangles of the Geometric Huxley Purple Triangles Wallpaper (priced from £5). A touch of glitter adds extra sparkle, making this a great option for a teenage girl’s bedroom or even a dining room if you like to entertain
- The Luxury Geometric Lattice Metallic High-Quality Non-Woven Purple Wallpaper (priced from £9.99) is another gorgeous geometric purple design that would make for a stunning feature wall
- Debona’s Sofia Flower Leaf Motif Embossed Metallic Aubergine Wallpaper (£11 per roll) features a damask-inspired pattern with an art deco, vintage feel. The neutral colour of the pattern provides the perfect contrast against the deep purple background, meaning it won’t feel too dark and oppressive
- Galaxy prints tend to feature lots of purple, with the Rasch Nebula Space Pattern Glitter Motif Photographic Mural Wallpaper (£12 per roll), which also features touches of pink, blue, and white
How To Accessorise Dark Purple Wallpaper
Purple wallpaper can be a good choice for a living room or bedroom, bringing a warm, cosy, inviting feel to your home decor. Purple has a luxurious feel, especially when it’s teamed with gold – look for gilded furniture and photo frames to introduce a regal feel to your interiors.
Dark purple wallpaper can be tricky to accessorise, but look to other shades of purple for your soft furnishings for an extra touch of brightness without straying too far from your colour palette; think violet, lilac, lavender, and heather.
Green can also look wonderfully striking against purple wallpaper, so introduce some houseplants, or artificial ones if you’re not confident in your ability to keep them alive.
Purple wallpaper is a popular choice for teenagers’ bedrooms; if they’re interested in all things mystical, it’s the perfect backdrop for their crystal collection, while candles will look extremely effective as they flicker against those dark walls.
How To Use Dark Green Wallpaper In Your Home
Dark, forest green wallpaper can be the perfect way to introduce some greenery to your home decor, without you having to worry about keeping houseplants alive. It can add a touch of drama to a room, while also making it feel as though you’ve brought a little bit of nature indoors.
5 Of The Best Dark Green Wallpapers
From forest green to teal, there are so many different types of dark green wallpaper, with something to suit every interior style. Find the perfect green wallpaper for your home with this selection of some of our favourite designs:
- Go for something plain with the A.S. Creation Plain Concrete Stone Teal Wallpaper (£17 per roll), a classic dark green, teal wallpaper with a hint of texture thanks to its concrete effect, bringing an extra dimension to your decor
- Transform your home with the vibrant greenery of the tropics with the Erismann Leaf Wild Tropical Plants Instawalls Non-Woven Green Wallpaper (£15 per roll). Although dark in colour, the tightly packed layered effect the leaves helps to bring extra depth to a room, creating the illusion of extra space
- Bold patterns and pictures add a touch of colour to a dark wallpaper. The Holden Decor Jungle Animals Green Wallpaper (£13 per roll) features colourful monkeys, leopards, and parrots on a dark green background, making it feel wonderfully bright and vibrant
- Illustrated face designs are a big trend in both fashion and interiors at the moment, and you can bring both this and dark green wallpaper to your home all at once with the Holden Decor Abstract Faces Trendy Modern Metallic Green & Gold Wallpaper (£13 per roll)
- Go for leopard print wallpaper with a difference by opting for animal print on a dark green background with Holden Decor’s Leopard Spot Jungle Animal Skin Metallic Green Wallpaper (£13 per roll)
How To Accessorise Dark Green Wallpaper
The right green wallpaper can have a calming effect on a room. Team dark green walls with wooden flooring to create a look that’s inspired by nature, and introduce some natural greenery in the form of real plants to add extra depth to the space. Use the green as a backdrop for fresh flowers or realistic-looking artificial ones and create your own little natural haven inside your home.
Dark green wallpaper will look incredibly stylish accessorised with light wood or even white furniture, but if you want to introduce an extra pop of colour, we recommend trying:
- Mustard yellow for an extra touch of brightness and warmth
- Pale pink, which creates a gorgeous contrast with dark green that would look especially lovely in a kitchen, especially if it looks out onto a garden that’s filled with the same colours
- Purple – introduce some bold purple cushions, throws, or even flowers to the space for a bold, eye-catching contrast
If you’d prefer to keep the aesthetic a little more classic, neutral tones like cream and beige can look incredibly effective teamed with dark green wallpaper, adding to that calming feel.
More Dark Wallpaper Designs At I Want Wallpaper
There are so many more dark wallpaper designs at I Want Wallpaper, including slate effect wallpaper, dark grey wallpaper designs, chocolate brown wallpaper, and more. Dark wallpaper can work somewhere in everyone’s home, so think about how it could work for you.
Browse our full collection of wallpaper designs, and please don’t hesitate to contact us here if you have any questions.