Kitchen decor is a little like bathroom decor in that largely, people don’t like to take risks with it.
Perhaps some feel it might hurt their property’s value to have a non-white room that’s stamped with too much personality. Others like to keep things clinical, the bathroom and kitchen being where hygiene reigns supreme.
But whether you’re the pared-back type or loud-and-proud maximalist, decorating the kitchen in a way that feels warm and inviting is part of making your house a home.
There are so many ways to inject character into the kitchen. You could swap the backsplash tiles, or add a hard-wearing rug to the floor. Get open shelving or glass cabinets to make your best plates part of the decor. Even a stylish fruit bowl filled with the greengrocer’s best can bring colour and form to your counters, while also keeping getting your five-a-day at the forefront of your mind.
Another way to bring patterns to your kitchen? Wallpaper. A great print can lift the dead spaces between the counter and cupboards and help to section the space if you’ve got a large open-plan room in which the kitchen sits.
Use wallpaper to create a feature wall, or carefully dismantle drawers and add to the bottom like liner paper for a dopamine burst every time you reach for cutlery.
Look out for washable and wipeable types that can cope with fluctuating temperatures.
If you’re not one for commitment, peel-and-stick wallpaper allows you to chop and change your style without the mess of wallpaper paste. It also peels off without damaging surfaces and can be cut to size easily using nothing but a pair of kitchen scissors.
We’ve rounded up the best wallpapers to hang in the kitchen, and give the space the lift it deserves.
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Graham & Brown Nuit Blush Wallpaper
Make it feel forever spring in your kitchen with a pretty floral print that promises to brighten the greyest winter day. The pale pink background keeps the look light and inviting with a blue-feathered bird dotted about to break up the space between the petals. Suited to a rustic or cottage kitchen, it would look good with weathered woods and exposed beams.
Buy now £56.00, Graham & Brown
I Love Wallpaper Classic Stripe Wallpaper in Soft Mint
Channel Lina Stores’ classic eatery with mint-striped wallpaper from online specialist I Love Wallpaper. The soft shade is the sort of colour you’d expect to find in a vintage gelato parlour and is perfect for those who favour pastel appliances and cooking accessories.
Buy now £14.00, I Love Wallpaper
Rasch UK Dimension Panel Off-white Wallpaper
Wainscoting: looks great but can be quite complicated to achieve. This wallpaper offers the cheat’s way to do it, with a large-scale pattern complete with drop shadows to give a 3D effect. It’s a classic look that won’t date and would look superb on a big expanse of wall.
Buy now £18.95, B&Q
Graham & Brown Fable Sage Wallpaper
If you’re looking for a wallpaper that you can continue from the dining room and into the kitchen, this tree theme offers a great all-rounder. The soothing shades offer variety when picking paint or tiles for other areas and nature is always a timeless muse, so this won’t feel dated anytime soon.
Buy now £56.00, Graham & Brown
Dunelm Terrazzo Multi Self Adhesive Wallpaper
Fake the look of expensive terrazzo with this sticky-backed wallpaper that mimics the look for you. The light background won’t draw in colour, instead reflecting it back into the room - good news if you’re working with a small space.
Buy now £15.00, Dunelm
Lick Bloombastic 01
Want to bring your walls to life, but bored to tears with all the hum-drum wallpaper on offer? Hot foot it to decorating specialist du jour Lick, which has designs we'd quite happily stare at all day.
From geometric prints to wild botanicals, there's so much choice on offer we're considering papering our ceilings too. The current fave is this jewel-bright display of botanicals, packed with so many colours it'd be tricky not to fit into an existing interiors scheme.
Easy to hang and even easier to maintain (simply wipe down if you feel it's getting dusty), this look is about as far from wallflower as you can get.
£125 per roll.
Buy now £135.00, Lick
Nu Wall Self Adhesive Spot Mono Wallpaper
Your friends and family will soon spot the difference in your home after you apply this Dalmatian-inspired peel-and-stick wallpaper.
Buy now £26.00, Dunelm
ArtiStick Tropical Palm Green by Arthouse
There’s zero guesswork required to figure out what these guys sell - it’s all in their name. The online merchants of wallpaper have everything from textured wallpaper to imitation brickwork to give your space a new injection of character. We’re into this tropical look which promises to form the perfect background for your plant or herb display.
Buy now £19.70, Wallpaper Online
ARTHOUSE Artistick Self Adhesive Urban Red Brick Wall Wallpaper
Love the industrial look? Take your plasterboard back to basics with this brick-patterned peel-and-stick wallpaper which cleverly uses shadows and colours to mimic the real thing.
Buy now £20.00, I Want Wallpaper
Morris & Co. Bird and Pomegranate Wallpaper
This vivid wallpaper has an almost metallic sheen, adding a luxe touch to a living or dining room with its cool green background. Hitting a great midpoint between colourful design and tasteful patterns, it's tonal and calming with contrasting hints of coral and orange.
The subtly detailed nature of this print makes it shine - literally - as a feature wall, if you're looking to brighten up a room without going all out with a new print. This Bird & Pomegranate print was the last patterned wallpaper design to be issued by Morris & Co. so it's an extra special one from the brand.
Buy now £135.00, John Lewis
