Styling Your Home with Contemporary Wall Coverings

So, you’ve picked out a wallpaper you love. The next step is making it look right at home with the rest of your decor. Styling your space with a new wall covering is all about thoughtful integration and creating a balanced, harmonious environment. It’s an artful process of letting the wallpaper make its statement without completely overwhelming the room. A well-styled wall covering should feel like a natural part of the space, tying all the different elements together into a cohesive whole. This guide offers simple, practical tips on how to work with your new wallpaper to get a polished and personalized look.

The Art of the Feature Wall

One of the most popular and effective ways to use wallpaper today is on a single feature, or accent, wall. This approach allows you to use a bold or busy pattern with high impact, but without the commitment or potential chaos of covering the entire room. The key is choosing the right wall to highlight. Typically, the best wall for a feature is the one your eye is naturally drawn to when you walk into a room. This is often the wall behind a significant piece of furniture, like a sofa in the living room, a headboard in the bedroom, or a console table in the entryway.

A large-scale modern floral wallpaper, for example, can act as a beautiful piece of art behind a bed, setting a romantic and restful mood. Similarly, a bold geometric pattern can give a living room a dynamic focal point. To make the feature wall feel intentional, consider painting the other three walls in a neutral, complementary color pulled from a subtle shade in the wallpaper’s design. This technique makes the accent wall the clear hero of the room while keeping the space feeling calm and connected.

Pairing Patterns with Furniture and Decor

To make your wallpaper feel like it truly belongs, it needs to connect with the other items in the room. This is where you can get creative with color, texture, and scale to build a harmonious look.

Color Coordination: A simple trick is to pull a less dominant color from the wallpaper pattern and repeat it in accent pieces throughout the room. A throw pillow, a vase, a rug, or a piece of art that shares a color with the wallpaper will make the whole space feel thoughtfully designed. Think about which accent color to pull: a brighter hue will inject energy, while a softer tone will promote a calmer feeling.
Balancing Pattern and Scale: If your wallpaper is busy, like a detailed forest wallpaper for modern look, it’s a good idea to keep your larger furniture pieces in solid, neutral colors. This gives the eye a place to rest and prevents the room from feeling visually cluttered. You can still play with other patterns, but consider their scale. A small, delicate pattern on the wall can work well with a larger, bolder pattern on an area rug, as long as they share a similar color family.
Complementing Textures: A room is more interesting when it has a variety of textures. A sleek, metallic wallpaper design for luxury look can feel cold on its own, but it pairs beautifully with soft textures like velvet upholstery, chunky knit throws, or a plush rug to make the space feel more inviting and balanced.
Lighting and Finish: Pay attention to how light interacts with your wallpaper. A paper with a glossy or metallic finish will reflect light, subtly changing its appearance throughout the day and looking more dynamic in the evening with lamplight. A matte finish, on the other hand, will absorb light and provide a softer, more consistent look.
Thematic Styling: Subtly extending a theme can be very effective. An Adventure Themed Wallpaper in a study, for instance, could be complemented by a vintage globe on a desk or framed maps on an adjacent wall, giving the room a cohesive narrative.

Beyond the Living Room: Creative Placements

Think beyond the four main walls of your primary rooms. There are many other places where a modern wallpaper can make a big impact. Powder rooms are a classic choice for bold patterns, as the small space prevents the design from feeling too overwhelming.

Other creative ideas include applying wallpaper to the back of a bookshelf to give it depth and a pop of color, making your displayed items stand out. You can apply it to stair risers for an unexpected bit of pattern as you walk upstairs, or even line the inside of a closet for a private, stylish touch. The ceiling—often called the "fifth wall"—is another fantastic spot for a unique effect. And since a temporary wallpaper is such a low-risk option, it’s perfect for experimenting in these unusual spots. The ease of modern peel and stick wallpaper makes a weekend project like this very manageable. This is a great wallpaper for a modern makeover in an area you might not have considered. As the ultimate renter friendly wallpaper, it offers a way to personalize spaces from laundry rooms to pantries. A fun wallpaper for temporary decor can really shine in these smaller applications.

Ultimately, styling with wallpaper is about seeing it as one important part of a larger picture. By thoughtfully balancing its pattern, color, and texture with the other elements in your room, you can make your new wall covering the piece that ties your whole home together.