Michael Helwig Interiors

View Original

Wallpaper curious? Don’t want to commit? Seven other ways to use wallpaper in your home.

I get it Wallpaper is super trendy right now. If you look in any home decor magazine or blog, you’re probably going to see a lot of wallpapered rooms. They look awesome and the trend is very hot right now. A fun geometric or colorful abstract pattern and texture can really be inspiring but, it is a commitment and can be expensive as well. So, if you’re curious about how wallpaper would work in your space but nervous about committing to papering your entire room, here’s seven other ways to use wallpaper in your home.

The first other way to use wallpaper in your home: Make it a specific focal point.

Instead of wallpapering and your entire space, think about just adding it to a focal area. Maybe that’s an accent wall that you want to bring a little bit of attention to. That could be an entryway, or behind the entertainment wall in the family room. Maybe use it in the kitchen breakfast nook to bring in a bit of pattern or interest. Limiting the wallpaper to highlight a small space can go a long way to make a big impact.

Another, other way to use wallpaper in your home: Highlight specific things.

When you find a Wallpaper pattern that you absolutely love, you could use it to highlight your accessories. For example: you could decoupage picture frames or cover the the mats in your wall gallery with wallpaper so they all have the same pattern. This is a nice touch to bring in some color, pattern, and texture without having to commit to putting it on a wall. When you’re tired of the pattern, recover the frames or mats with another look or start fresh in a different direction.

The third other way to use wallpaper in your home: Make it artwork:

When you find a pattern that you love frame it up! This is another great place to highlight a color or pattern you really love without having to commit to Wallpapering an entire room. You could get a roll of wallpaper and large poster frames or picture frames and place the wallpaper pattern inside of that. Perhaps hang three of these large pictures of framed wallpaper on your space and that might give you a great impact without having to commit to Wallpaper in the entire space. If you use large frames, you’ll get the impact you’re looking for and when you’re tired of it, you can quickly switch it out.

Need some privacy? Here’s the 4th other way to use wallpaper in your home: Cover roller shades on your windows.

Windows usually take up a lot of space on the wall and they need to be covered anyway. Why not try and cover your roller shades with wallpaper that you really love? In all honesty, this may work a little bit better with contact paper that you can adhere to the shade. There are tons of amazing contact paper patterns and you can definitely find some very unique patterns online. Think about it, when you roll your shades down do you have instant color and pattern on the wall and with a rolled up that’s out of sight out of mind. But what a nice treat it would be to have that pattern highlighted with the shades are down.

The 5th other way to use wallpaper in your home: Wallpaper the tops of accent furniture.

If you have old accent tables and you’re not ready to let them go, breathe new life into them by adding a coat of paint and then putting a sheet of wallpaper on top with some decoupage. You can seal it with a clear coat finish to protect the pattern or have a piece of clear glass cut to the size of the tabletop so that your pattern is protected. When you’re tire of the pattern you could take the glass off cut a new piece of wallpaper with a new pattern and you have a whole new look again.

The 6th other way to use wallpaper in your home: Get down to business in the home office by covering bulletin boards with wallpaper:

This is a great way to bring some pattern and texture into your office. Just because you use bulletin boards to keep yourself organized in the office doesn’t mean you have to stare at a boring cork. This is the perfect place to put up a fun and inspiring wallpaper pattern. This instantly turns a boring, utilitarian object into something you can enjoy looking at.

The 7th other way to use wallpaper in your home: Give your cabinet drawers some pizzazz:

Covering the inside of your drawers with some wallpaper is a great way to add color, pattern, or texture. How fun would that be? Just think, when you open your drawers you can see the pattern and it’s a little surprise and a treat. Also, try adding wallpaper to the sides of your drawers so that when you open them you see the pattern. This would work great in dresser for the guest room. What a nice surprise when your guests open the drawers!


There you go, seven ways to bring Wallpaper into your home when you’re afraid to commit and you’re just curious. If you try any of these different techniques, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. You can also tag me on Instagram, #interiorsmh.

Like what you see above, go ahead and click any of the after pictures to check out each pattern I found for each application from Livette’s Wallpaper. I don’t have an affiliate with them but the patters are so beautiful I was very inspired to showcase them here.

Thank you so much for reading this post I hope you enjoyed it. If you like to keep in touch subscribe below for my notifications so that each time I post, you’ll be the first to know. Until next week, slay your decorating challenges and know that you are amazing and talented!


Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.