What Wallpapers to Choose for a Child's Room?

Children's Paper Wallpapers: Decorating a Baby's First Room

For the first case, it is necessary to follow these basic tips:

The wall covering should be natural. Therefore, wallpaper selection is mainly reduced to catalogs of paper coverings.

Collections of paper wallpapers are available from every manufacturer, except for Italian and German factories specializing in the production of luxury textile wallpapers (such as Rasch Textil, Germany), and Italian factories like Italreflexes, Zambaiti, Sangiorgio. Textile wallpapers are also not bad, but they are too luxurious for short-term use in a child's room. In short, textile wallpapers look and cost "not childishly." For example, plain monochrome wallpapers will cost you $75 per roll (standard roll size for textile wallpapers is 1.06 x 10.05 m), while a floral pattern from Rasch Textil (shown below) costs $194 per roll.

Photo 1 — Textile Wallpapers on Felt Base Infinity (manufactured by Rasch Textil, Germany)

Many manufacturers offer models of wallpapers suitable for decorating a child's room in separate collections. For example, you can find these in the following catalogs:

• Wallquest (USA) − Playdate Again, Jelly Beans;
• York (USA) − Honey Bunny, Disney, Brothers and Sisters, Boy's world;
• Blue Mountain (USA) − Bright Ideas, My Pad;
• Eijffinger (Netherlands) − Wallpower For Kids, Wallpower Unlimited, Hits for Kids, Wallpower Next, Wallpower Mini, PIP Wallpapers;
• A.S.Creation (Germany) − Boys and girls, ESPRIT The Kids Collection;
• Marburg (Germany) − Manekin.

Photo 2 — York Wallpapers, Kids Collection, Tree W-Bears (Wallpaper Tree Bears and Border Bear-Branch)

Wallpapers for a child's room should be in muted light tones with animalistic, plant-like, or "cartoon" patterns. Some designer collections include dark wallpapers for children: for example, the KELLY HOPPEN collection (manufactured by Graham&Brown, England), model Rose.

These wallpapers can be used in a child's interior, but for school-age or older children due to the aggressive color of the wall covering, it is better to use them not for decorating the entire perimeter of the room but rather for zoning: highlighting a specific area of the room. About how children perceive room colors and how color affects a child is described below.

Photo 3 — KELLY HOPPEN Collection (manufactured by Graham&Brown), model Rose

Traditionally, wallpapers for a baby's room are chosen according to the principle: boys get blue, girls get pink. With small children, the concept of "unisex" applies. For example, instead of tradition, what if you cover the walls of your son's room with light yellow wallpapers? In this case, combining wallpapers would be appropriate: a good combination is a yellow background with a dark border.

Another option: divide the room into two colors horizontally - no one will say that something is wrong with the decoration of a boy's child's room.

The same can be said about decorating a room for a newborn girl. Pastel blue tones (a common variant is blue wallpapers with clouds) can also be considered part of the "unisex" class.

Photo 4 — York Wallpapers, Kids Collection, Crackle and Sleeping Cherubi On The Moon Border

Photo 5 — York Wallpapers, Kids Collection, Top Wallpaper – Safari Sidewall (KZ4205YK) and Bottom Wallpaper – Safari Sidewall (SM8659YK), Safari Animals Border

Children's Wallpapers for Walls: When the Child Grows Up

The child begins to perceive the surrounding environment, which he spends most of his day in, from infancy. However, color will influence specific character traits later.

Psychologists recommend changing the interior of a child's room depending on the child's age:

• Applying appropriate wallpapers when a baby arrives at home;
• Changing the interior after 3 years old;
• Preparing the room for the "school" period;
• Changing the look of the room for a teenager (14 years old and above).

IMPORTANT! In some cases, the first and second periods are combined into a class "From Birth to 6 Years Old".

This advice is quite practical, as ideally, the room's appearance and furniture should also change according to the child's changing needs during these periods.

The first period was touched upon above. Now, let's talk about the others.

Here, the manufacturer also helps us by offering collections that are conditionally divided based on age and gender:

• For wall decoration in a child's room aged 3 to 7, wallpapers with educational themes or beloved cartoon characters (in this case, the "Disney" collection from York, USA, is most appropriate) or patterns matching the child's first interests are suitable;

Photo 6 — York Wallpapers, Disney Collection, Princess Series, model Princess & The Frog

Photo 7 — York Wallpapers, Disney Collection, Toy Story 3 Series, Disney Toy Border, Andy's Wall Stars

Photo 8 — Eijffinger (Netherlands) Wallpapers, Hits for Kids Collection

Photo 9 — Eijffinger (Netherlands) Wallpapers, Wallpower for Kids Collection, model My Pals

By the way, applying wide-format wallpapers or panel wallpapers (as shown above) is an excellent option, but if you think about doing the child's room renovation yourself, you will have to deal with such large sheets for a considerable time.

However, these wallpapers look excellent in an interior! In this format, full-size photos work well: cityscapes, exotic landscapes, or even a memorable family trip on March 8 (custom-made at regional factories or photo studios).

One of the latest fashion trends for children's rooms is 3D wallpapers. However, in terms of ecological properties, such a covering should only be used for children aged 14 and older.

• When selecting wallpapers for a teenager's room, the choice should be based on the child's personal preferences - here, the character and interests of the teenager are paramount. Therefore, before selecting wallpapers, ask the child for their opinion: let them define what they consider "beautiful wallpapers," whether they like pictures on the wallpapers, or if they prefer plain wallpapers (of course, parental "veto" still remains in effect).

Photo 11 — York Wallpapers, Candice Olson Collection, Bohemian Floral and Beaded Curtain, Bohemian Floral Border

Photo 12 — York Wallpapers, Camo Collection

Wallpaper Color for a Child's Room: Small Tricks

Cars, flowers, and stripes on the walls of a child's room are among the main criteria for selecting wall covering. Although attention should also be paid to the color of the pattern and base.

Here are some secrets about how color affects a child (by the way, these principles also apply to adults):

For a sleepy child, whose morning wake-up is a daily feat for you, it's better to decorate the room in warm, so-called "cozy" tones. These are yellow, light brown, pastel orange, green colors. The same color palette to some extent can help "talk" to a shy child and provide energy each new day.

When decorating a room for an inactive child, you can also use bright elements: for example, contrast soft toys, or bright borders on the walls. In such a room, the child can not only develop creatively but also rest properly. As one of the options, wallpaper in a checkered pattern: colorful "peas" or another bright small pattern on a pastel base look great.

Photo 13 — York Wallpapers, Bunny Toile Collection

IMPORTANT! Using too many bright, "shouting" colors is not recommended because color can play a cruel joke: from a sleepy child, you can turn into an active or even hyperactive child who is nervous, aggressive, and capricious. So, it's enough to dilute pastels with two or three bright spots rather than decorate the room "like a clown".

The opposite approach: what color can help calm a hyperactive child? Neutral/cool tones can help here: beige, soft green, pastel blue shades, etc.

These tones have several secrets:

• Designing walls in blue color, for example, can help reduce emotional tension, relax after a heavy or tense day, and create a sense of safety;
• Green color on the walls of a child's room calms the psyche, helps deal with outbursts of aggression and ill will, irritability;
• Yellow color shades, proven to improve memory, also help a person focus.

IMPORTANT! Psychologists recommend using yellow color to combat children's fears.

Photo 14 — York Wallpapers, Candice Olson Collection, Bamboo Curtain, Palm Tree Spot, Surf's Up Border

Dark colors are not the best choice for a child's room: according to psychologists, saturated dark tones have a depressive effect on a child's emotional development and often provoke depressive states.

Children's Wallpapers: Where to Buy

Finally, about prices.

Wallpapers from German manufacturers fall into the "affordable and stylish" price category. Their prices average no higher than $21–31 per roll, with the minimum price being only $7. German wallpapers have taken root in our market because they compete in price with domestic wallpapers, surpassing them in quality and design. For example, paper wallpapers from a Belarusian wallpaper factory can cost as little as $2.5 per roll.

In the "above average" price category, American paper wallpapers for children's rooms are undoubtedly leaders. Prices here rarely drop below $62. The difference is indeed substantial. For example, a room with an area of 12 m² can be covered with German wallpapers for $250–450 (if taking the lower price range, $100–120 will suffice), while American wallpapers cost about $750–920. Despite the price being almost twice as high, American wallpapers do not differ in quality from German ones, but they have more pleasant and "childlike" patterns. Also, there are significantly more decoration options with accompanying materials for American wallpapers.

Good children's wallpapers can't be cheap, just like any quality product in general. Therefore, the most expensive category is panel and wide-format wallpapers. Fewer manufacturers produce these for children (Eijffinger, Netherlands; York USA). Prices for such wallpapers can jump up to $375 per panel. You will receive a sheet measuring 1.86 x 2.6 m or a sheet measuring 3.25 x 2.6 m.

Let's summarize.

What Wallpapers to Choose for a Child's Room: In Brief

For decorating walls in a child's room, paper wallpapers in pastel tones with a bright contrasting pattern or stickers (which can be vinyl stickers or phosphorescent sticky notes) on themes of flora and fauna, featuring beloved cartoon characters (e.g., Disney or Winx characters), or themes related to the child's interests (cats, airplanes, constellations, adventures, etc.), chosen according to the child's age and character traits are preferred.

Among manufacturers, children's wallpapers from German firms Marburg (Marburg) and Rasch (Rash) are preferred due to their low cost compared to American production. Also, the catalog of children's wallpapers from German company Erismann (Erisman, Germany/Russia) is a good and suitable option meeting all the above criteria. This manufacturer produces felt wallpapers and wallpapers on a felt base.

Wallpapers for a Child's Room: Correct Choice (VIDEO)

Price:

• Kiev − from 47 UAH/roll;
• Moscow − from 214 RUB/roll.

We recommend a photo selection: Children's Photo Wallpapers for Girls and Boys (22 Photos)