Room Guides

Kids Room Wallpaper Ideas: Patterns, Themes, and How to Calculate Rolls for an Awkward Layout

Choosing wallpaper for a children's room involves a particular set of constraints that don't apply in the same way elsewhere in the house. The design brief is usually strong — a theme, a character, a colour story — but the brief changes as the child grows, which means the paper may need to come off in a few years. The layout is often complicated by built-in furniture, a sloping ceiling under the eaves, or a small room where a large repeat pattern wastes a disproportionate number of rolls. The surface condition is frequently imperfect. Getting the wallpaper choice and the roll count right means thinking through all of these factors before ordering.

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Choosing a pattern that lasts

The most common mistake in kids' room wallpaper is choosing a pattern that is intensely theme-specific. A design based on a current favourite film or character has a shelf life measured in years; a room papered in it will look dated — and feel wrong to the child — well before the paper is ready to come off. Patterns that age better are those anchored in a broader idea: space, animals, jungle, geometric shapes, clouds, or a bold stripe. These remain appropriate as the child's interests broaden. If a specific themed paper is the right choice for now, treat it as a deliberate short-term decision and factor the eventual removal and replacement into the budget.

Wallpaper for small rooms and sloping ceilings

Children's rooms are frequently the smaller bedrooms in a house, and in period properties they are often under the roof slope. A small room with a sloping ceiling creates two complications for wallpaper: the wall height changes at the slope, and the pattern match at the point where the slope begins has to be planned carefully. Measure the wall at its tallest point and at the point where the slope starts separately. If you are using a patterned paper, work out whether the pattern needs to continue across the slope or whether you will make a clean horizontal cut at the ceiling line — the answer affects how many drops you can cut from each roll. In a very small room, a large repeat pattern wastes significantly more paper than a small repeat or a non-directional design, so check the repeat size before ordering.

Feature wall versus whole-room papering

A single feature wall — the wall behind the bed head — is the most common approach in children's rooms. It limits the cost, keeps the room from feeling enclosed in a busy pattern, and reduces the amount of paper that will eventually need to come off. If the room is small, a single papered wall with paint elsewhere gives the pattern impact without making the space feel smaller. Whole-room papering works well in larger rooms with a simpler, more neutral design — a subtle geometric, a tone-on-tone texture, or a classic stripe. If you opt for a feature wall only, measure that wall carefully and don't include the other walls in the roll calculation.

Practical considerations: surface, paste, and durability

Children's rooms need wallpaper that can be wiped clean. Vinyl-coated and non-woven papers are the practical choice — they tolerate light cleaning without marking or lifting. Avoid delicate papers — grasscloth, foil, embossed-only, or silk-effect — that can be damaged by fingermarks or a damp cloth. Paste-the-wall non-woven papers are easier to hang in a room with lots of obstacles (furniture, fitted wardrobes, a low doorway) and easier to remove when the time comes. If the walls have been previously painted with a vinyl-based paint, check that the primer coat will key properly before papering — vinyl-on-vinyl can lose adhesion, particularly in a room with temperature swings.

Calculating rolls for a kids' room

Calculate the roll count the same way as any room: total paperable wall width divided by the usable strip width, adjusted for the pattern repeat, then multiplied by the number of strips per roll. The complications specific to children's rooms are: built-in furniture that occupies wall space but may be too close to the wall to paper behind; a sloping ceiling that changes the drop length partway along the wall; and the need to match a bold pattern across a corner or around an alcove. Measure each wall section individually and enter them into the Wallpaper Planner. If the room has a large pattern repeat, add one extra roll to the order — the cutting waste on a repeat of 53 cm or more in a small room adds up quickly.

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Common questions

What is the best wallpaper for a child's room?

Non-woven and vinyl-coated wallpapers are the most practical choice for children's rooms — they can be wiped clean, are easier to hang around furniture, and are straightforward to remove when the design brief changes. Avoid delicate papers like grasscloth, foil, or silk-effect that don't tolerate damp cleaning. For patterns, designs that are broadly themed rather than tied to a specific character or film tend to age better.

How much wallpaper do I need for a kids' room?

Calculate the same way as any room: measure the total width of the walls you're papering, account for the pattern repeat, and divide by the number of usable drops per roll. Children's rooms often have complications — built-in furniture, sloping ceilings under eaves, small dimensions with a large repeat pattern — that mean the standard room-perimeter formula under-estimates the cutting waste. Use the Wallpaper Planner to enter each wall separately and add one extra roll as a buffer for a room with a pattern repeat above 30 cm.

Should I wallpaper the whole room or just one wall in a child's room?

A feature wall behind the bed head is the most common and usually the most practical approach. It reduces cost, limits the amount of paper that needs to come off when the brief changes, and keeps a small room from feeling enclosed. Whole-room papering works well in larger rooms with a simpler, more neutral pattern. If you do opt for a feature wall only, measure just that wall for the roll count and don't include the others.

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