Dining Room Wallpaper Décor

 (Left) Red Dynasty Floral Branch Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/red-dynasty-floral-branch-43937.aspx and (Right) Parisian Chestnut Chevron Wood Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/parisian-chestnut-chevron-wood-wallpaper-45514.aspx

Natural, organic interior design with a decidedly vintage, antique, or Classical flair has found its way to the top of nearly every list of trends for 2020 interior decorating. From landscape tapestries to rich earth tones and from vaulted ceilings and biophilic accents providing the illusion of the outdoors inside to an eclectic mixture of old and new, the next few years are expected to see a decline in formulaic decorating and an increase in character and personality-filled design.

According to TheHomeThatMadeMe.com, “dining rooms are one of the most important rooms in a house” because they are one of the few spaces in which “technology is nonexistent and families come together…people are forced to step away from social media and into the ‘real world.’”

Depending on the layout of the home, the dining room will either be formally separated from the kitchen or will be open to the kitchen; both layouts offer a multitude of fresh decorating options.

Open Floor Plan Dining Rooms

(Left) Nyssa Coral Leaves Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/nyssa-coral-leaves-wallpaper-45562.aspx and (Right) Zahra Grey Floral Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/zahra-grey-floral-wallpaper-45557.aspx

If the kitchen opens to the dining room, continuing the theme of the kitchen into the dining space is a natural design decision. A recently published blog post we published in May titled “Kitchen Wallpaper Ideas” noted that wallpaper can be used to “accentuate an existing theme,” including carrying the theme of the kitchen through to a breakfast nook or evening dining space, regardless of whether the theme is “rustic…glamorous…industrial or art deco.”

Consider carrying a floral or natural design theme into the dining space by papering an accent wall in a fresh foliage wallpaper; wallpaper designs featuring foliage or floral patterns need not match when placed nearby each other, as they all draw inspiration from the outdoors.

Mixing floral or foliage wallpapers as one moves from the kitchen to a breakfast nook or dining space further evokes the feeling of a garden, with its varied greenery, organic textures, and different flowers.

For an unexpected pattern and color combination in a foliage wallpaper, consider our Nyssa Coral Leaves Wallpaper, pictured above on the right.

For a more traditional floral wallpaper with a contemporary flair, consider Zahra Grey Floral Wallpaper, which keeps an open plan dining room light and airy.

Formal Dining Rooms

(Left) Sage Pine Tree Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/sage-pine-tree-wallpaper-44355.aspx and (Right) Black & Grey Palm Silhouette Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/black-grey-palm-silhouette-43908.aspx

One design trend rooted in historical interiors that has grown in popularity over the last few years (and which appears to be more enduring than other trends) has been the mixing of natural, organic elements with rich, historical accents. “Bringing the outside in” with plants, natural materials, foliage patterns, and earth tones is a way to honor the home’s surroundings or to create an unexpected atmosphere if in an urban setting. With eclecticism taking the place of formulaic decorating in the hearts of interior designers, many have chosen to enhance natural elements by adding the richness of materials present in antique finishings like heavy carved frames, intricate candlestick holders, stunning chandeliers, hand-woven carpets, and tapestries.

Antique Landscape Tapestries

(Left) Image from @sigi_cassel on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/CAx1TtaDScA/ and (Right) Forest Lake Scenic Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/forest-lake-scenic-36041.aspx

Antique landscape tapestries have experienced renewed popularity over the last few years as decorators have taken an interest in rustic and historically inspired interior design. Including a wallpaper that looks like a landscape tapestry will achieve three of 2020’s most exciting design trends: the tapestries trend (the most obvious), the natural trend (or “bringing the outside in”), and the eclectic decor trend. Choosing a tapestry-inspired wallpaper instead of an expensive antique tapestry might feel historically inaccurate to some decorators, but the opposite is actually true. For the feel of an antique tapestry without the expense, consider Wallpaper Boulevard’s Forest Lake Scenic Wallpaper, which evokes the historical quality of the antique tapestry pictured on above on the left.

According to a previous article, “the first printed wallpaper was created as a substitute for luxe fabrics that often covered the walls of the homes of 16^th century royals and wealthy merchants.” As the article continues on to explain, the scenic wallpaper of the 17^th through 18^th centuries in Europe that was inspired by Chinese landscape painting and Flemish or English tapestries, “has been revived in modern-day faux wallpaper,” allowing decorators to bring an old-world feel to their homes without spending an exorbitant amount of money on true antiques.

Foliage, not Floral

(Left) Nocturnum Green Leaves Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/nocturnum-green-leaves-wallpaper-45521.aspx and (Right) Tropical Polynesian Green Leaves Black Background Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/tropical-polynesian-green-leaves-black-background-wallpaper-45393.aspx

Choosing a foliage patterned wallpaper rather than a floral wallpaper to “bring the outside in,” elevates a space intended for evening dining. A darker foliage print will offset rich accents like velvet, suede, dark woods, metallics, etc. without overpowering them. A lighter wallpaper can make a floral dining room feel childish or dated, while a darker wallpaper looks much more expensive and adds a more adult atmosphere perfect for entertaining.

The dark wallpaper will also elevate the space by adding drama and glamour to organic, natural elements like wooden furniture. Consider a darker feature wall in Tropical Polynesian Green Leaves Black Background Wallpaper or paper the entire room with a cheery wallpaper like the Nocturnum Green Leaves Wallpaper, pictured above on the left.

Our recent “Kitchen Wallpaper Ideas” article also recommends “adding a classically patterned or faux-textured wallpaper…beneath a glass tabletop…[creating] the perfect base for entertaining a dining room too.” An unexpected glass-topped table might be the perfect addition to a contemporary dining space, as The Spruce listed the George Oliver Canisteo Dining Table, which features a “streamlined design that looks lovely in almost any space…[with its] tempered glass top and metal legs” as one of “The 9 Best Dining Room Tables of 2020.”

Adding a wallpaper below a sheet of glass on an older, marred table will help achieve the glass-top trend while pulling in the eclectic, old meets new theme that has become so popular amongst designers in 2020. Choosing a fresh, but slightly darker foliage wallpaper beneath the glass tabletop will mesh well with metallic place settings and other popular antique elements such as tapestries, gilded mirrors, and more.

Making the Dining Room Feel Bigger

Vaulted Ceilings

(Left) Belvedere Cream Faux Slate Stone Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/belvedere-cream-faux-slate-stone-wallpaper-47353.aspx and (Right) Titania Gold Marble Texture Wallpaper, Image by Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/titania-gold-marble-texture-wallpaper-46014.aspx

Interior designers often focus on enhancing the verticality of dining rooms in order to prevent a larger dining party from feeling boxed in while eating. Wallpaper can be used to artificially vault the ceilings of a dining room in a few ways. Firstly, a lighter wallpaper (perhaps a faux-stone wallpaper in an earth tone) plastered to the ceiling will draw the eye upwards, especially when contrasted with a darker wall color. Consider our Belvedere Cream Faux Slate Stone Wallpaper or Titania Gold Marble Texture Wallpaper for a pale ceiling wallpaper that will maintain an organic, natural atmosphere while opening up the space.

Secondly, wallpaper on the walls can be brought up as a several-inch perimeter on the ceiling to make the walls feel higher than they are. According to interiors writer Catrin Morris in her article “Looking Up: 10 Tricks for Making Your Ceiling Look Higher” for Apartment Therapy, carrying a wall’s color or pattern onto the “first two or three inches of ceiling around the perimeter…gives the illusion of taller, higher walls.” Thirdly, as the article “Striped Wallpaper: Its Enduring Popularity and Many Modern Uses” explains, a vertical striped wallpaper can be added to the walls as vertical stripes are “typically employed to visually extend the wall upward, making the ceiling appear vaulted higher than it actually is.”

Metallics

(Left) Image from @ssquaredarchitects on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/CBVjXu5p_da/ and (Right) Allure Faux Tile Metallic Wallpaper, Image from Wallpaper Boulevard, https://www.wallpaperboulevard.com/product/allure-faux-tile-metallic-wallpaper-46649.aspx

Metallics bounce light around a room, causing the eye to travel similarly to the way mirrors do; as such, mirrors and metallics are often added by designers and decorators to make a room feel larger than it is. For instance, the visual size of the dining room pictured above on the left has been enhanced by the addition of a metallic chandelier and a wall full of mirrors, offsetting the effect of the dark wood paneling that likely would have made the room feel smaller on its own.

A metallic wallpaper on the ceiling (to mimic the effect of the chandelier in the above photo) can extend the ceiling upwards, making the room feel larger; a metallic wallpaper as a feature wall or on all walls to encircle the entire room, will also bounce light around a dining room, adding texture, interest, and airiness to a darker space. Consider our Allure Faux Tile Metallic Wallpaper (pictured above on the right) for the walls or ceiling of the dining room.