Dining Room Wallpaper – A Beautiful Mess

In today’s post, I’m so excited to share our dining room wallpaper. When designing a small space like our breakfast nook (located off our kitchen), wallpaper can make a big impact and be truly transformational.

Choosing a wallpaper that evokes your ideal mood (mine is warm and cozy) is key. In this post, I will share photos of my wallpapered dining room, tips for choosing the right wallpaper for your space, and everything you need to know about getting wallpaper installed.

Related posts: 5 Creative Uses for Peel and Stick Wallpaper, The Best Floral Wallpaper, Affordable DIY Wallpaper Hack, Wallpaper Removing Tips, Painted Daisy Wallpaper, and Removable Wallpaper on Etsy.

Transforming Our Dining Room with Wallpaper

When we purchased this home, we instantly fell in love with this little nook that features original built-ins. It’s such a joyful, sunny space and I couldn’t wait to decorate it!

The room was previously wallpapered with a quirky, modern wallpaper featuring monkeys. When I shared it in my empty house tour video, many people commented that we should keep the monkey wallpaper. To me, that is the beautiful thing about wallpaper—it can be so wildly personal and expressive!

I knew I wanted a wallpaper that felt warm and cozy— almost an autumn-year-round kind of vibe. I also wanted a paper that could be from the era when our home was built, in 1904.

I considered a lot of different papers, careful to envision each one decorated with Halloween, Christmas, or kids birthday party decorations. I ended up choosing this Medlar pattern. The floral pattern felt the perfect mix of cozy, inviting and historic.

What to Consider When Choosing Wallpaper for Your Dining Room

• Always buy wallpaper samples. Wallpapers can be different in person than they appear online. If you are purchasing from a place like Anthropologie that doesn’t have samples, find the wallpaper somewhere else that does offer them. It’s always worth the extra $5-$10 per sample to see them in person. I keep a collection of samples because sometimes I find a home for a certain pattern later on as well.

• Consider the size and features of your home. Large scale prints look nicer in big open rooms, while super tight repeats can look nicer in smaller rooms. I always ask the advice of my wallpaper installer for whether or not they think a pattern will look good in a space. Rooms with a lot of angles need more forgiving patterns so that it’s less noticeable.

• Consider the era of your home. For my historic home, I want to use patterns that could have existed at the time it was built. More modern and funky patterns I think are a better fit for newer or mid-century homes. It’s worth considering if you can find a wallpaper option you love that suits the era of your home. Of course, it’s your home and the final call is yours—so choose what speaks to you and what you know you will enjoy for a long time.

• I always use a professional installer. In my experience, the price of the wallpaper is often about equal to the price of the installer’s labor. So, a large room with lots of angles might cost several thousand dollars for installation and a small room, like this breakfast nook, is typically under $1,000 for installation. The reason I always use a professional is because I am not a perfectionist and this job requires precision and skill. To me, it is worth it to hire a professional for this job.

• Many wallpaper installers will not install peel and stick wallpaper, so be sure to check. I strongly prefer traditional wallpaper over peel and stick unless it is for a very small space (maybe lining shelves or a closet). I have had a lot of issues with peel and stick wallpaper through the years that I have not experienced with traditional wallpaper.

Here’s how the wallpaper turned out in our breakfast nook. I love how it accents the original built-ins and big windows. It’s such a warm and friendly space!

Wallpapers I Considered for This Room

Elsie’s Dining Room Sources

Thanks so much for reading! I am so excited to take you along with me as I slowly decorate our historic home. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments section. Love, Elsie

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