Animal Wallpapers

What is an animal wallpaper?

An animal wallpaper is a wallpaper in which animal motifs are a load-bearing part of the pattern, from small birds and butterflies to monkeys, zebras and imaginary creatures. The expression can be naturalistic, graphic or narrative. Choose according to the size of the room, the density of the motif and whether the wall is to be a background or the main event. Always assess scale, colour and function in the actual room, since daylight, furnishings and viewing distance all affect how the choice feels day to day.

Which animal wallpapers are most popular?

Popular animal wallpapers include Acacia with its stylised animals, Zambesi and Singita with their larger savannah motifs, and Butterflies & Dragonflies for a lighter expression. Aesop’s Fables gives a narrative character, while Porcelain Garden and Birds of Paradise work more botanically, with birds integrated into the foliage. Always assess scale, colour and function in the actual room, since daylight, furnishings and viewing distance all affect how the choice feels day to day.

Do animal wallpapers suit grown-up rooms?

Animal wallpapers work beautifully in grown-up rooms when colour, scale and motif are treated like the rest of the scheme. A sophisticated bird motif can work in the dining room or the bedroom, while monkeys and large savannah scenes bring more drama to the hallway or the living room. Balance them with quiet furniture and fabrics. Always assess scale, colour and function in the actual room, since daylight, furnishings and viewing distance all affect how the choice feels day to day.

How do you choose an animal wallpaper for a children's room?

Choose an animal wallpaper for a children's room on the basis of legibility, colour and how long the motif is likely to feel relevant. Small birds, butterflies or storybook scenes are usually easier to combine than very intense photographic motifs. Check that the bed and the storage do not cover the most important figures, and keep the larger textiles quieter. Always assess scale, colour and function in the actual room, since daylight, furnishings and viewing distance all affect how the choice feels day to day.

Can you paper a whole room in animal motifs?

Yes, a whole room can be papered in animal motifs if the repeat has a clear rhythm and the palette is coherent. A recurring pattern usually feels calmer when it continues around corners than when it is isolated on a feature wall. Large panoramic motifs, on the other hand, call for more planning around the breaks in the walls. Always assess scale, colour and function in the actual room, since daylight, furnishings and viewing distance all affect how the choice feels day to day.

Can I get help choosing an animal wallpaper?

Yes. Use the visualisation on the product page when you are logged in for a first assessment of scale and placement. Then consider how the colours shift in the light of the room. In the showroom at Sturegatan 20 in Stockholm you can compare animal motifs, colourways and combinations with fabrics, furniture and lighting. Always assess scale, colour and function in the actual room, since daylight, furnishings and viewing distance all affect how the choice feels day to day.

From small birds to large savannah motifs

Acacia Wallpaper has a stylised, rhythmic expression that works in the hallway as well as the bedroom. Birds of Paradise Wallpaper and Swallows Wallpaper let the birds become lighter notes in botanical or airy compositions. Compare more designs under Cole & Son wallpapers and Sanderson wallpapers.

Zambesi Wallpaper and Singita Wallpaper have larger motifs and need to be seen across several drops. They work best when the furnishings leave a continuous stretch of wall and the other materials are quieter. See also everything from Cole & Son for the brand's broader range.

Aesop’s Fables Wallpaper gives a more narrative wall, while Porcelain Garden Wallpaper weaves animals into a botanical setting. Motifs like these can last a long time because the details are discovered gradually.

Graphic, naturalistic or fanciful

Cobra Wallpaper shows how an animal motif can become graphic and almost abstract. Senzo Spot Wallpaper works with a repetitive rhythm where the motif reads differently close up and from a distance. Explore Osborne & Little wallpapers for more clearly structured compositions.

Butterflies & Dragonflies Wallpaper gives a lighter expression that can be combined with both classic and modern furniture. Peaseblossom Wallpaper has a storybook character and suits a wall that is happy to invite closer inspection.

Do not choose by the animal you like alone. Consider the background, the contrast and the pattern match as well. A dark motif with large fields of colour calls for different lighting from small figures on a pale ground.

Animal wallpapers in different rooms

Adam’s Eden Wallpaper can give the living room or the study a rich, narrative surface. On the page for the living room you can compare furniture and lighting that leave the motif visible without the room feeling empty.

Versailles Wallpaper suits larger walls where the architecture of the motif and the animal details have room to unfold. In the dining room a bold pattern can be paired with plain chairs and a rug that picks up one discreet colour.

For a children's room or a smaller bedroom, a quieter bird or butterfly motif is often easier. Compare with Morris & Co wallpapers and Morris Wallpaper Compilation if you want animals woven into denser botanical ornament.

Planning where the motif falls

Rousseau Wallpaper and Matrinah Wallpaper should be planned against the doors, windows and tall furniture in the room. Mark the important figures on a simple wall drawing and decide where the first drop should begin.

Look at the pattern both close up and from several metres away. The pattern can read as a scene at close range but as fields of colour from the other side of the room. Check how the evening lighting affects the darker areas too.

Use the visualisation on the product page when you are logged in before you visit the showroom at Sturegatan 20. For curtains, furniture or other adaptations there is more information about made-to-order.

A motif with narrative and balance

Animal wallpapers often provoke a strong first reaction, but a good choice also has to work once the novelty has worn off. So study not only the individual animals but how they repeat, what directions they create and how much background sits between the figures. Air between the motifs gives a calmer expression, while dense scenes become more enveloping and call for simpler furnishing.

The tone of the motif matters as much as the species. A zebra can be graphic and grown-up, a bird can feel like natural history or playful, and a monkey can be both humorous and sophisticated. Let the function of the room decide. The bedroom usually needs softer contrasts, while the hallway and the dining room can carry more drama and darker fields of colour.

When several walls are papered, check how the animals meet in the corners. In some repeats the direction is pronounced, and a badly placed seam can leave a figure looking cut off. Ask the decorator to plan the corners and the first drop with the motif in mind, not simply for the least possible waste. That extra care shows particularly in narrative patterns.

A few more things to consider

To stop the motif feeling themed, let the other objects be less literal. An animal wallpaper rarely needs to be joined by animal figurines, cushions and art on the same theme. Choose materials and colours from the background instead: timber, linen, wool or metal. The animals then become part of the scheme rather than the whole story.