Top 10 wistful wallpapers

Gone are the days of woodchip wallpaper and drab patterns. There’s never been a wider range of wallpapers on the market and vintage-style prints with a playful twist are now relatively easy to come by and affordable. Here are our top 10 picks.

1. Wallpaper Direct: Un Bisou

This cute but classy floral wallpaper is perfect for bedrooms, but would work equally well in a lounge or dining room along one wall. Available from Wallpaper Direct for £53.55 per roll.

2. Wallpaper Direct: Brighton

This fun Brighton design wallpaper, also from Wallpaper Direct, adds a splash of colour without being too loud and the hand-drawn style of the Regency buildings gives it a quirky edge. It’s reduced to £30.60 per roll.

3. Laura Ashley: Nightingale

You can always count on Laura Ashley for a lovely wallpaper. This bird print wallpaper is sweet but understated and definitely wouldn’t take over the room. The neutral colour-scheme is easy to co-ordinate with almost any décor and accessories. This one is £34.00 per roll.

4. Wallpaper King: Grid

This design screams late 50s/early 60s and you’d definitely have to choose your accessories wisely to avoid an era clash. Done right, though, this authentic-looking grid wallpaper from Wallpaper King would instantly vintage up your space.  It’s priced at an affordable £19.99 per roll.

5. Wallpaperandborders: Apples

Cute and kitschy, this apple wallpaper would brighten up any child’s room. However, we can also see it looking great in a kitchen with matching accessories. It’s a Basildon wallpaper and costs a bargainous £10.99 a roll from Wallpaperandborders.

6. Cath Kidston: Pulbrook Rose Digital Wallpaper Roll

Cath Kidston is the queen of shabby chic home decor and this Pulbrook rose print wallpaper is simply gorgeous with its perfectly vintage colour combo. The wallpaper is digitally printed to order from the company’s back catalogue. It also hangs without paste thanks to a special backing. This one is a little more pricey at £150 per roll.

7. John Lewis Mayflower wallpaper, clementine

This John Lewis Mayflower design wallpaper has a subtle old-style charm with its lovely smudgy print. It’s £18 per roll.

8. Little Greene: Herbes – Cocktail

The illustrated style and pastel colours of this Herbes Cocktail wallpaper from Little Greene will give any room a 50s twist.  It costs £39.95 a roll.

9. Wallpaper Space: Vintage World Map

Vintage maps are quite fashionable at the moment and this map-print wallpaper makes a bolder statement than just a hanging picture. Perfect for any room where you’re apt to daydream and stare into space – you might even learn something.  It’s priced at £299 per roll from WallpaperSpace – you’d only want to do one statement wall anyway.

10. EW Moore floral vintage wallpaper 918

This floral wallpaper with its pretty shades and design looks very authentically vintage. It could be hung anywhere, but I can especially see it giving guests a fabulous welcome in a wood-floored hallway. It’s £25.00 a roll from E W Moore.

By Sarah Wray

By SarahW.