Combining paint and wallpaper for striking interiors

For design impact, consider using both colour and pattern to create striking combinations. Wallpapers are a fantastic tool to inject atmosphere and texture into your home, and using complementary paint colours alongside can add real depth and design interest.

Whether you choose vibrant coordinating colours, complementary neutrals or create a statement contrast, discover inspiring ideas for pairing paint and wallpaper.

Paint the ceiling

Ceilings are often painted white out of habit. But simply changing your ceiling colour and integrating it into your scheme can have a profound effect on the atmosphere of your space. It’s also the perfect opportunity to create impact.

Choose a complementary shade from within the wallpaper design to give your room a cohesive, all-over feel. Pair the dusky Dorchester Pink with Bird & Bluebell – Pea Green to bring a fresh and uplifting ambience to your home office space.

For a cocooning bedroom scheme, consider using a rich, deep hue on the ceiling and woodwork, alongside a two-tone wallpaper design. Lovers’ Toile is a contemporary take on a traditional Toile de Jouy, available in six elegant colourways. The sumptuous dark green, Puck, beautifully accompanies this colourway for a restful space.

Choose vibrant coordinating colours

Combining paint and wallpaper is a great opportunity to be playful with how you use colour. Use bright coordinating tones in a way that expresses your personal style to create an inviting setting for guests.

For a joyful dining space, consider a large-scale mural such as Upper Brook St – Soleil. Paint your door and woodwork in closely related colours to envelop guests in the inspiring wallpaper design.

The idea of using large-scale wallpapers may feel a little daunting when used all over. Instead, pair with panelling in a coordinating colour to break up the design and add an element of design interest.

Poppy Trail – Masquerade pairs beautifully with Masquerade on the ceiling and Yellow-Pink on panelling for a stylish and sophisticated scheme, perfect for a guest bathroom.

Create a bold, colour drenching scheme

Colour drenching is a highly effective design choice which takes a single colour across all aspects of a space, from skirting and walls to ceilings and doors. By incorporating a beautiful wallpaper design into your colour drenching scheme, you can create a cohesive space with real impact and character.

Briar Rose is an Arts and Crafts design with densely stylised natural motifs. Its painterly finish has an element of luxury and adds beautiful texture to an all-over colour scheme. Pair the Green Verditer colourway with Mid Azure Green on the woodwork and ceiling for a cocooning living space.

Hoja is an intriguing design which features details from 17th-century Spanish embossed and gilded leather. The Air Force Blue colourway creates a contemporary, statement dining room scheme, alongside bold coordinating furniture and woodwork.

Combine with sophisticated neutrals

If you want your wallpaper to be the main focus of your scheme, select complementary neutrals that harmonise beautifully with the colours in the design. Many people opt for bright white woodwork and ceilings out of habit, but coordinating neutrals can produce a softer finish that is both elegant and easy on the eye.

Dahlia Scroll – Giallo is a richly coloured, damask wallpaper that feels luxurious and sophisticated. Create a harmonious living space by using it alongside natural wood surfaces, rattan finishes and soft whites. Silent White is a balanced, neutral-warm white which pairs perfectly on the ceiling and skirting.

Grey wallpapers have universal appeal, serving as a timeless backdrop to a range of interior schemes. Use shades from the versatile French Grey family alongside Volières – French Grey for an elegant hallway with a touch of contemporary drama.

Explore the full National Trust Papers III collection or find more inspiring ways to update your home with wallpaper.