Wallpaper Trends for Premium London Homes in 2025

After several years in which paint dominated interior decoration, wallpaper is experiencing a remarkable resurgence in London's finest homes. But this is not the wallpaper of the 1990s, with its small repeating patterns and builder-grade anaglypta. The wallpapers being specified for premium properties in 2025 are works of art: hand-painted panoramics, digitally printed murals, richly textured grasscloths, and bold graphic patterns that transform rooms into immersive, designed environments.

As professional wallpaper installers who work across Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, and Chelsea, we have a front-row seat to the trends shaping London's most prestigious interiors. This guide covers the wallpapers, styles, and techniques that are defining 2025.

The Return of Maximalism

The minimalist aesthetic that dominated London interiors for the best part of two decades is giving way to something richer, more layered, and more expressive. Wallpaper is at the heart of this shift.

Maximalism in 2025 is not about visual chaos. It is about considered abundance: layering pattern, texture, and colour to create rooms with depth and personality. A drawing room in a Mayfair townhouse might feature hand-painted wallpaper on the walls, a richly patterned rug on the floor, and silk curtains at the windows, all working together in a scheme that is unified by a carefully chosen colour palette.

This approach requires confidence and skill, both in the design and in the execution. The wallpaper must be installed to an exacting standard, with patterns perfectly aligned and seams invisible. Our wallpaper installation service is built around precisely this level of craftsmanship.

The Leading Wallpaper Brands for London Homes

de Gournay

No discussion of premium wallpaper is complete without de Gournay, the London-based company that has redefined hand-painted wallpaper for the 21st century. Founded in 1986, de Gournay produces bespoke wallpapers that are painted by hand in their studios, each one unique and made to order.

Key collections for 2025:

Chinoiserie: de Gournay's signature style. Flowering trees, exotic birds, and delicate landscapes painted on silk or paper grounds. These are among the most beautiful wallpapers in the world, and they command prices to match (from around £800 per panel, with a typical room requiring 12-20 panels).
Plein Air: impressionistic landscapes that blur the boundary between wallpaper and fine art. Particularly effective in dining rooms and drawing rooms where the panoramic scene unfolds around the room.
Japanese and Korean collections: delicate, restrained designs inspired by East Asian painting traditions. Quieter than the Chinoiserie collections but equally exquisite.

Installation notes: de Gournay wallpapers require specialist installation. The panels are hand-numbered and must be hung in sequence. The ground colour varies subtly from panel to panel (a consequence of the hand-painting process), and a skilled installer will manage these variations to create a seamless overall effect. We are experienced in installing de Gournay and work closely with their design team on client projects.

Zuber

Zuber is the oldest wallpaper manufacturer still operating in France, founded in 1797 in Rixheim, Alsace. The company is renowned for its scenic wallpapers, which are printed from original hand-carved woodblocks, some dating back to the early 19th century.

Key collections for 2025:

Les Vues de l'Amerique du Nord: a panoramic scenic wallpaper first produced in 1834, depicting idealised American landscapes. A set of this paper famously hangs in the White House.
El Dorado: a tropical Brazilian landscape in richly saturated colours. Dramatic and conversation-starting.
Decor Chinois: Zuber's interpretation of chinoiserie, with a distinctly French sensibility.

Zuber wallpapers are museum-quality objects that appreciate in value. They are an investment as much as a decorating choice, and they are increasingly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs in London's premium property market.

Cole & Son

Cole & Son, founded in London in 1875, occupies the sweet spot between artisanal exclusivity and relative accessibility. The company's archive of over 1,800 block print designs is one of the most important in the world, and its wallpapers have graced the walls of Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and countless distinguished London homes.

Key collections and patterns for 2025:

Fornasetti collection: the ongoing collaboration with the Fornasetti studio produces some of the most recognisable wallpaper designs in the world. Nuvolette (clouds), Soli e Lune (suns and moons), and Tema e Variazioni (variations on a face) are all perennial favourites in London interiors.
Botanical Botanica: large-scale botanical illustrations with a scientific precision that appeals to the contemporary taste for nature-inspired interiors.
Geometric II: bold, architectural patterns that suit contemporary apartments and loft conversions as well as traditional period rooms.
The Archive Anthology: reissued designs from Cole & Son's vast archive, offering historical authenticity for period properties.

Installation notes: Cole & Son wallpapers are generally paste-the-wall or traditional paste-the-paper, depending on the collection. Quality varies between collections; some are printed on heavyweight non-woven grounds that are relatively forgiving to hang, while others are on lighter paper grounds that require more skill and care.

Morris & Co

William Morris remains the most influential wallpaper designer in history, and his designs are as relevant in 2025 as they were when first produced in the 1860s and 1870s. Morris & Co (now part of the Sanderson Design Group) continues to produce his original designs alongside new collections inspired by the Arts and Crafts tradition.

Key patterns for 2025:

Strawberry Thief: Morris's most famous design, originally a textile pattern, now available as wallpaper in multiple colourways. The deep indigo original remains the most popular, but newer colourways in soft greens and warm neutrals are gaining ground.
Willow Boughs: a flowing, naturalistic design that works beautifully in bedrooms and bathrooms.
Pimpernel: a dense, richly coloured floral that creates a warm, enveloping atmosphere.
Pure Morris collection: simplified, pared-back versions of classic Morris designs in a contemporary neutral palette. These are particularly successful in properties where the architecture is period but the furnishing style is modern.

Morris wallpapers are especially appropriate for Victorian and Arts and Crafts houses in areas like Hampstead, Holland Park, and Chiswick, where the architecture and the wallpaper share a common design heritage.

Other Notable Brands

Fromental: another London-based hand-painted wallpaper studio, producing bespoke designs of extraordinary quality. Fromental specialises in three-dimensional embroidered wallpapers that add texture as well as pattern.
Phillip Jeffries: an American brand that has become increasingly popular in London for its textured natural wallcoverings, including grasscloth, cork, and metallic papers.
Pierre Frey: a French company offering richly coloured, pattern-confident designs that appeal to London's Francophile design community.
Sandberg: a Swedish company producing beautiful hand-printed wallpapers with a Scandinavian sensibility. Their mural collections are particularly strong.

Key Trends for 2025

1. Panoramic and Mural Wallpapers

The biggest trend in premium wallpaper is the move towards large-scale, non-repeating designs that tell a story across the walls of a room. Panoramic wallpapers create an immersive environment that transforms a room into something more than a decorated box.

This trend is driven by:

Digital printing technology that allows photographic-quality images to be printed on wallpaper at any scale
The influence of hospitality design, where statement wallpapers in restaurants, bars, and hotels have introduced a wider audience to the impact of large-scale wall decoration
Instagram and social media, which reward visually dramatic interiors

Panoramic wallpapers work best in rooms with long, uninterrupted walls and where the furniture can be arranged to reveal the design. Dining rooms, drawing rooms, and master bedrooms are ideal. Kitchens and small rooms with lots of doors and windows are less suitable.

2. Textured and Tactile Wallcoverings

Flat printed wallpaper is giving way to textured, tactile surfaces that add a physical dimension to walls. Key textured wallcoverings for 2025 include:

Grasscloth: woven natural fibres (sisal, jute, seagrass) laminated to a paper backing. Grasscloth adds warmth and texture without pattern, making it a versatile background for art and furniture. It is particularly effective in studies, dressing rooms, and media rooms.
Silk and fabric wallcoverings: luxurious and warm, silk wallcoverings add a rich sheen that changes with the light. They are popular in formal reception rooms in Mayfair and Belgravia.
Cork: a surprisingly sophisticated wallcovering that adds warmth and subtle texture. Modern cork wallpapers are available in a range of colours beyond natural brown.
Metallic and foil papers: papers with metallic surfaces or metallic-printed patterns that catch and reflect light. These are effective in small rooms, powder rooms, and hallways where they create a sense of glamour and space.

3. Nature and Botanicals

The biophilic design movement continues to influence wallpaper choices. Botanical patterns, tropical scenes, and nature-inspired designs are everywhere, but the execution has become more sophisticated.

In 2025, expect to see:

Oversized botanical illustrations with a scientific, almost herbarium quality
Tropical patterns that have moved beyond palm leaves into more nuanced depictions of jungle ecosystems
Wildflower and meadow designs that reflect the growing interest in rewilding and natural landscapes
Dark botanical: richly coloured flowers and foliage on dark backgrounds (navy, black, deep green), creating a moody, Dutch Masters quality

4. Geometric and Architectural Patterns

For more contemporary spaces, geometric wallpapers offer pattern without prettiness. Key trends include:

Art Deco revival: fan shapes, sunbursts, and stepped patterns in metallic and jewel tones
Mid-century modern geometrics: organic shapes and muted palettes inspired by the 1950s and 1960s
Trompe l'oeil architectural effects: wallpapers that create the illusion of panelling, bookcases, or architectural mouldings

5. Colour Drenching with Wallpaper

The trend for colour drenching, where walls, woodwork, and ceiling are all painted in the same colour, has extended to wallpaper. In 2025, we are seeing wallpaper used on all walls with the woodwork and ceiling painted in a colour picked up from the design, creating a fully immersive environment.

This approach is particularly effective with:

Morris & Co designs, where the background colour is matched on the woodwork
Cole & Son patterns, where a dominant colour is extended to the ceiling
Textured wallcoverings like grasscloth, where the tone is continued in paint on adjacent surfaces

Statement Walls vs Full Rooms

The "feature wall" concept, where wallpaper is applied to a single wall with the remaining walls painted, has been a staple of interior decoration for years. In 2025, the trend is shifting towards full-room wallpapering for maximum impact, but both approaches have their place.

When a Statement Wall Works

In rooms where only one wall is free from doors, windows, or fitted furniture
When using a very bold or expensive wallpaper that would be overwhelming on four walls
As an introduction to wallpaper for clients who are uncertain about committing fully
In contemporary, minimalist interiors where a single papered wall provides a focal point

When Full-Room Wallpapering Is Better

With panoramic or scenic wallpapers that are designed to wrap around the room
With subtle textures (grasscloth, linen-effect) that create atmosphere without overpowering
In period rooms where historical authenticity calls for fully papered walls
When the goal is total immersion in a colour or pattern scheme

Combining Wallpaper and Paint

The most successful interiors often combine wallpaper and paint thoughtfully. Our recommendation:

Choose a paint colour that appears in the wallpaper design, not a contrasting colour
Use the same paint brand across walls and woodwork for colour consistency (Farrow & Ball and Little Greene both work beautifully alongside premium wallpapers)
Consider painting the ceiling in a tint of the wallpaper's background colour rather than white
Use the same paint finish throughout (typically matt for walls, eggshell for woodwork)

Professional Installation: Why It Matters

Premium wallpaper demands professional installation. The materials are expensive, often irreplaceable, and unforgiving of mistakes. Common issues with DIY or inexperienced installation include:

Pattern mismatch: complex patterns require precise alignment at every seam. Even a millimetre of misalignment is visible and impossible to correct after the paste has set.
Seam visibility: incorrectly butted or overlapped seams are the most common complaint about wallpaper installation. Professional installers use precise cutting and butt-joining techniques that render seams virtually invisible.
Bubbling and blistering: caused by inadequate paste application, air trapped behind the paper, or insufficient smoothing. With papers costing £100-£800+ per roll, this is an expensive mistake.
Stretching and shrinkage: some wallpapers expand when pasted and contract as they dry. An experienced installer compensates for this during hanging.
Damage during handling: hand-painted wallpapers, silk papers, and metallic foils are easily damaged by handling. Professional installers use clean hands, padded surfaces, and careful techniques to prevent marks and creases.

Our wallpaper installation team has extensive experience with all the major premium wallpaper brands. We work regularly with interior designers across London and understand the exacting standards that these projects require.

Practical Considerations

Cost

Premium wallpaper costs vary enormously:

Cole & Son: £70-£250 per roll
Morris & Co: £60-£130 per roll
Phillip Jeffries grasscloth: £80-£200 per roll
de Gournay: from £800 per panel (bespoke pricing)
Zuber: from £5,000 per set (for scenic papers)
Fromental: from £600 per panel (bespoke pricing)

Professional installation typically costs £30-£80 per roll for standard wallpapers, and £100-£300+ per panel for hand-painted and specialist wallcoverings.

Longevity

Well-installed, quality wallpaper in a stable environment can last 15-25 years or more. This compares favourably with paint, which typically needs refreshing every 5-8 years in high-traffic areas. Over the long term, premium wallpaper can represent reasonable value despite the higher initial investment.

Rooms to Avoid

While modern wallpapers are more durable and moisture-resistant than their predecessors, some rooms remain challenging:

Bathrooms with poor ventilation: humidity can cause wallpaper paste to fail. If wallpapering a bathroom, ensure excellent extraction and consider a vinyl or coated wallpaper.
Kitchens behind hobs: steam and grease will damage wallpaper. Use tiles or glass splashbacks in cooking areas and wallpaper elsewhere in the kitchen.
Very young children's rooms: where walls are likely to be drawn on, scratched, or damaged. Wait until children are older, or use a washable wallpaper.

Looking Ahead

Wallpaper is more exciting and more varied than it has been for decades. The combination of traditional craftsmanship (hand painting, block printing, hand weaving) with modern technology (digital printing, new substrate materials) means that almost any visual effect is achievable on a wall surface.

For London homeowners in 2025, the question is not whether to use wallpaper, but which wallpaper to choose and how to integrate it into a cohesive interior scheme. The best results come from working with experienced professionals who understand both the design possibilities and the practical requirements of premium wallpaper installation.

If you are considering wallpaper for your London home and would like professional advice on product selection, design, or installation, our team is always happy to help. We offer consultation visits, sample sourcing, and a full wallpaper installation service across Central and West London.

Wallpaper Trends for Premium London Homes in 2025