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When designing children’s spaces, the details matter. Not just the colour on the walls or the pattern you choose, but how a room works, how it grows, and how personal it feels to the family living in it.
We’re often asked why custom wallpaper matters, especially in children’s rooms. To explore this from a professional perspective, we sat down with children’s interior designer Harriet, whose work centres around creating thoughtful, timeless spaces that evolve alongside the children who inhabit them.
In this conversation, Harriet shares how she approaches wallpaper in her projects, the challenges designers face when working with children’s spaces, and why flexibility, originality, and customisation play such an important role in her design process.
1. When you specify wallpaper, do you tend to use murals, repeat patterns, or a mix of both and why?
We use either one or the other, depending on the story we want the room to tell in each project.
Murals — whether wallpapered or hand-painted — can be incredibly impactful in the right space. We typically specify these when we’re intentionally creating a strong visual narrative or immersive theme within a child’s room. They allow us to shape atmosphere and imagination, whether through something more literal or a softer, more abstract design. Rather than applying murals to a single feature wall, we often prefer to wrap them around the room, creating a cohesive and enveloping environment that feels thoughtful rather than tokenistic.
Repeat pattern wallpapers, on the other hand, are used more frequently within our schemes. These might be subtle prints or textured wallpapers that sit comfortably in the background of the space. We see them as an important layering tool to the scheme — adding depth, warmth and visual interest beyond paint, without overwhelming the room. They help create richness and personality while still allowing other design elements In the room to shine.
2. At what stage of a project do you usually lock in wallpaper choices?
Wallpaper is usually introduced fairly early in the design process. Sometimes, we discover a wallpaper we completely fall in love with from the outset, and it naturally becomes the foundation for the rest of the scheme — acting as a creative starting point that informs the colour palette, textures and overall mood.
Typically, however, wallpaper selections are considered alongside paint colours and fabric choices, once the room layout has been finalised. This ensures the wall finish works harmoniously with how the space functions, rather than being an afterthought. After all, the walls are one of the most visually dominant elements in any room.
3. What do you find is the biggest challenge when specifying wallpaper for children’s spaces?
One of the biggest challenges could arise when children are very involved in the decision-making process. While it’s important that they feel connected to their space, our role is to interpret their interests in a way that feels imaginative rather than overly literal for example a Spiderman wallpaper
Designs that lean too heavily into specific characters or themes can quickly date and limit the longevity of the room. Instead, we aim to evoke a feeling or narrative — creating a space that reflects a child’s personality without tying it too closely to a momentary phase.
Practicality is another key consideration. Children’s spaces need to be durable and forgiving, so materiality matters just as much as aesthetics.
4. Do awkward wall dimensions, windows, doors, or sloped ceilings ever influence your wallpaper decisions?
Absolutely — and rather than trying to disguise awkward architectural features, we aim to lean into them.In spaces such as loft rooms or areas with alcoves and sloped ceilings, the goal is to avoid drawing attention to joins or visual interruptions. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by wrapping wallpaper across both walls and ceilings, allowing those sightlines to blend seamlessly. Painting a sloped ceiling white against coloured or papered walls, for example, can actually highlight the awkwardness rather than soften it. In some cases, patterned wallpapers — such as stripes — can further help to disguise unusual angles while turning them into a design feature. They can also guide the eye upwards, subtly creating the illusion of height and making the space feel larger.
5. Do clients ever fall in love with a design but ask for a different colour palette to better suit the room?
Yes, this happens often — and it’s usually influenced by the room’s natural light and orientation.
For example, cooler tones in a north-facing room can make the space feel flat or cold, so we may guide clients towards a warmer variation of a design they love. The aim is always to honour what they are drawn to, while ensuring it works beautifully within the space itself.
If something truly isn’t going to feel right in the room, we’ll gently suggest an alternative direction. It’s easy to fall in love with a design in isolation, but if it doesn’t suit the environment, the room can feel subtly “off” — and that’s something we work hard to avoid.
6. How often do your clients request colour changes or small design tweaks?
This can happen as we move through the design stages, which is a natural part of the collaborative process.
However, we begin every project with a carefully developed mood board that captures the look and feel of the space. Once this is signed off, it becomes the guiding reference point for the entire scheme.
When the mood board is right, larger changes tend to fall away. Smaller refinements can still happen, but we support clients by presenting considered options and samples along the way, allowing them to feel confident in the decisions being made.
7. Would having the flexibility to adjust scale, layout, or elements make specifying wallpaper easier for you?
Definitely. There are often occasions where I come across a wallpaper I love, but the scale doesn’t quite work for the proportions of the room so it doesn't get shortlisted! Similarly, a pattern might be perfect, but I may wish it incorporated an additional accent colour so it ties more seamlessly into the wider scheme we’re designing.
I also find that many of my clients enjoy the idea of something that feels a little more bespoke. Being able to subtly and easily adjust a design — perhaps by incorporating a favourite animal or a small personalised touch would be a wonderful way to create something unique for the space without the significant cost that usually comes with fully bespoke wallpaper! Having some flexibility in this sense would always be helpful and well received!
A huge thank you to Harriet for sharing her insight and expertise with us. Her thoughtful approach to designing children’s spaces is something we admire so much.
If you’d like to explore more of Harriet’s work or enquire about her interior design services, visit Lola & Masey
