Wallpaper Is Back: How to Add Pattern to Your Home Without the Commitment
Wallpaper Memories
Did you notice that wallpaper is making a comeback? Wallpaper trends are returning to home design, especially botanical and vintage-inspired patterns.
I remember going to the wallpaper and paint store with my mother when I was a young girl and how much I loved flipping through the books. Factory Paint was one of her favorite spots. Page after page of patterns—florals, stripes, botanicals. I was fascinated.
My Great Uncle Johnny, a veteran of WWII, earned a living hanging wallpaper. Despite a serious war injury that nearly took his leg and left him limping for the rest of his life, he’d set out on foot to his jobs with the wallpaper slung over his shoulder. According to my grandmother, someone in town would always see him and give him a ride.
He never drove.
It was a big deal for my mother when Uncle Johnny came to our house to wallpaper the living room and dining room. She was so excited.
Why Wallpaper Fell Out of Favor
Wallpaper began falling out of favor in the 1990s as painted walls took over. Not everyone ran out with scrapers to remove it overnight, but new homes and renovations increasingly went the paint route.
After renovating a half bath a few years ago, I can see why.
It was a small space, but it took me 19 hours to get that wallpaper off.
I tried everything—scoring, scraping, hot water, a Downy fabric-softener solution, and sanding. That paper was glued to the wall so well it eventually came down to obsessively scraping tiny pieces off bit by bit, determined to win—as if it were a battle between me and a 30-year tenant who refused to leave.
The wallpaper was pretty. Just dated.
But the toilet and sink? Those were treasures.
Still in great shape. Still unique. How often do you see teal fixtures?
Those stayed.
I painted the trim white and the walls Cotton Balls by Benjamin Moore. We added a new chrome faucet and installed a small shelf above the sink with an automatic soap dispenser.
It turned out beautifully.
Finding Wallpaper Inspiration for AchooBox
Years later, when I began designing AchooCovers for the AchooBox—the refillable rolled-tissue dispenser designed to replace disposable tissue boxes with something more beautiful—I ran into an unexpected problem. The stretchy fabric needed for the covers mostly came in clothing patterns, not interior design prints. I chose the best options I could find, but the selection was limited.
When I partnered with my manufacturer, it gave me the opportunity to design my own patterns.
My branding expert, Rachel, suggested looking to wallpaper for inspiration.
The Leaf pattern was inspired by botanical wallpaper designs often used in traditional interiors—classic repeating leaf patterns that bring nature-inspired texture and pattern into home decor. We scaled it down into a repeatable pattern that would work beautifully on the AchooBox—much like wallpaper patterns are designed to repeat across a wall. Like wallpaper collections, the design also works in multiple colorways.
I’ll be introducing two new Leaf colors next month.
Another design, South Shore Seagrass was inspired by another coastal wallpaper pattern, bringing soft neutral tones and texture into the design.
A Simple Way to Add Pattern Without Wallpaper
Today’s wallpaper is different from the past, with newer adhesives designed to make installation and removal easier.
But if you’re like me—still not over that half-bath experience—you may not be quite ready to make that leap again.
Small pattern accents—pillows, lampshades, or even an AchooBox decorative rolled tissue dispenser—can introduce the same visual interest as wallpaper without committing an entire wall.
For people who love the look of wallpaper but aren’t ready to install it, small patterned accents can act as an easy wallpaper alternative.
An AchooBox covered in a beautiful botanical pattern might be just enough of a design element to bring pattern into your space.
No measuring.
No cutting.
No peeling, sticking, or gluing.
And definitely no scraping walls later.