This 220-Year-Old Wallpaper Trend Is Back, and It Works in Basically Every Room
Wallpaper has been enjoying quite the renaissance lately, thanks to more affordably priced options and peel-and-stick designs (the latter of which takes away some of the pain points of installation and removal). Adding pattern to your walls has never been easier, and with the design pendulum swinging back towards maximalism from minimalism, wallpaper really can be a one-and-done way to introduce visual interest, character, and color to a room.
But where to start when it comes to patterns? There’s no shortage of options. But lately, I’ve been noticing a new-old motif coming to the fore again: arboreal prints. A fancy name for forest-like tree motifs, these designs have been popping up more and more alongside the typical floral and palm frond designs that have dominated the wallpaper landscape (get it?) for so long. And if you look back into the wallpaper archives, they’ve been around for centuries — at least as far back as French and Chinese wallpapers were available here in America.
Need some proof of their current popularity? Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent have a mural-like, panoramic forest wallpaper in their New York City bedroom, and a beautiful bespoke tree wallpaper from Kravet envelops the guest bathrooms at the newly opened Graduate by Hilton Princeton, a 180-room boutique hotel in Princeton, New Jersey, that’s shown above and just below.
Part of this resurgence is surely due to the rise of biophilic design; bringing the outdoors in allows you to surround yourself with nature’s beauty, even when you can’t actually be outside. “Trees have been the muse for artists since the beginning of time — whether in primitive cave dwellings, perspective painting, watercolor, and more,” says Krissy Melendez, head of design at AJ Capital Partners, which handles the interiors for Graduate by Hilton. “It’s because of this that trees and nature, in general, bring a signature source of inspiration and warmth to any space.”
For Melendez and her team, the tree motif was particularly suited to the recent Princeton project, which also incorporates gorgeous tiles, vintage artwork, and charming custom furniture. “Princeton University’s campus is an arboretum in its own right,” says Melendez. “At the start of the design process, we learned that there are more than 400 varieties of trees and shrubs throughout campus. To emphasize the connection between the hotel and its surroundings, we filled the lobby with plants and selected wallpapers and textiles that reference the natural beauty that makes Princeton so unique.”
Even if you’re far from the woods, though, arboreal wallpapers can transport you to another place and bring you some peace. Melendez thinks so many of these designs are surging because they never really go out of style — and they’re easy on the eyes and the energy of a room. “My take is that it’s because flora, fauna, and arboreal patterns are a timeless element that never feels outdated or overdone,” says Melendez. “Much in the same way that nature has a way of instilling in us a sense of calm, arboreal wallpapers can bring a healthy dose of comfort and serenity to any space.”
If that sound like a vibe you’d be into, check out these eight tree wallpapers. The nice thing about this pattern is that it really does work in just about any space of the home, from a tiny powder room to a moody bedroom to a formal dining room.