A fact:

Wallpaper can create current kitchen designs that cannot be achieved with other wall finishes.

What we will cover:

  1. Which ones I do not recommend from a design standpoint.
  2. Which are washable and withstand changes in temperature and humidity, and which cannot be used on any wall.
  3. Irreplaceable beautiful kitchen wallpaper options (another finish will not give the same effect).
  4. Budget alternatives to paint and decorative plaster.

Sometimes it is hard to put into words how wallpaper affects kitchen design.

I will subjectively put 3 labels on every photo:

RoomLogic ratings used on kitchen wallpaper photos

5 Types of Modern Kitchen Wallpaper

1. Modern Geometric and Colorful

The 2 main strengths that distinguish wallpaper from absolutely every other kitchen finish:

  1. Complicated, thin, precise lines that create any geometric texture, abstraction, or drawing.
  2. Reproducing and combining any colors in any amounts.

Among fashionable styles, this wallpaper design is widely used in Scandinavian kitchens on 1 accent wall. Or in Provence style, where flowers form the pattern.

modern beautiful wallpapers with colors for the kitchen Glossy orange kitchen with beige wallpaper featuring a floral pattern design wallpaper with pattern on modern kitchen brown wallpaper with small striped pattern in the kitchen pretty floral wallpaper for kitchen in provence style scandinavian styled kitchen with an accent wall featuring wallpaper with dandelion pattern light blue wallpaper with patterns in a white kitchen green wall paper with floral pattern bright striped wallpaper for modern white glossy kitchen wallpaper for the kitchen in a tiny apartment with paparani patterns wallpaper with circles in kitchen interior wallpaper with text on a loft-style kitchen ornament wallpaper in neutral colors for kitchen interior wallpaper with small circular patterns in the kitchen scandinavian-style kitchen-living room with black-and-white patterned wallpaper

Tile shapes, grids, geometric figures, but most importantly, color. Every modern kitchen wallpaper option uses muted colors with low saturation. I explained why in the article about combining colors in an interior.

yellow wallpaper with a pattern for a white Scandinavian kitchen combined wallpapers in the kitchen-living room interior beautiful modern wallpaper with a pattern for a kitchen in scandi style Wallpaper with a gray-yellow pattern behind glass on the kitchen backsplash

2. Traditional Patterns and Ornaments

A standard set of floral patterns is used in traditional kitchens and traditional styles.

The fundamental difference is the contrast between the pattern and the main color. If the difference is large, use it only as an accent on 1 wall. When the contrast is low and your eye does not stop on the pattern, you can wallpaper the entire room.

Beige wallpaper with non-obtrusive pattern in the kitchen-dining room Vinyl wallpaper on a non-woven backing for a classic-style kitchen design of a kitchen with wallpaper in a modern classic style yellow wallpaper with pattern on accent wall in kitchen-living room Combination of wallpaper in frames in a classical kitchen-dining room interior Beautiful Provence-style kitchen with non-woven wallpaper beautiful wallpaper with pattern in a light blue Provence-style kitchen small modern classic kitchen with beige wallpaper wallpaper with traditional pattern in modern kitchen wallpaper with pattern in small classical kitchen stylish washable wallpapers in modern classic style on the kitchen black wallpaper with patterns on the kitchen

The most common mistake is finishing several kitchen walls with contrasting patterned accent wallpaper, especially when the interior already has many details.

Read about the 7 rules for combining wallpaper in general and separately in a bedroom.

Error with applying accent black-and-white wallpaper to all kitchen walls

3. Striped and Checked

Wallpaper with vertical stripes (in a low-contrast version) and checks (any kind) works in kitchens with variations of modern traditional and neoclassical design.

A somewhat conservative option, but you will not make a mistake.

scandinavian-style kitchen with white-and-gray-check wallpaper scandinavian-style kitchen with gray-white striped wallpaper checkered wallpaper on the kitchen modern classic kitchen with striped wallpaper striped wallpaper for modern kitchen an example of a failed wallpaper choice for a modern kitchen a gray kitchen with beige wallpaper simple beige wallpaper with thin vertical stripes on the kitchen modern wallpaper with vertical stripe on kitchen wall

A contrasting stripe is very hard to fit into an interior, and I strongly advise against taking the risk.

Beige wallpaper with green stripes on the kitchen contrasting striped wallpaper in a small kitchen in a typical apartment brown kitchen with striped wallpaper

4. Silkscreen

Silver and gold threads woven in for a characteristic shine are 1 more unique feature that cannot be achieved any other way.

gold wallpaper with a pattern in the kitchen-living room silver wallpaper with silk screening for kitchen

Silkscreen wallpaper can be used in small areas in modern kitchens, for example beneath glass on the backsplash. But it is used more often in Art Deco and traditional styles.

wallpaper with a glass-like pattern on the kitchen backsplash

5. Solid Color

Most options from the previous 4 sections are accents and do not work in small kitchens.

In real conditions, modern solid-color wallpaper works best for a small kitchen. It can have an unobtrusive texture and some color variation that cannot be seen from a couple of steps away. In real photos, it is not always possible to distinguish it from paint.

Read the article about remodeling a tiny square kitchen.

Beige wallpaper in the kitchen-living room with a breakfast bar Beige one-color wallpaper for the kitchen with a bright backsplash Beige solid wallpaper in the white kitchen Burgundy wallpaper in a modern kitchen brown wallpaper like in a modern kitchen pastel pink wallpaper in a classical kitchen country-style kitchen wallpaper Provence-style wallpaper for the kitchen sand-colored wallpapers for a small gray kitchen in a typical apartment scandinavian-style solid kitchen wall paper brown wallpaper on the kitchen wall one-color washable purple wallpapers in a modern kitchen simple unobtrusive gray wallpaper in a black kitchen

Advantages:

  1. Paint is difficult to tint for complicated colors such as dark blue, light blue, brown, yellow, turquoise, and so on, and you still have to make test patches on every wall. Wallpaper gives you a known color in advance without surprises.
  2. Dark paint is impractical. Because the joint compound underneath is white, every scratch and chip stands out. Plus, there is a “writing effect,” where marks remain even from clean hands touching it. Dark wallpaper has none of these drawbacks.
  3. If we ignore moisture resistance (the last section covers that), people are more likely to bump walls, while animals scratch them. So if you live without pets, the chance of damaging paint is greater.
  4. Wallpaper in a kitchen is simply cheaper, at least because the preparation is easier (the wall does not need to be leveled perfectly).

An important note right away:

For a reason I do not understand, the most popular wallpaper color is pale yellow (apricot or peach). To my taste, it is a dreary, boring color that should be avoided.

light peach wallpaper in the kitchen light gray textured wall paper for white kitchen gray washable wallpaper in a modern kitchen gray wall paper for the kitchen in a tiny apartment gray non-contrasting textured wallcovering in a typical kitchen Serene gray non-woven wallpaper for the kitchen peach-colored modern solid wallpaper for beige kitchen modern kitchen design with wallpaper combination of wallpaper and curtains in a small Provence-style kitchen purple wallpaper on a black kitchen in a classical style bright purple budget wallpaper for the kitchen Black washable non-woven wallpaper in an orange kitchen

Wallpaper for a White Kitchen

White kitchen cabinets are deservedly used most often, and this is exactly the furniture color I recommend: white kitchen with wood countertops.

White, beige, and other pale colors look dreary beside white and especially glossy cabinet fronts.

Darker wallpaper options work with a white kitchen for contrast:

  1. Gray, dark gray, and black.
  2. Cocoa brown.
  3. Bright colors: green, yellow, light blue, turquoise, provided the rest of the interior is not overloaded.
  4. Accent options from the first two sections of the article.

When choosing a wallpaper color, always look at the size of the kitchen: the smaller it is, the more you should lean toward calm colors.

one-color light blue wallpaper for modern white glossy kitchen gray modern wallpaper for white beautiful kitchen

For example, it is obvious that a red kitchen needs neutral wallpaper, or you will get a mess.

I Do Not Recommend

An entire category of wallpaper cannot be fitted into a modern kitchen interior no matter how hard you try:

  1. Imitations of materials that have texture: brick, wood, stone, concrete, cracked plaster, three-dimensional shapes. Sometimes they look normal, but strictly from 1 viewpoint. Change the viewing angle or see them under light, and there is no word for them but ridiculous. A photo comparison is below.
  2. Nonabstract pictures, with rare exceptions. All those images of buildings, cities, clouds, bicycles, glasses, and words will almost certainly ruin the design.
  3. Small contrasting stripes imitating who knows what. They were popular in the 2000s; it is better to leave them there.

Even if brick is depicted realistically on wallpaper with all the shadows and depth, the lighting gives everything away in real life. This fake will not fool anyone.

inappropriate use of floral wallpaper on the kitchen walls brick-patterned kitchen wallpaper gray brick wallpaper on the kitchen

Compare real decorative stone and its imitation in the photo – everything is clear at first glance. It is even worse in person:

decorative brick in the kitchen interior kitchen with white wallpaper imitating brick wallpaper with white brick imitation on all kitchen walls

Combining Different Wallpapers

Collections usually have 2 types: background (always included) and accent (not always needed).

Collections and Accent Walls

Question: How many open kitchen walls are available for accent wallpaper?

Answer: at most 1, often 0. Let’s count:

  1. Kitchen cabinets are always placed against the first wall.
  2. The second has a window, radiator, and curtains.
  3. The third has a door.

In other words, a typical apartment with a small kitchen does not always have even 1 wall for bright wallpaper. Accordingly, combining patterns is out of the question.

By the way, read about choosing kitchen curtains and hanging curtains in a kitchen with a patio door – those are important accents too.

If an open wall does exist, the layout is unusual, or this is an open-plan kitchen and living room, look at ready-made collections. The combinations are usually chosen fairly well, and the chance of making a mistake is lower than when combining them yourself.

Light pink combined accent and regular wallpaper in the kitchen modern pink kitchen with wallpapers from 1 collection combined beautiful accent purple wallpaper in a white kitchen stylish combined wallpaper in the kitchen-living room interior light apricot wallpaper in frames in a classic kitchen too brightly colored combination of purple kitchen and accent wallpaper bright purple accent wallpaper in the interior

An interesting idea: put accent wallpaper on the backsplash and protect it with a glass panel.

Murals

I am categorically against using murals in a kitchen – the functional load is too high to complicate it this way.

Very rarely, it can turn out more or less okay if the entire interior is built around that mural:

Photo wallpaper with large flowers in a modern kitchen interior

But more often, it will be a terrible tacky mess.

And do not be fooled by photos online. Sometimes they are renderings, not real photographs. Or they show another finish altogether. Below, for example, is a fresco:

wall painting in fresco style for kitchen

If you want to bring a kitchen wall to life, hang a painting. Leave murals with tulips in the past.

painting and wallpaper in the kitchen accent wall kitchen simple wallpaper and painting light gray wallpaper and a large painting

Which Wallpaper Works in a Kitchen

A note right away:

Washable does not mean you can literally wash it. The label is relative, and different manufacturers use different numbers of layers and materials. There are washable, water-resistant, moisture-resistant, and scrub-resistant products and so on, but none of this gives 100% protection.

Therefore:

  1. No wallpaper can be installed in the work area. If the sink is near the edge, the backsplash must always continue onto the perpendicular wall.
  2. If a dining table is placed against a wall, either do not wallpaper there or use it as carefully as possible.
backsplash extending to the wall next to the sink no wallpaper can be used on the kitchen backsplash wallpaper on the wall perpendicular to the kitchen next to the sink

Do not assume that imported wallpaper automatically passes one strict indoor-air certification. The EPA notes that indoor-product VOC labels and certifications are not standardized. Check the wallcovering and adhesive information, follow the manufacturer’s directions, and ventilate during installation.

Washable and Suitable for Kitchens

Almost every type has 2 layers: the backing and the surface.

These can be installed:

  1. Nonwoven wallpaper. Both the inner and outer layers are nonwoven polymer material – the most durable option.
  2. Vinyl. It comes with either paper or nonwoven backing. The second can be used in a kitchen; the first cannot.
  3. Glasscloth wallpaper. Woven fiberglass, usually used for painting. The appearance is repetitive.
texture of glass wallpaper (canvas) for painting

In practice, water-resistant nonwoven-backed wallpaper is easy to identify by bending the corner of the roll: nonwoven is denser and more flexible, so no crease remains.

If a visible fold line remains, the backing is paper and definitely cannot be used.

liquid wallpaper cannot be washed and is not suitable for the kitchen country styled kitchen with mismatched wallpaper wallpaper with newspaper imitation on the kitchen outdated kitchen wall paper with small rectangles

Below is a table of label symbols. I marked the suitable ones based on water resistance:

Wallpaper washability symbols suitable for kitchens

Not Suitable

Because temperature and humidity change throughout the room, do not use these on any kitchen wall:

  1. Acrylic
  2. Textile (fabric)
  3. Natural (bamboo and so on)
  4. Vinyl, nonwoven, and any other wallpaper with paper backing
  5. Liquid wallpaper (it looks bad too)

I hope you found a couple of interesting ideas. Good luck with your remodel!