Should You Choose Cartoon Character Wallpaper for a Kids' Room?

This isn't a "don't do it" article. It's lovely for a child to have a favorite character in their room; the issue isn't the character itself, but where it goes. On bedding, on an art print or on a wall decal, a character can be swapped out. Wallpaper, though, is the long-lasting foundation of the room. Below, we share what designers and research say about this, and then why we made the choice we did.

The wall is the slowest thing to change

There's a well-established principle in kids' room design: build a neutral, durable foundation, then add personality in layers that are easy to change. The reason behind this approach, which designers call "a room that grows," is simple: a child's interests change every 12–24 months, while wallpaper stays up for 5–10 years. The character a three-year-old can't live without may be "baby stuff" by age six. Once a character is printed on the wall, the only way out is to redo the room.

We covered the same principle for pattern density in an earlier article: leaving breathing room on the wall. The question of characters picks up where that one left off.

A ready-made story, an idle imagination

A well-known character isn't just a picture; it comes with a name, a voice, friends, enemies, episodes, toys and packaging. When a child looks at that character, they don't build the story, they remember it. That isn't a flaw, but for a wall it's a missed opportunity.

Research on play says something similar about toys. Dauch and colleagues (2018) observed toddlers playing with 4 toys and with 16 toys in separate sessions: with fewer toys, the children played with each one for longer and in more varied ways. Fewer, open-ended things invite creativity. A few unnamed figures on a wall work the same way: today the bunny is a doctor, tomorrow a pilot bunny; its name is whatever the child decides.

"But my child wants that one"

They do, and they're right to. The place to meet that wish is the changeable layer: pillows, bedding, art prints, removable wall decals, toys. These change every couple of years, and nobody's upset. Think of the wall instead as a world the character can belong to: clouds, a forest, a dreamy sky, a few calm figures. The child's toy lives in that world; when the toy changes, the world stays.

Why does it matter who draws the design?

For a character to end up on wallpaper, you need either a licensed print or a ready-made image. In both cases, the designer doesn't scale the character to the room; the character is what it is. In a hand-drawn composition, though, the size of each figure, which way it faces, where it sits on the wall and the space around it are all planned for the room. The area behind the crib stays calm, a bird lands by the window, the space above the wardrobe is left open.

Frequently asked questions

Is cartoon character wallpaper bad for kids?

No. This isn't about health; it's about longevity and imagination. A character suits a changeable layer (wall decals, textiles, art prints) better than the wall.

Can a wall have characters and still feel simple?

Yes; what matters is that the character doesn't belong to a well-known brand and that its story is left to the child. Few figures, plenty of open space, muted tones: the principles from our earlier article apply here too.

Can we get the same character as a wall decal?

Yes. Our characters are made as both wallpaper and wall decals, drawn in the same style; keeping the wall calm and adding the character as a wall decal is the easiest option to change later on.

Sources

• Dauch, C., Imwalle, M., Ocasio, B., Metz, A. E. (2018). The influence of the number of toys in the environment on toddlers' play. Infant Behavior and Development, 50, 78–87.
• Little Greene. Nursery Wallpaper Ideas for Longevity.
• Rethinking The Future. 12 Things to Remember When Designing Spaces for Children.