Leafy, botanical rooms never really go out of fashion, but they work best when you plan them as a whole rather than buying one palm print and hoping for the best. This guide walks through choosing a leaf wallpaper, pairing it with curtains, and adding one piece of statement lighting so the room feels finished rather than busy.
Start with the walls: palm or acanthus?
The wallpaper sets the mood, so decide early whether you want breezy and tropical or rich and traditional. Both are botanical, but they feel very different once they are up.
Palm fronds for a relaxed, retro feel
Cole & Son's Palm Leaves wallpaper is a bold frond print with a graphic, leafy repeat and a distinctly retro cool. It sits on chalky neutral grounds, which makes it easier to live with than you might expect, and gives you a base for a true South Beach palette. The colourway list is long: Olive Green on White, Soft Grey on Pearl, Pink, Mint, Leaf Green on Sea Foam, Leaf Green on Linen, Teal on White, Cream on Linen and Gold on Charcoal.
A practical tip: the paler grounds are ideal for a whole room, while Gold on Charcoal is a strong choice for a single feature wall, a downstairs cloakroom or a dining room you mostly use in the evening.
Acanthus for drama and depth
If you prefer something more traditional, Morris & Co's Acanthus wallpaper is a landmark design. Dating from 1875, it was the very first wallpaper released by Morris & Co and one of Morris's most iconic patterns. Complex layering and vigorous curves give the scrolling acanthus foliage a dramatic, three-dimensional effect. There are nine colourways on paper, running from soft Marble, Stone and Chalk through to Slate Blue/Thyme and Madder/Thyme.
Acanthus is a large-scale pattern, so it looks its best with some space around it: a chimney breast, a stairwell or the wall behind a bed.
Soften it with floral curtains
Curtains are where you can add a second botanical layer without fighting the walls. The Chelsea Printed Velvet Tab Top Curtain is bursting with flowers and foliage in a palette of soothing, joyful colours, printed on soft velvet. Every Courthouse Interiors print is designed in-house; the velvet is made in a small factory in Manchester, printed to order, and each panel is hand-sewn by our curtain maker.
When you combine two patterns, give them something in common. Pick out one colour from the curtain and look for a wallpaper colourway that echoes it, or keep the walls quiet (a pale palm or a Chalk acanthus) and let the curtains carry the colour. You can see every design in our curtain collection.
Add one statement light
A botanical room is a natural home for a little wildlife, and nothing does that quite like a giraffe. Qeeboo's Giraffe In Love XL Outdoor is an exquisitely detailed giraffe holding a classic Marie-Therese style chandelier in its mouth. It is the size of an authentic young giraffe, and this version is suitable for indoor and outdoor use thanks to its wind and water-resistant chandelier, so it can stand in a tall hallway or out on a terrace among real planting.
One rule here: let the statement light be the only showstopper. If the giraffe is the star, keep side lamps and accessories simple. Our giraffe chandeliers page shows the other versions.
A note on birds and Art Deco
Not every nature-inspired room needs leaves front and centre. Mulberry Home's Flying Ducks wallpaper comes from a late 1920s design by Alfred Stone and echoes the last days of the Art Deco era: a pair of mallards in flight against stylised, silhouetted trees. It is a good choice for a snug or study next to a leafier room, so the theme carries through the house without repeating the same pattern. It is spongeable, too, which helps in a busy hallway.
Bringing it together
Keep the furniture calm so the pattern can breathe. A plain sofa in a colour lifted from the wallpaper, perhaps leaf green, teal or a warm madder, will tie the scheme together; have a look at our sofas for ideas.
If you would like help matching a wallpaper colourway to a curtain, visit us at the shop in Somerset or get in touch with the team. We are always happy to talk patterns.
