As we look into wallpaper trends for 2026, the conversation is shifting away from novelty and toward intention. Homeowners and designers alike are seeking wallpapers that feel grounded, artful, and emotionally resonant. At Artscape, we see this moment as a continuation of our values. Our wallpaper is designed with craft, nature, and story at the forefront.
Below are the defining trends shaping wallpaper in 2026, and how Artscape’s growing collection fits squarely within them.
Cottage Cool: A Refined Evolution of Cottagecore
Cottagecore brought romance and nostalgia into the home. Cottage Cool, by contrast, is a subtle, modern approach.
This 2026 trend favors:
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Subtle texture over busy pattern
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Restrained palettes over sweetness
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Designs that feel collected, not themed
Lark sits well inside this space. Inspired by an original hand-embroidered textile, its woven stripe brings a lovely softness and rhythm without overt ornamentation. The effect is calm and tactile, ideal for bedrooms, reading nooks, and spaces that prioritize ease and focus.
Cottage cool wallpapers act as architectural layers rather than focal points. They support daily life, offering warmth and approachability.
Biophilic Maximalism: Immersive Nature, Deep Calm
Biophilic design remains a strong theme in 2026, but it’s evolving beyond minimal greenery into something richer and more immersive. Biophilic maximalism embraces layered ecosystems, with full-scale natural scenes that nudge presence and pause.
Artscape’s Northwest Fern, part of the Artist Collaboration Series, embodies this movement. Hand-painted by Portland-based illustrator Jenna Lechner, the sweeping ferns layered over a midnight ground evoke the stillness of a dense Pacific Northwest forest.
Similarly, Megafauna celebrates biodiversity with Eloise Short's painter’s eye. Inspired by the Blue Mountains and rendered in gouache, it reveals birds, bees, moths, and native flora, careful details that reward slow looking.
These wallpapers help recreate the emotional effect of nature, making them especially relevant for restorative spaces like bedrooms, offices, and creative studios.
Heritage Revival Storytelling: Pattern with a Past
Another key wallpaper trend for 2026 is heritage storytelling. These are designs that have historical motifs, folk traditions, and antique printing techniques, thoughtfully reinterpreted for modern interiors.
Fable exemplifies this approach. Originally block-printed in France in the 1860s, the design revives a whimsical woodland scene filled with frogs, hares, storks, and flowering trees.
Cosmos offers a lighter take on this trend. Inspired by folkloric motifs and the graceful movement of watercolor florals, it brings poetry to walls.
Heritage revival wallpapers offer a sense of continuity, grounding contemporary homes in something enduring.
Tactile Geometry: Hand-Drawn, Human, and Meditative
Geometry in 2026 is less about precision and more about human mark-making. Patterns feel organic, irregular, and rhythmic, inspired by ancient symbols and craft traditions.
Tokens, created by Portland artist Ilse Coffman, reflects this shift. A repeat of irregular forms that feel like a forgotten language, the design blends painting and printmaking. The result is a geometric wallpaper that feels bold and contemplative.
Presley is a retro-inspired design that brings playful energy with a refined edge. Hand-inked dots and textured applications give it a sense of movement and charm, reminiscent of 1970s graphics but reimagined for the modern home.
Presley resonates especially in minimalist or modern interiors that still want depth, walls that invite reflection rather than demand attention.
Modern Expressionist Florals: Bold, Artistic, Alive
Florals remain essential in 2026, but they’re no longer confined to delicacy. Modern expressionist florals lean into scale, gesture, and painterly confidence.
Georgia represents this shift. Painted by Alexandra Farmer, with expressive blue blooms set against a soft pink ground, the mural blends dots, lines, and petal-like forms into a composition that feels vibrant and very current, floral without being precious.
This design works for statement walls, creative backdrops, or anywhere a space benefits from playful movement and energy.
Olivia, a bold floral with hand-drawn white peonies set against rich ocean or mustard-toned backdrops, adds punch to any wall.
Quiet Minimal Surfaces: The New Neutral
Alongside more expressive designs, 2026 also brings a rise in quiet minimal surface wallpapers, patterns that act as atmosphere rather than ornament.
These designs emphasize:
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Soft, earthy neutrals
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Textile, wood, or plaster-inspired texture
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Subtle variation that adds depth without contrast
Styles like Arches naturally live here, and this is a category Artscape continues to explore and expand, creating wallpapers that function as calming backdrops while still feeling intentional and art-driven.
A bold yet grounded mural featuring hand-drawn geometric forms in a warm, desert-inspired palette. Salinas is a mural with textural washes and oversized shapes creating a sculptural, organic feel.
Looking Ahead: Artscape’s Growing Wallpaper Collection
These trends reflect where wallpaper is heading in 2026, but they also reflect where Artscape is growing. Over the next year, our wallpaper collection will continue to expand, introducing new designs that speak to biophilia, craft, storytelling, modern expression, texture, and more.
As Artscape evolves as a wallpaper brand, our focus remains the same: creating wallcoverings that feel considered, tactile, and connected to how people want to live here and now.
