Designers Reveal Wallpaper Trend Hiding in Plain Sight

Covering doors in graphic wallpaper creates a unified, immersive look.

Apr. 4, 2026 at 5:35pm by Ben Kaplan

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Designers are embracing a new trend of covering doors in graphic wallpaper that matches the surrounding walls, creating a seamless, unified look that makes the architecture recede and the space feel more cohesive. This technique is said to offer a charming 'hidden door' effect and a subtle sense of whimsy, though it requires careful alignment and consideration of the door type.

Why it matters

Wallpapering doors is an emerging design tactic that allows homeowners to make a bold statement while also creating a more visually unified and calming interior space. As homes become more open-concept, this technique can help blend thresholds and flow between rooms.

The details

Designers like Bill Richards of McBournie Richards and Anand Sheth of Studio Anand Sheth recommend using this technique in hallways, transitional spaces, or anywhere a door might otherwise interrupt the room's visual flow. The key is to use a jib door that sits flush against the wall and carefully align the wallpaper repeat so it seamlessly continues across the door panel. Richards prefers a medium-scale pattern that maintains continuity without overwhelming the door's proportions, while Chicago designer Amy Kartheiser suggests a mural-like repeat.

  • The wallpaper door trend has emerged in recent years as an innovative way to unify interior spaces.

The players

Bill Richards

A Boston-based designer at McBournie Richards who advocates for using wallpaper across doors as 'a very elegant solution' that allows the architecture to recede and the space to read as a more unified composition.

Anand Sheth

A San Francisco-based designer and architect who used the wallpaper door technique in a corporate project in Manhattan, describing it as an 'architectural gesture that allows the interior design move to fully land.'

Amy Kartheiser

A Chicago-based designer who says wallpapering doors can bring 'a subtle sense of whimsy' and create a 'hidden door' feeling that is 'impossible to resist.'

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What they’re saying

“When the pattern continues across both the walls and the door, the architecture begins to recede, and the space reads as a more unified composition.”

— Bill Richards, Designer, McBournie Richards

“It's architectural gesture that allows the interior design move to fully land.”

— Anand Sheth, Designer and Architect, Studio Anand Sheth

“This is an incredible way to bring in a subtle sense of whimsy to a space and to create that 'hidden door' feeling in a room that is simply impossible to resist.”

— Amy Kartheiser, Designer

The takeaway

Wallpapering doors is an emerging design trend that allows homeowners to make a bold visual statement while also creating a more cohesive and calming interior space. When executed properly, this technique can help blend thresholds, unify open-concept layouts, and inject a sense of playfulness and surprise into a room.