The Best Animal Print Wallpaper of 2022

Cows are outshining leopards, cheetahs and the rest as the most popular type of animal print – it’s true! We’ve analysed the data from Pinterest Trends and Google Trends, and below we break down all the stats on this year’s top trending animal patterns. Plus, tips from our Hovia interior experts on styling each of them at home, featuring our favourite animal print wallpaper designs.  Specifically, we’ll show you how to bring contemporary prints like cow, zebra, tiger and more into the spaces where people most like to place them: Bedrooms, nurseries and kids’ rooms.

First, let’s take a look at the 2022 stats:

• Cow print has exploded in popularity worldwide over the last three years! Searches are up 1550% compared to 2019

• The favourite animal print of young adults (18 to 24) in the UK and US is cow print. 52% of people who searched for it on Pinterest in the last year fell into this age group

• For British 25 to 34-year-olds, we found that leopard and tiger prints are the top animal prints, followed by zebra and then cow. But for Americans in the same age range, leopard, cow, and tiger are all equally popular – meaning that cow print is loved most in the US

The best animal print wallpaper for bedrooms

Leopard print wallpaper

The timeless trend Leopard print is practically its own aesthetic. Lots of people love the luxe, daring look of classic leopard spots. In fact, it’s been a particularly prominent pattern in fashion for a long time – usually being a statement symbol of confidence. Leopard print made a huge comeback as a cool clothing and decor trend in 2018, and has been maintaining its popularity ever since. It’s a long-lasting stylish staple, especially in maximalist interiors and fashion bloggers’ wardrobes.

But should leopard print go in a bedroom?   We choose to approach leopard print a bit differently with our wallpaper designs. The black, brown and beige spots that come to mind when you think of leopard print don’t usually translate well as wallpaper because of their bold and busy nature. This is particularly true when it comes to bedrooms, which should ideally feature clean and calming decor to relax the mind.    So, we created a range of leopard print murals and patterns in curated colour palettes that feel very fresh, subtle, or unexpectedly modern. Here are the top styles and shades that our customers love, and how to style them in a bedroom:

Grey leopard print wallpaper

Grey is an evergreen colour in interior design, and is an especially popular palette for bedrooms. It’s a neutral tone that comes in both cool and warm shades, meaning it’s easy to style a space that feels suitable for both 1) waking up to daylight in the morning, and 2) going to bed at night in a cosy, dimly lit room. Chase (pictured below) is our grey leopard print wallpaper, which has small rosette spots and two tones for a minimalist feel.

Black leopard print wallpaper

This one’s for the bold bedroom fans. A black and white leopard pattern is eye-catching, contemporary and contrasting. And a fully black leopard print wallpaper can have a more mysterious and luxurious look.

Blue leopard print wallpaper

Let’s go even more modern! It may not be something that comes to mind when you think of animal prints, but blue leopard print wallpaper is actually a pretty popular style. It’s a playful way to create a colour-pop bedroom, especially if you like to mix and match your patterns and tones.   We got creative with this style by creating an adventurous blue and orange mural, along with a pattern full of abstract leopard spots in blue and pink. 

Pink prints: Cheetahs and leopards

A pink leopard print wallpaper is our favourite way to wrap up bedroom walls in a sense of warmth and keep the colours feeling neutral and subtle. Our Hunter design here is a leopard pattern, but the Tuku design is a cheetah print wallpaper.  Can you tell which one is which based on the spots?

Fun fact: Did you know that it’s common to confuse leopard print for cheetah print? Do a quick Google search for cheetah print wallpaper, and you’ll see that most of the images that appear are actually leopard patterns! So at this point, the terms ‘cheetah print’ and ‘leopard print’ have practically become interchangeable.   Here’s how to tell the difference between cheetah and leopard print: Leopards have dark splotches that surround a lighter colour in the middle (this is called a rosette). But cheetahs have small flecks that look like little ovals.

Spotlight trend: Cow print wallpaper

We mentioned in our statistics at the beginning that cow print has had a huge rise in Google searches in recent years. It’s a popular aesthetic on Pinterest, too – especially with teens and young adults.    There are a few reasons why this could be: Such as country music and cowboy-inspired fashion coming into the modern mainstream, plus Gen Z using black and white cow spots as playful alternative pattern choice to decorate their bedrooms. Basically, cow print is the new black. 

We couldn’t decide between the classic monochrome cow print and brown cow print wallpaper so, naturally, we created both. This is our Moo design above, and it’s hand-painted using watercolours. The washy watercolour style brings something new to the trend, and also gives it a stylish ‘grown-up’ feel that’ll work in anyone’s bedroom.   Use it to style a Western theme or farm theme in a kids’ bedroom. You don’t have to be into cowboy hats and ranch life to appreciate a cow print wallpaper in your own bedroom, though – simply pair these prints with your favourite trending decor, and it’ll be an instant chic hit.

Dalmatian print wallpaper: Dotty details    

We’re big fans of Dalmatian print, and our Perdita, Speckle and Flecks wallpapers are three different ways to do spotted design.

There are only a few subtle differences between each design, but we bet you’ve already picked a favourite. Whether it’s the shapes of the spots or the slightly different shades of white, the dotty details matter!

Zebra print wallpaper: Softer stripes

Black and white zebra stripes are a classic animal print, but this striking style doesn’t make a suitable wallpaper for most homes. That’s why we’ve designed our zebra print wallpaper mural Untamed in these soft pink, grey, and off-white colour palettes.

Animal print wallpaper for your nursery

You may not have guessed animal print would be a popular choice for nurseries, but here we’ll show you how animal patterns in soft neutral colour schemes can be used to create some of the cutest modern nursery spaces you’ve seen. Top tip: Pick a peel and stick animal print paper for your nursery if you want to make sure it’s easily removable when it’s time to redecorate the space. However, the good news about animal patterns is that they’re an ageless and timeless style – so whether you turn your nursery into a kids’ room or a guest bedroom, the wallpaper will still work just as well. Here are a few of our favourite animal print wallpaper types for nurseries…

Giraffe print wallpaper: Gigantic design!

When it comes to wall design, giraffe prints can act as a playful geometric pattern. Especially when they’re blown up to a large, oversized scale like our Savanna mural. These giraffe designs are a fun way to create a feature wall in a neutral nursery.

Tiger print wallpaper: In subtle tones

2022 is the zodiac Year of the Tiger, and ferocious orange tiger decor instantly became a style statement. For nursery spaces, though, we recommend trying tiger print wallpaper in a tamer colour palette. We’ve chosen beige tones and soft pinks here, which are easy to pair up with wooden furnishings and trending neutral kids’ decor.

Paw print wallpaper: The perfect kids’ pattern

Although it’s technically not an ‘animal print’ wallpaper, these designs put little dog paw prints all over the walls, and that definitely counts in our eyes!   The Paw wallpaper comes in lots of different colours, and it’s a fun option for kids transitioning from a nursery room to a bedroom, to create an animal-themed space that encourages playfulness.   If you have a dog (or a cat) in your family, a paw print wallpaper is the paw-fect addition to a child’s room, or even for a playroom or chill-out corner.