The nursery series / 17
Safari nursery wallpaper: animals for a baby's room
For a safari nursery, start with Multicolor safari animals (pastel lions, giraffes and crocodiles on white) or Animal alphabet (animals and letters with soft green accents). Ocean life and Pastel seamless dinosaur are calmer animal themes, and Woodland nursery, Teddy Bear Striped and Vintage Air Balloons suit a softer room. A 9-foot accent wall on an 8-foot ceiling takes four 108-inch panels, $480 for our kids' designs. Order a $15 sample of each finalist first.
1. Choose how lively the room should be.
Animals are the theme toddlers ask for first, and a safari wall gives a nursery the most to point at and name. The main choice is how much color the room can take.
- Lively. A multicolor safari or an animal alphabet brings color from day one.
- Calm. Sea life, pastel dinosaurs or a beige woodland keep the animals but soften the wall.
- One wall. A busy animal print works best behind the crib, with plain paint elsewhere.
Every design here works for any baby, and all of them come from our kids’ collections.
2. Safari animals and an animal alphabet.
These two are the safari theme at full strength. Our safari and animal nursery wallpaper page puts them beside the rest of our animal designs.
- Multicolor safari animals: pastel lions, giraffes, crocodiles and other safari animals repeating on white. The most colorful pick here, with plenty to name later.
- Animal alphabet: a pastel animal alphabet with soft green accents. Animals and letters together, and it still makes sense in a homework corner later.
3. Sea life and dinosaurs.
These keep the animals but move them out of the savanna, in softer colors:
- Ocean life: watercolor fish and sea plants in easy blues and greens. A calmer option if the rest of the room is already busy.
- Pastel seamless dinosaur: soft watercolor dinosaurs and hatchlings drifting among clouds in gentle pastels, for a child who already has a favorite dinosaur.
For a whole room built around the sea, see the ocean nursery wallpaper guide. For dinosaurs and ocean life by age, see our dinosaur and space wallpaper guide.
4. Softer animal picks.
If you want animals without a bright wall, or a quieter design for a second wall or a reading nook:
- Woodland nursery: woodland creatures gathered in leafy wreaths on a warm beige ground. Our woodland nursery guide has more like it.
- Teddy Bear Striped: teddy bears on gentle beige stripes in a sage palette, with a savanna-friendly green.
- Vintage Air Balloons: watercolor hot air balloons drifting among clouds in soft pink and beige. An adventure theme for a room that already has animal bedding.
For safari animals alongside dinosaurs, planets and cars, see the boy nursery guide. For an animal parade with stripes, see the circus nursery guide.
5. Plan the wall and the panels.
Every kids’ design comes in 30-inch-wide panels in nine heights, priced $90 to $180 per panel. Divide the wall width by 30 and round up for the panel count. Add 4 inches to the wall height for trim and alignment, then choose the shortest panel height that covers it.
| Wall | Panels across | Panel height | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 ft wide, 8 ft high (108 × 96 in) | 108 ÷ 30 = 3.6, so 4 | 108 in | 4 × $120 = $480 |
| 12 ft wide, 8 ft high (144 × 96 in) | 144 ÷ 30 = 4.8, so 5 | 108 in | 5 × $120 = $600 |
Prices are before tax, with free US shipping. The nursery wallpaper calculator does the same math for your own wall. For measuring and timing the install before baby arrives, see the nursery wallpaper guide.
When your child is ready for a new theme, the panels peel off rather than being stripped. We have not published our own removal tests, so test a sample on your paint before you commit to a full wall. The removal guide covers what affects it.
6. Start with a $15 sample.
Pastels shift with the light, and the size of a giraffe or a fish is hard to judge on a screen. Order a sample of each finalist from our samples page, or straight from a design: Multicolor safari animals sample, Animal alphabet sample, Ocean life sample or Pastel seamless dinosaur sample. Each is $15 with free US shipping.
Compare three safari-and-animal designs with the Playful safari pack:
Playful safari
Animals, letters and dinosaurs: three designs with something to point at and name.
- Multicolor safari animals
- Animal alphabet
- Pastel seamless dinosaur
3 × $15 = $45 · free US shipping
More designs are on our kids’ page.
- Tape the samples on the crib wall, where the panels will go.
- Look at them from the crib and the doorway to judge the scale.
- Check them in the evening under the lamp you will use for night feeds.
Ordering your wall after the sample? Use code SAMPLE15 for $15 off orders of $300 or more (one use per customer).
Questions
What wallpaper works for a safari nursery?
Multicolor safari animals is the safari print: pastel lions, giraffes, crocodiles and other safari animals on white. Animal alphabet pairs animals with letters, Ocean life and Pastel seamless dinosaur take the animal idea somewhere calmer, and Woodland nursery, Teddy Bear Striped and Vintage Air Balloons suit a softer room.
Is a safari wallpaper too busy for a baby?
It depends on the design and the rest of the room. Multicolor safari animals is the liveliest pick here; Ocean life and Pastel seamless dinosaur keep to softer blues, greens and pastels. Paper one wall, usually behind the crib, and keep the others plain.
Which animal wallpaper lasts past the toddler years?
Animal alphabet tends to last longest, because letters still make sense in a playroom or homework corner. A safari or dinosaur wall suits the toddler and preschool years.
How many panels does a safari accent wall take?
Divide the wall width in inches by 30 and round up. A 9-foot wall on an 8-foot ceiling takes four 108-inch panels at $120 each, $480 for our kids' designs. A 12-foot wall takes five, $600.