The wallpaper trend has a delightful new niche: feathered friends. Here are five favorite bird-themed wall coverings to add a touch of nature to your Northern Michigan home.

It used to be that we covered every inch of our walls in wallpaper. Grandma’s house? Wallpapered top to bottom, a fresh print in every room, a border here and there. But it fell out of favor pretty suddenly in the 1960s as designs trended more minimalist, and walls became home to more windows (and giant TVs). Add to that the expense, mess and expertise hanging wallpaper required, and it seemed a trend destined to die.

But 2020 saw it come roaring back; maybe we all needed more than blank walls to stare at during the pandemic? DIY shows started featuring playful prints, and more sophisticated designs emerged—and in a less dreadful, peel-and-stick application that made it oh-so-tempting to try. In fact, York Wallcoverings, one of the largest suppliers to the American market, reports that its business has been up 20 percent year-over-year.

You can thank a new, younger customer base for that bump—they come to the market without the design trauma of wallpapers past (think: beribboned country geese or far-out ’70s designs in eye-bleeding shades of orange). As millennials ease into home ownership, they’re bringing a desire to make a statement and a fresh approach to boring, blank walls, for which wallpaper is the perfect foil.

On-trend now? All things birds. Here are some we’re loving now.

1. Swooping Sparrows | This sweet pattern by Rylee + Cru features sweet little sparrows zipping around in joyful chaos—perfect for a cheerful kitchen nook.

Photo by Rylee + Cru

Photo by Rylee + Cru

2. Bold Cranes | This super-graphic design from West Elm would make an amazing surface covering for the back of a bookshelf or hacked Ikea dresser, or accent wall in the bath.

Photo by West Elm

3. Wild Birds & Butterflies | A riot of color just right for a classic country farmhouse or cottage.

Photo by HAOKHOME

4. Fine Little Finches | With a soft, neutral palette, this bird-and-branch print calls to mind the work of Gwen Frostic.

Photo by Simple Shapes

5. Swallows in the Sky | This exuberant print by Hygge & West would transform a child’s bedroom or cheer a gloomy powder room. Hand-drawn swallows swoop among swirling clouds, and come in 15 different bird and background color combos.

Photo by Hygge & West

Photo(s) by Hygge & West