Wallpaper has been cool again for several years. Even the biggest, most flowery granny prints can be seen in stylish retail spaces and restaurants, and it has quickly caught on that throwing up a bit of wallpaper is among the easiest ways to update a space. Now with a more domestic aesthetic taking over key areas of the office, it is likely to also make an impact in the workplace. Elizabeth Choppin selects a few of her favourites designs

1-3 Timorous Beasties
Noted for its “surreal and provocative” textiles and prints, this small Glasgow studio, formed in 1990, offers wallpaper inspired by everything from European coastlines and cartographical contours to London and pineapples. Our favourites are Thistle and Bloody Hell (right). www.timorousbeasties.com

4 Znak
Znak’s mission is to transform contemporary art into design. Painters, fashion designers and conceptual artists from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius and Berlin come up with the group’s unusual wallpaper designs. Illustrator Maija Kurseva’s Street Through Your Living Room represents small creatures cavorting on the roads of Riga. www.znak-life.com

5-6 Ayme Fitzgerald
Ayme Fitzgerald’s digitally printed wallpaper is loud, proud and making no apologies. Her collections veer away from the tidy, polite patterns offered by more established manufacturers and instead use bold neon colours, exotic floral prints and safari animal motifs (sometimes all at once). Funky Butterfly (left) and Floral Floral in yellow are especially rousing to the spirit. www.aymefitzgerald.co.uk

7 Harlequin Harris
Harlequin’s Lagoon is a modern range of funky vinyl wall coverings that have an embossed canvas-effect finish. The designs include retro geometric, oversized leaves and floral motifs, plus a textured plain. The Makeda (above) range is also vinyl, but is inspired by primitive carved wood blocks and African ceramics.www.harlequin.uk.com

8-9 Graham and Brown
The sixty-year-old British wallpaper giant is constantly updating its collections with works by prestigious designers such as Julien MacDonald, Barbara Hulanicki and Marcel Wanders. Restrained yet bold patterns seem to be their specialty. Fossil (top) and Pathway hit the right notes. www.grahambrown.com