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Wallpaper is not something kids usually get too excited about, but a new kind that tells stories might change that. The French DIY giant Castorama has paired up with TBWA/Paris to make Magic Wallpaper.

It’s covered in characters, each of which is a digital marker that when scanned using the Magic Wallpaper app (iOS or Android) unfolds a digital story on mobiles and tablets. The app lets users choose between audio storytelling and a reading mode, the latter of which has sound effects embedded in certain words, which can be manually played to bring it more to life.

Users can also scan in two characters at once, mixing up a new story entirely – the number of permutations can create hundreds of different stories so it should be some time before a child gets bored of it. There are 10 main characters including a robot, a princess (who isn’t a fan of dresses, it seems), a rhino who likes jogging and other childlike fantasticals. It’s currently retailing at EUR 9.90 a roll.

It’s rather like a child’s version the QR code wallpaper that was designed as a virtual bookcase. Another technical innovation for kids’ bedtime stories is the Moonlite, a mini smartphone projector which projects stories onto a wall. What other uses are yet to be dreamt up for something as functional as wallpaper?