Paper perfect
By Christa TerryWallpaper has always struck me as a pain-in-the-tush design element. Tearing old outdated paper off can be a long, arduous process if the glue underneath is old and the wall underneath that is pitted. Cutting the paper and putting it into the wall is often a recipe for disaster when you’re working in oddly-shaped spaces. Think about it…how many sitcoms have had crazy wallpaper plots?
And yet, wallpaper is just too, too classy. It’s got all of the patterns, colors, and textures you just can’t get from paint. I want to redo my little cottage in all of the wallpapers below!
As always, click on the pics to find out where they come from and how you can get them. Having never bought wallpaper, I’m hard pressed to tell you how much these papers cost. Goodness forbid a company actually put, um, prices on its web site. Of course, perhaps you are like me and simply enjoy the virtual window shopping!
January 31st, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Ooo…love that faux-croc paper. I agree with you about its appeal — you just get tired of paint finishes after awhile, and stencilling is pretty much out, isn’t it? Maybe I can compromise by just doing one wall in my living room, painting the others in complimentary colours? It would probably look better with some of the busier prints anyway, methinks.
January 31st, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Whatever it looks like, La Petite Acadienne, it is certainly easier to do one wall than four!
February 1st, 2008 at 7:01 am
I’m going to go way out on a limb here and publicly announce that I’m scared of doing wallpaper – not buying enough and then getting 3/4 of the way through the job and not being able to find the same stuff. Or getting it wrong. Or it starting to peel away. Or..well, it’s a hundred things. I need someone nice and gentle to hold my hand and get me through it because I absolutely love wall paper. My parents had this little powder room under the stairs that had the funniest wallpaper ever, with an illustration just made for a bathroom. I always promised myself I’d take some photographs of that stuff and try to find it again, but no, I didn’t.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:58 am
My grandparents had some crazy wallpaper, Toby Wollin, and after going through the old photo albums, I’m desperate to find some. One was bright yellow with a repeating fleur de lys in mirror SILVER. In great quantities it would be awful, but in something tiny, like a mini half bath, it would be awesome.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I’ve both removed wallpaper and put it up, and it’s not too bad. I have two pieces of advice about putting up wallpaper: 1. Do NOT attempt to do it by yourself. Have a friend or family member who is patient and good at following instructions come help you. 2. Borders and trim cover a multitude of mistakes. Sometimes it’s hard to cut the paper straight, but if you have baseboards to cover up ragged edges near the floor and trim or a border that matches the wallpaper to cover up any issues near the ceiling, your wallpaper-hanging life will be made much, much easier.
La Petite Acadienne–I’ve seen design shows where they make one wall or a niche in the wall of a room a different color from the rest, sometimes by painting it differently, combining two kinds of wallpaper, or combining paint and wallpaper. Depending on how it’s done, it can be spectacular. I can totally imagine the yellow and green paper above adorning one wall of a room, with the rest of the walls painted a matching shade of plain yellow, or the faux croc paper in a room that’s otherwise a softer, lighter brown.