Personally, I love wallpaper. It’s another opportunity to bring colour and pattern into my interiors mix.
This first image shows one of my favourite wallpapers by Ottoline, a London-based Dutch design house founded by Ottoline de Vries. I think the wallpaper designs that attract me the most have a painterly quality. Like someone very talented has doodled all over my walls!
But I accept that this style is not for everyone. Grass cloth, on the other hand, has a very broad appeal. It brings fabulous texture and warmth to any room and is available in a wide range of colours to suit any interior.
Want to re-visit your childhood memories of staying at Grandma’s house? Old wallpaper designs never die – they just get their colours updated. And if a design can be printed on paper, it can also be printed on cloth. I love the coordinated look of this upholstered bedhead against the wallpapered wall. The genius is in the addition of the check border and matching bedside table. The easiest way to mix patterns is to stay in the same colour palette and mix an organic (think swirling, florals, botanicals, paisleys) with a geometic (think checks, stripes, triangles).
And speaking of stripes, if other patterns feel too much then venture into the world of stripes. I think there is a stripe that’s right for everyone. Stripes range from a business suit to a deck chair to a circus. Not surprisingly, I favour a circus stripe like in this last image. I also love artwork hanging on a wallpapered wall. For some it may be migraine-inducing. For me it’s simply layers of loveliness.
Whatever your level of colour and pattern, consider adding some wallpaper to your home. Bedrooms and powder rooms are great places to start.
More info on the designers of these four rooms via the links below.
1. Anna Spiro
2. + 3. Mendelson Group