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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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The wallpaper accent wall

Annie Elliott | May 28, 2012

Here’s my final push for wallpaper.

If, after all my eloquent, experience-based research, you’re still unsure about wallcovering, let me confess something. Whereas I have VERY mixed feelings about The Accent Wall when it comes to paint, wallpaper accent walls are another story.

Red and white wallpaper accent wall in kitchen
Alex Papachristodis in Elle Decor

A wallpaper accent wall is less expensive, less difficult to estimate and install, and less risky than tackling a whole room. And it can be very effective.

Blue and white floral wallpaper accent wall in dining room
From the blog Retropolitan

Remember, though: even though you’re using less wallpaper, you still must decorate responsibly!

Wallpaper the most important wall in the room: the wall with the fireplace, the wall your desk faces, or the wall the sofa or headboard leans against.

Wallpaper accent wall in child's bedroom
Peter Pawlak in Elle Decor. Alphabet wallpaper by Alexander Girard.

Wallpaper the wall with the fewest – if any – window and door openings.

Blue and white peacock feather accent wall in office
From the blog buckboard hill interiors

Or if you feel you’re without an appropriate wall to cover, wallpaper the back of a built-in bookcase with a faux textured wallpaper or grasscloth.

Grasscloth wallpaper accent wall behind shelves
Elle Decor, via Maria Killam's excellent blog, Colour Me Happy

If this doesn’t convince you to try wallpaper, Gentle Readers, I’m out of ideas! Well, I’m not, but I said that for dramatic emphasis, with a foot stamp and hand fling for good measure. Give it a try.

Annie Elliott – aka bossy color – is an interior decorator and design blogger in Washington, D.C. She has been quoted in publications from The New York Times to Real Simple and is considered an expert on color, residential space planning, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.

Category: Color + paint color, Living Room + Family Room, WallpaperTag: Alex Papachristodis, Alexander Girard, buckboard hill interiors blog, Colour Me Happy blog, Maria Killam, Peter Pawlak, Retropolitan blog, wallpaper accent wall, wallpaper accent wall in bedroom, wallpaper accent wall in office, wallpaper in bookcases

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Best part of being an interior designer is using your own home as a playground for creative ideas! We changed the paint in our living room again and here’s how it looks now! #interiordesign

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Sep 17

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When you become an empty nester, when is it ok to reclaim your adult child’s space? Check out my latest blog post for my recommendations on how to approach empty nesting!📸 @stacyzaringoldberg📸 @kipdawkinsphoto📸 Michael Wilkinson📸 @angieseckinger

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Sep 10

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Sep 9

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It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! This week, feast your eyes on @timorous_beasties Fruit Looters. TB claims that William Morris’s Strawberry Thief pattern inspired Fruit Looters, but only the name indicates the connection: Strawberry Thief, Fruit Looters…get it? Whereas Morris’s iconic pattern is medium-scale, rhythmic, 2-D, cartoon-like, and muted, Fruit Looters is the opposite in every way but subject matter. The scale is huge, with the foliage “stripes” providing a geometric order, and it oozes TB’s trademark edginess. The crisp pattern is finely drawn; pull it apart, and each element — a flower, a bird — could be in an English botanical print. Fruit Looters comes in vivid, saturated colorways, some with a metallic sheen, and dramatic black is present in all.Recently, a client (who originally introduced me to Timorous Beasties!) and I used Fruit Looters wallpaper in her stairwell, in the Alabaster colorway. The drama. Oh, the drama!

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Aug 27

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SO much fun to create this entertainment space! This client already had a living room and kitchen…this space is for friends and family to relax, talk, and just BE. What’s your favorite feature?

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Aug 26

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Happy Wallpaper Wednesday! There’s no better paper to feature in August than Schumacher’s Citrus Garden 🍋 🍊.The Swedish designer, artist, and architect Josef Frank created the Citrus Garden pattern as a fabric in 1947. The hand-drawn, whimsical, quintessentially mid-century, irresistibly cheerful design exemplifies Frank’s philosophy: “The freer the pattern, the better.” I’ve used Citrus Garden fabric a few times, but shockingly, the pattern wasn’t on wallpaper until 2017!! 🤯 Deprived for so long!! As soon as the opportunity arises, I’m running, not walking, to get my hands on this wallpaper.@schumacher_midatlantic 📸 @angieseckinger

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Aug 19

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All of a sudden, novelty accent lamps are EVERYWHERE! Some are cute, some are…inadvisable ;) If you just can’t resist a lamp in the shape of a snail, my latest blog post has recommendations for proceeding responsibly💡

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Aug 12

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Happy Wallpaper Wednesday! Let’s talk about Cole & Son’s Acquario, shall we?Iconic Italian artist Piero Fornasetti designed Acquario for Cole & Son in the early 2010s. He was going through an ocean phase, captivated by its mysterious depths 🐠, so he developed this fish design and put it first on plates and fabrics, and then, luckily for us, on wallpaper. We just installed Acquario in the Print Room Blue colorway in a client’s tiny practice room (he plays classical guitar), and we LOVE it! That big old blowfish, just gliding along…he kills me.Featuring: @cole_and_son_wallpapers @fornasetti

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Aug 9

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Green, light blue, and a touch of navy come together to create a room that's bright, welcoming, and incredibly summery 🥰 🥰 🥰 #interiordesign #summercolors
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