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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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Put a bird on it! My new awesome wallpaper

Annie Elliott | January 11, 2012

Fred and Carrie were right!

Everything IS better when you put a bird on it!

Carrie Brownstein in Portlandia, "Put A Bird On It"
"What a sad little tote bag. I know! I'll put a bird on it."

My fancy schmancy Nina Campbell wallpaper went up yesterday.

Nina Campbell's Paradiso wallpaper
Nina Campbell's Paradiso wallpaper

What can I say: it might have been the happiest day of my life.

For maximum dramatic effect, here was the foyer before we lived here:

Foyer in 1910 Wardman rowhouse, D.C.

And here it is shortly after we moved in:

Yellow foyer, 1910 Wardman rowhouse, D.C.

In anticipation of the wallpaper, a few days ago:

Girls and Uncle Jimmy painting the radiator

Laying it out with my wallpaper guy:

Nina Campbell's Paradiso wallpaper

The process…

Wallpaper hanger, Nina Campbell's Paradiso wallpaper

Foyer being wallpapered

Ta-DAH!

Foyer with peacock wallpaper

Foyer and stairwell with peacock wallpaper

Foyer with Nina Campbell's peacock wallpaper, Paradiso

Even though there’s hardly any actual yellow in the wallpaper, I think it looks great from the egg-yolk yellow living room.

Foyer with Nina Campbell's peacock wallpaper, Paradiso

The gray dining room now makes sense, and when I get it all photographed properly, you’ll see that the pink Ikat sofa and pink chairs now look great, also. (Pardon the unbelievable mess; powder room demo taking place beyond the dining room.)

Messy house from wallpapered foyer

So this wallpaper IS life-changing, just as I hoped. I’m so freaking happy I can hardly stand myself!

Birds. They’re not just for Portland anymore.

Nina Campbell's Paradiso wallpaper with English writing desk

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: WallpaperTag: bird wallpaper, Nina Campbell, Paradiso wallpaper, peacock wallpaper, wallcovering

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Sep 28

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Happy Fall! Ironic, isn’t it, that fall weather is cool, but the colors we associate with the season are warm? The earthy orange grasscloth in this foyer is undeniably “fall” to me. Add deep, warm versions of green and blue, et voilà: a cozy, inviting, autumnal space.

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Sep 23

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For this week’s Wallpaper Wednesday we go into the Woods… Woods is a great example of Cole & Son’s innovation in serigraphy, a traditional method of screen printing. The pattern is available on fabric and wallpaper in a variety of soothing yet elegant colorways. Due (I’m sure) to the booming success of the original, there are now some whimsical variations on Woods: Cole & Son added metallic stars to some colorways and pears to others. As you may imagine, however, this traditionalist prefers the original 🙂For some reason, Woods is especially popular for nurseries. Maybe those babies really wanted out of their cribs. 👶🏼In 2005, Woods deservedly won the ELLE Decoration International Design Award for Wallcovering of the Year. And it’s still going strong.

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Sep 22

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“Isn’t ‘modern farmhouse’ over yet?” I loved speaking with @authordinacheney @washingtonpost about the worst interior design trends! Turns out I’m not the only designer with strong opinions 😊@vincentewolfdesigns @kimletgordon @maxsinsteden #interiordesign #washingtonpost #designopinions #annieelliottdesign

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Sep 18

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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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Pink, green, and a splash of dark orange come together to create this sunny, summery bedroom 🪷

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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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