Gentle Readers, is is no secret that I love wallpaper almost as much as I love Tilly.
Recently, I have been proposing wallpaper in unexpected places. There are great options for clients who ADORE wallpaper and want to use it in all possible ways, but it’s ALSO perfect for those who are slightly apprehensive about using it on four walls.
1. Behind an open bookcase
The two-toned Galbraith & Paul wallpaper behind the built-in shelves in this home office adds style and levity (and beauty!). It even earns the approval of Penny, the dog.
2. Ceilings
The key to wallpapering ceilings is to choose something non-directional. We just installed China Seas wallpaper in the area between a family room and a guest bedroom, and I hope you love it as much as we do. (And, most importantly, as the client does!)
I am currently working on my own bedroom and decided to paper my ceiling. Happily, I have no recessed lights, so it was a big blank canvas. I couldn’t resist Stargaze in Bronze by Schumacher.
3. Closets and other tiny spaces
I have a client whose husband practices guitar in a closet-turned-practice room. My client had the excellent idea to wallpaper inside the closet. It’s going to be tricky, because the scale of Acquario by Cole & Son is medium and there are a lot of open shelves; we’ll have to make sure we can see the fish between the shelves. Our installer is a genius, though, so I’m not worried. :) We’re going to paint all of the woodwork and ceiling the same blue/green as the background of the wallpaper. I promise to post photos when it’s finished!
Another space you may remember from the pandemic: the teeny tiny home office. Another excellent candidate for wallpaper.
4. Below the kitchen counter
One of my colleagues installed peel-‘n-stick wallpaper – Spring Stripe Green by Valerie Flaim – below her kitchen peninsula (the technical term for an island attached to the wall. You probably already know that.). An excellent option for renters.
We recently installed FABULOUS tile in the stool space of a client’s island. It’s the same idea.
5. As art
Floor-to-ceiling wallpaper panels (murals, really) are EVERYWHERE; they’re especially popular in dining rooms. If you don’t want to commit to papering an entire room but find, as I do, that the papers are beautiful, frame one panel and treat it as a work of art. This panel is Brighton Pavilion by Schumacher and Miles Redd. Here, we skipped an actual frame (so heavy! So expensive!) and added tiny picture frame moulding around the panel. It’s a great way to fill a wall, don’t you think?
I’ll say it again, Gentle Readers: there is no — absolutely no! — excuse for not venturing into the wonderful world of wallpaper. If you use it in an unexpected place, do let me know, won’t you?
Annie Elliott Design is a Washington, D.C based firm, but we also love working in NYC and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. We’re now scheduling projects to begin in late summer. Please contact us to discuss.
