Another Decision

Thanks for your input over on Facebook yesterday on how to lend polish to the Happy Hallway.  Colorful frames were definitely a hit, and ultimately I think I am going to go for grasscloth AND frames, possibly in a standard ikea color (bright red or high gloss gray) to save myself a huge DIY headache.  We'll see how it looks when the grasscloth arrives.  (I have to say, I have forever and ever wanted grasscloth and have never used it in my own home, so this is a double treat.)

Moving on!

I asked for input on the powder room wallpaper a while back, and many of you liked our favorite: Raphael from Sanderson.

I went ahead and put in the order, only to discover, to my dismay, that the use of a liner is recommended with this paper, which significantly increases the labor cost.

I hemmed and hawed and pulled additional possibilities.

Surprisingly, my husband liked the butterflies (Nina Campbell's Farfalle), and my girls liked the leafy print up top (also a Nina Campbell pick.)

But we put the tree sample back in, and it sort of felt like no comparison.  The trees are magical.

I have written before about how I would rather "get a great deal" than "pay for the perfect thing."  I have said before that it is the lesson I refuse to learn.  Hanging wallpaper is pretty much never cheap, and my husband suggested that if we were going to spend the money to do it, why not spend a little more to get something we really loved?

No decision made, but I am leaning back towards those trees.

What about you: do you splurge on things that are "just right?"  Or are you more one to "make do?"  I think we need a balance of the two, and you know what?

I got a great deal on the grasscloth.

Powder Room Paper

I'm making decisions lickety split.

Working on ordering one of these papers for the powder bath.

Which would you choose?

Spotted!

When I was in New York in June, my friend Sarah suggested the Marlton Hotel for a meet up with our friends from our public art days.  Sarah is my incredibly stylish friend who is always in the know about the latest places, and the hotel's decor is fabulous-- current without feeling overly trendy.  I didn't take any photos (well, except for one of their cafe curtain construction as reference for a project--I know, nerd), but you can see tons of photos here.

The other picture I took?  This fabulous Andy Warhol-inspired wallpaper in the bathroom.
And I just found the source!  Flavor Paper offers this paper in 4 colorways as part of the Warhol Collection.  Prices are steep at $350 for a 15 foot roll, but if you're smart you will use it like the hotel's designers--above wainscoting or another half-wall.

It feels retro yet current, right?  I guess that means it's just timeless.

Striped Wallpaper: Hallway (Two Ways)

Yesterday I showed you plans for a striped powder room, based on my impulse wallpaper purchase in a bold brown and white stripe.  Truth be told, I bought it for the upstairs hallway (but made sure I had enough for the powder room, if it came to that.)

When I put my original vision to paper, I wasn't so sure:

The striped paper, my grandmother's gold tole sconces (which I have mentioned many times but have thus far failed to photograph), all to set off my idea for a strong yellow and white abstract work, divided into a grid of white frames.  I threw in the boucherite rug for good measure.

Only problem?  When I saw my vision in something other than my own brain, it did't look like me.

So I tweaked.

MUCH better!  (For me).  I ADORE those yellow Paul Marrot prints.  And I had to get my leopard rug in somewhere, right?  The idea of the big abstract in the first scenario is to give a lot of movement against the stripe, but I think the hand-drawn quality of the prints does it in a way that is a little more ladylike, if less cool.  A little more me.  And of course, that's what matters most.

It's funny, when I saw it mocked up I realized that the grid of prints on the stripes reminds me of a tearsheet from many moons ago, from a Sheila Bridges project:

So good.  In fact, I like the way hers meander off-center from the stripes, don't you?

So now I love my proposed hallway.  But still....I am loving the powder room plans, too.

Do you have a favorite?  Or....do you think the paper should go in my laundry room?  My husband's vintage Smashing Pumpkins tour poster would look pretty good over brown and white....

Weigh in!  I would love to hear what you think.

Striped Wallpaper: Powder Bath

There's nothing better than an impulse purchase that could actually work in multiple places/ ways in your house.  (The secret: pick something in a color that is a major player in your whole-house color scheme, and in a pattern--like a stripe--that mixes well with almost anything.)

Right now, I'm leaning towards using my striped Schumacher wallpaper in the powder bath, sort of like this:

I recently remembered a bamboo plant stand that I had stashed away in the basement; it makes a great little occasional table for a powder room.  I bought those vintage Chinese drawings when my husband was planning to rent his own space for his practice, but love them stacked on the narrow wall over the toilet.  Loving the black and white inlay mirror and how it relates to the other Indian pieces in the house (mirrors, coffee table).  We have contemporary white square sinks, and while I love the softening effect of the girls' gathered sink skirts, in here I would go tailored like the trimmed orange table skirt above.

Fun, right?

But it would also look great in the upstairs hallway....Or the laundry room.....

Another impulse purchase, and a great resource

Can you guess what it is?

I love wallpaper, and have been using it with many clients, but I have never had it myself.  So I am so excited!  I picked it up from The Designer's Attic.  Do you know this site?  There are amazing deals on designer fabrics and wallpapers nearly daily (one a day).  The paper I bought is discontinued Schumacher and was basically priced less than cost.  I don't know how she does it, but you should definitely bookmark her site!

More to come on how I'm going to use it.

A plan

While the living room rug continues to confound me, I finally have a plan for the upstairs hallway that is making me very, very happy.

I was (very loosely) inspired by this.

(Muriel Brandolini's old bathroom, published in New York Living, which continues to be one of my all-time favorite design books.)

This wallpaper.

My grandmother's 60s gold leaf sconces 

And black and white candid photography (maybe the party pictures from our wedding?), in a staggered line.

Only problem?  Funds for the wallpaper.

Alas.

You know I am thinking about creating my own stencil or block print, right?  Ugh.

Creating a dramatic headboard wall...without the headboard

I recently went trolling for inspiration in a stack of old House Beautiful magazines.  There's something fun about paging through years of a magazine to see the progression of some trends (striped dhurries!) as well as some good ideas played out in the hands of different designers.

Take the small space conundrum of a tiny bedroom: the room that could most benefit from the drama of a headboard doesn't have the space to support one.

David Netto solves this problem by upholstering the wall in a high drama Josef Frank print.

And Stephen Shubel sheaths a guest room wall in book wallpaper in his own cottage.

"Like Marie Antoinette in a T Shirt," he says.  Love.

Want to accomplish this on your own?  Anthropologie has a bunch of great wall murals and retail papers that would do the trick.

Party Animals is like a cheekier Josef Frank, while this Great Meadow mural is a lighter take on the matter.

Anthro's got the books, too, more colorful and a little less serious, as they are all stacked paperbacks.

Or you could go for the same cheeky tromp l'oeuil (and hit the gallery trend to boot) with the Gallery Curator paper.

Makes me wish I had a little bed niche somewhere in my house!

What do you think: would you wallpaper a headboard wall?

Retail Wallpaper

It's no secret that wallpaper is back in a big way.  So perhaps it should be no surprise that the most trend-forward big box. catalog retailers are getting in on the action.

There have been a few retail sources for to-the-trade papers for a while now, most notably Walnut Wallpaper, and Anthropologie was early to the table with a tight selection of some designed-elsewhere papers.

Now, West Elm and Serena and Lily are out with their own collections, available direct to the consumer.

Serena and Lily's collection has 25+ designs, most in various colorways, and retail for a reasonable $88/ 27' single roll, which is similar to many of the trade papers I sell.

West Elm's papers are pretty pricey at $299 for an 11-yard single roll, but they are low-VOC and, it appears, removable, making them an option for apartment dwellers and all you DIY types.

So, are you craving wallpaper these days?  I seem to be choosing a lot of it for clients lately.

And P.S., Serena and Lily is having a huge sale right now.  Just use code GOODSAVE at checkout to get $100 of $500, $500 of $1500, and various deals in between.

Living Vicariously

I have to say, there are so many different design ideas I have always wanted to use.  Too many--and sometimes too conflicting--to put them all in my own home.  So I love living vicariously through clients!

It looks like I will be getting to try out a long-time favorite with a new client.

Emily A. Clark

Marianne Simon

The Parker Palm Springs

That's right: grasscloth on the ceiling.  Love it!  The master bedroom was an addition and has a terrible acoustic tile-style ceiling.  Fingers crossed that we can mask it with texture.

The walls are paneled, too, and I like the effect of mixing paneling in a light neutral with a warmer/richer color grass.

Exciting!

Sneak Peek: console DIY

My impatient streak continues. I'm going to show you a nearly-but-not-quite-finished project that is completely unstyled. Heck, we didn't even clean up before I snapped these pictures.

My client had this old mid-century console that was in rough shape. Her dad refinished the exterior, but the doors and drawers were a mess, and my client wanted to transform it into a quirky statement piece for her family/play room.

Enter vintage wallpaper and some leftover navy chalkboard paint.

So cute, right?  I love that the wallpaper has lots of movement and a cream background to lighten the piece.  And leaving the pulls in their natural wood state connects the front of the piece to the outside.

After testing various adhesives on a piece of plywood at home, we ended up using mod podge, both under and over the paper, and are pretty happy with the results.  I did not take step by step how-to photos, but I can try to break it down another day if anyone would like to try this at home.

Hey, don't forget to enter the Novica giveaway!

Hello, Celerie Kemble wallcoverings!

Hot off the press: gorgeous new wallcoverings from Celerie Kemble at Schumacher!

Hello hand-printed patterns on natural sisal or grasslcoth!

Hello modern bargello in trendy mint and burgundy!

Hello hothouse flowers, re-interpreted!

Hello classic acanthus, updated!

Why hello, japanese-inspired deco cloud deliciousness!

I will take one of each, please.

Vintage Wallpaper

Did you know that there are 52 PAGES of vintage wallpaper on Etsy?

True story.

I often lust after the papers at secondhand rose, but right now I'm working with a client with a couple of DIYs in mind, including sprucing up a seen-better-days Danish credenza with a little wallpaper, so I need fun, inexpensive paper in small quantities.  Etsy is not letting me down.

In browsing, I was struck by how modern some of these look today, in that old "everything old is new again way."  Observe:

Vintage:

here

Contemporary:


here

Vintage:


here

Contemporary:


Orla Kiely, here

Vintage:


here

Contemporary:

Suzy Hoodless for Osborne and Little

Vintage:


here

Contemporary:


Suzy Hoodless for Osborne and Little

Vintage:

It's Shumacher!  Here.

Contemporary:


Here.

Maybe those last two should be switched, come to think of it.

This one feels fairly "now":


here.

I though Cole and Sons was making something similar, but if they are I can't find it.

And I really, really love this.  It's not current (most of the above are vintage 60s or 70s; this one hails from the 40s), but it is so very sweet.


here


Now, certainly none of these are exact.  But there is a certain spirit carrying forward, wouldn't you say?

Would you ever hang a vintage paper?  Does it feel fresh to you, or do you think these patterns are showing their age?

Now if only I could find the paper from the nursery in our house in the 70s.  Two walls read "rainbow" over and over in rainbow colored bubble letters, running in stripes on the diagonal.  (I'll give you a minute to picture that.)  The other two walls had little houses with silhouetted trees around them, and a rainbow over each and every one.

So, last question: any spectacularly dated wallpapers in your youth?

Wallpapered Closets

Thom Filicia

How gorgeous are those wallpapered doors?  Definitely a maximalist space, but I love the effect.

I have a client with a tiny bedroom but a huge wall of closets dominating the main wall--the wall you see when entering the room. The fix? Turn them into a feature. We chose a modern wallpaper and hardware to soften more traditional door moldings and the results are awesome. I'll hopefully share photos when the room is complete.

In the meantime, this gives you an idea:

Source: dreamitbuilditstyleit.blogspot.com via Tahirah on Pinterest

Source: theenchantedhome.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Wallpaper can work the opposite way, too.  If you want your doors to disappear, rather than stand out, try covering them in the same paper as the walls.

Source: fromtherightbank.com via Heather on Pinterest

In this fantastic room, even the closet molding is wallpapered in that sort of animal print pattern.

Source: mydesignchic.com via Heather on Pinterest

To turn doors into a piece of art, murals work nicely, don't you think?

Source: gallery.apartmenttherapy.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: lookbook.elledecor.com via Heather on Pinterest

Wallpaper has been "back" for a while now, it's fun to see it used in such fun ways!