I grew up surrounded by wallpaper. This was my mother's feeble attempt at interior decorating. When I was old enough to voice an opinion on the direction of my own room, I begged for wallpaper every time, but it was never the soft, gold and green stripe my mother used, it was bold and graphic and in my mind it screamed, "style!"
Although my mother and father nearly divorced over hanging wallpaper in the bathroom (literally, it was the only time I ever heard them fight!) my passion for wall coverings is still strong today.
Nowadays, wallpaper is considered a fine art. Some illustrators and interior designers have given up their small canvases to go for full-on 21" repeats. If you are lucky enough to have a good wallpaper store in your area, grab a venti latte and spend an afternoon flipping through pages and pages of glorious textures and colors and let your imagination wander...
I have a board on Pinterest that shows some of my favorites (see it here) and below are some new images I recently discovered.
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| This damask rose print is brought into the 21st century by pairing it with the deep charcoal color above. |
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| Get bold by using an exaggerated print. But be warned, keep the furnishings minimal which is why this is especially good for hallways. |
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| If you're afraid of choosing the right wallpaper, pattern picking a tone on tone color will always help you get your feet wet. I am not a fan of the color purple but who can deny the loveliness of this room? The brown (maybe velvet) headboard grounds the decor and keeps it from being overly feminine. |
We are so programmed to decorate our
kitchens for function, we forget the beauty they could take on. Point
above: the shiny stainless appliances coordinate perfectly with the gold
wallpaper; a look that might help us keep the kitchen cleaner than
usual.
Be still my
heart, yes, this is concrete wallpaper. If you long for an industrial
look, need a touch of urban to make you feel younger, this may be for
you. Try in a kitchen or bath or wrap aroung a column. 
This lovely pattern can go feminine of masculine. Imagine
using with black furniture or cast iron tables. Good for most any room.
A little bit of gaudy can be a good thing! This large
copper tub might seem out of place or over scale if it weren't for the
metallic raspberry print wallpaper (and the over-the-top mirror).
If wallpaper still scares you try one wall like this
above. I disagree with the shelf used here. One simple oval mirror would
be better. The print is too busy to have so much stuff on the shelves
as well as the other prints on the wall.
