Hung up on Wallpaper

Schumacher, one of the most venerable decorating houses out there, has a marvelous site with great inspirational uses of its wallpaper:

I just love how the shapes of the leaves and the gold vases pick up the pattern of this Zimba pattern in Soft Chartreuse.

Same thing here with the Fireworks pattern in Glacier. The twigs, the texture of the chair cushions and rug, and the billowy shapes of the vase and light all reinforce the wallpaper’s look.

Here, from the sconce to the flowers to the pulls on the drawers of the chest, the Valais Stripe pattern pulls it all together.

Osborne & Little also provides a cool gallery of room settings to get you thinking about how to use wallpaper.

This is the greatest idea: Cover a panel in wallpaper, such as this Stanza pattern in Lovelace, and place it against the wall, so it’s easy to replace. Also, by using pillows and accessories to echo the wallpaper, replacing the room’s look becomes much easier than, say, buying a new sofa.

See caption above. Same concept, using this fabulous Nina Campbell wallcovering (owned by Osborne & Little) in the Perroquet collection.

Here, a lesson in miniatures. If you have a small nook somewhere – a dressing room, maybe? – don’t be afraid to go bold, as they did here with the Folia pattern in Clarendon.

Next Zoffany has to great line of papers from understated to big and bold. There seems to be something for everyone here. What caught my eye was this modest little pattern called Starflower. Rather than setting a room’s theme, it can fade into the background, but give even plain pieces of furniture some punch.

As a parting shot, here’s something totally fun, but not exactly for everyone – the Serious Bokay in orange from the Nama Rococo Wallpaper Studio. This paper, combined with the aqua chair, yellow table, lilac lamp stand, and green pears just puts you in a good mood.