The “mixing up whites” post from last week inspired me to delve a bit deeper. How to keep a scheme light, white but still fresh? In my opinion, the spaces we inhabit should have four main characteristics: a bit of colour, movement, timelessness and most importantly, be an adaptable backdrop for the clutter of our lives. We need to be able to mould our lives around these spaces effortlessly without compromising on aesthetics. Meaning, our spaces needn’t be neutral.
I have found a solution. I have discovered a wallpaper, yes a wallpaper that ticks all of the above boxes. “Timeless, colourful, adaptable, patterned but attractive and fun?”, I hear you ask?
Hell yeah. Very much so. Plus it is printed using actual paint, so there is a ‘real’ element to the paper. Plus the pattern is informed by Aztec designs. Any designs which make subtle references to global cultures is an aesthetic that has always appealed (….within reason). But I have to add right here that I am slightly scared of wallpaper. It is there for life (or a good few years at least), so you have to get it right at the beginning. No room for mind-changing.
You might think (as I used to) wallpaper is a no no, reserved only for 1) the older generation, 2) small rooms or 3) rooms with light traffic i.e. spare bedrooms and the downstairs loo. No! If you are worried about little sticky finger marks/dog spray all over the newly-installed, hand-printed wallpaper in your hallway – fair point. Then consider dado-height panelling with wallpaper above. Fear not, this is not a throw back to the 80’s but more of a practical solution to having wallpaper in high-traffic areas of our homes. The original purpose of panelling was, after all, functional.
There’s another plus….this particular wallpaper is a perfect example of how to get movement onto a large surface area – an idea that I explored previously on The Interior Spy, with the help of Little Greene Paint Company (http://www.theinteriorspy.com/2017/05/18/new-little-greene/).
An amusing, subtle and versatile wallpaper that ticks all of the boxes. Go for it!
