Good Life of Design

Friday, January 28, 2011

Wallpaper Choices!

As I mentioned in my post on “What is On my Mind” for 2011, I showed a picture of wallpaper.

The reason for that, is I want to change the existing entry hall wallpaper in my home. I was trying to remember how long we have had this wallpaper up, and it has been at least 17 years. My how time flies when you are having fun!!

As with all changes that are made in our homes there is usually more than one room to think about when you have an open room concept.

To see my home you can go to my side bar and click on House Tour and it will take you to Terri’s blog La Dolfina. She so graciously did a blog post on my home after a visit here.

You can basically see the living room, the kitchen and the guest bath from the entry hall. All of the papers will have to coordinate.

If you were to stand in the middle of my entry you would look to the right to see the kitchen and family room.

If you look to the left you will see the living room take a couple of steps forward and look to the left and you see the guest bath.

I am a planner so I have to have some idea of what will work in all the adjacent rooms before making the final plunge.

In my experience if a plan is not made a person might be putting themselves in a box or a design that they might not like for the adjoining rooms.

The existing kitchen/dining room wallpaper will be staying the same, so I have to keep that in mind.

I am not sure about the guest bathroom. That will be determined once I make my final decision on the entry.

In my previous post on How to Look for Wallpaper I mentioned that one must keep in mind, the feel, the colors and the patterns that could possibly work in their room.

I am looking for wallpapers that have a fresh, crisp and open feeling!

The colors will have to work with green and white, black and white and blue and white.

Let me show you a couple of patterns that have caught my interest as possibilities.

baldwin bamboo chinoiserie chic blog (313x400)

This pattern is Baldwin Bamboo by Scalamandre. I love the fresh look it gives in this kitchen. I first saw this on Chinoiserie Chic Blog. If you need a dose of Chinoiserie, Beth’s wonderful blog is the place to go. I love my visits there.

I realize that everyone’s monitors will show the greens differently. I would never order a wallpaper without ordering a sample first.

This paper has the green and white and a touch of porcelain blue. I am adding more blue and white to my home, so I feel this might be a perfect combiner paper. I call it a combiner paper because it would combine the look of my living room with the look of my kitchen/dining room.

Most wallpaper companies will send a 6-8ft drop of a paper. I have known companies like Schumacher to actually send a double roll.

There will be a cost for a sample, but it is well worth it. You must always sample it in your home and also you need to see how the pattern will lay out on your walls.

Cowan and Tout Bamboo Decorpad (391x600)

This Cowan and Tout paper is easy on the eye and stays neutral with the use of just green and white. Not as exciting as the Baldwin Bamboo, but definitely a possibility.

cowan and tout bamboo different colorway (400x297)

Cowan & Tout in green

Since I am adding more blue and white I will probably get a sample of this paper also, you never quite know what will work until you have a sample in the room.

Cowan & Tout Bamboo

I am just beginning my looking so I have a lot more to explore, but I have loved these two patterns for awhile now. I think I have to at least explore the possibility don’t you?

What do you think of these patterns so far?

“Enjoy the Process” of:

Exploring the possibilities with wallpaper for your home!

Kathysue

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

How To Look For Wallpaper??!!!

Yes! there is a method to looking for wallpaper, read on.......

......Looking for wallpaper can be daunting. Most wallpaper stores will have thousands of books with hundreds of choices in each book.

Before going shopping I think it is a good idea to think of the room and the feeling you want it to have, and what colors you like. It is also good to keep in mind what patterns you tend to gravitate towards.

Chloe Sevigny's Home! Green imperial trellis wallpaper

Imperial Trellis seems to be a favorite pattern for so many people.

Looking on line can help in this process. Start by just looking at patterns that you are attracted too.
Save those images, so when you look back you will have a frame of reference. It is amazing how unconsciously you will gravitate towards certain patterns.

As far as colors go, you of course will have to keep in mind what colors are already in the room that will be staying. It is good to have swatches of existing fabrics and colors that are in the room with you.

The best way to look at a wallpaper book is to pull the book out slightly on the edge of the shelf so it can open just enough to fan through the pages. If you see a color or a pattern you like in the fanning process then pull the book off the shelf and take a closer look, if not put it back on the shelf.

There is no reason to spend time turning page by page in a book of flocked papers when you are looking for grass cloth or looking at a floral when you want stripes.

The fanning process will make your looking go more quickly.

Also in my experience after about two hours of looking your brain can no longer digest anymore color or pattern so take a break and come back another day to do more looking if you do not find what you are looking for.

Wallpaper stores have their books in order of style or types of wallpaper. They will also have a wallpaper resource guide that is like a wallpaper dictionary. The wallpaper books will be put into categories for you.

Let’s say you are looking for sail boats, they will list all the books that have sail boats in them or stripes or a geometric pattern. Ask to see the resource guide book and then the clerk can direct you to the books that are listed that they actually carry in the store.

Most stores will also allow you to check the books out and take them home for a day or so just like the library does.

Once you have the books home I suggest that you open the books up to the patterns you are considering and place them in the room where you will see them first thing in the morning.

I prefer to look at whatever I am trying to decide on for my home first thing in the morning.

Your perspective is fresh and uncluttered with the thoughts of the day. You will automatically gravitate towards the paper that you truly love. As we look throughout the day we will talk ourselves in or out of something several times.

Being fresh in the morning has always worked for me in my decision making process. What I talked myself into loving at night, I will usually not like in the morning when I am being true to myself!!

Once you find a few patterns that you like ask to order samples of each. Wallpaper companies offers samples for a price, but the size of the sample will vary from company to company. Get the longest sample you can a good 6-8 foot drop is the best way to go.

Some companies have pre-cut samples measuring only a little under two feet. Ask to order 3 of those samples, then you can get a better idea of how the pattern will possibly lay out.

This is exactly what Sherry from Design Indulgence blog has done with her own wallpaper choice.(Be sure and visit Sherry's blog she is a delight and her blog is inspirational and a fun read!!)

I never, ever order wallpaper without sampling it first. Once you have the samples inside your home the decision will become more obvious.

These are just a few of the pointers I have learned from personal experience when looking at wallpaper.

Since I plan on looking for new paper for my entry I am reminded of just how to look for wallpaper and I thought I would pass along my thoughts on the process.

I have a few more pointers, so come back, and hopefully I will be able to show you some of the papers I am contemplating!!

“Enjoy the Process” of:

Looking for wallpaper more strategically!

Kathysue

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

It’s Baaaaack!!!

Actually the line was, “They’re Baaaack,” from Poltergeist, but I was referring to Wallpaper!!!! so It’s Baaaaack fit the title better!

Graham Brown Wallpaper

We have been seeing wallpaper for quite awhile in design magazines and more and more designers are using it in their projects .

We all have a love/hate relationship with wallpaper, thanks to the horrible over-use of it in the late 80’s early 90’s!! Remember all the co-ordinates?

Why use one paper in a room when you can use three and don’t forget the border and the matching fabric, YIKES!!! No wonder wallpaper had a bad reputation. Then there is the dreaded removal process, Urrggh!

Wallpaper for 2011 is much more graphic than it’s floral frou-frou predecessors. The colors range from soft tone on tones to bright and cheerful clear colors.

I found a few examples of looks that I think are current and fun for today’s homes.