LOVELY Timeless Wallpaper: Classic, Elegant, & Traditional Interiors captures a bit of the beauty of spaces elevated by pattern, color, and personality covered walls. While I don’t have the names and makers of every wallpaper below, you’ll get a sense of how patterns can be layered and mixed. The texture and beauty of wallpaper is definitely having a moment, and while more of an investment and commitment than paint, the results can be transformative, energetic, and dynamic.
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Timeless Wallpaper: Classic, Elegant, & Traditional Interiors
Wallpaper as an Accent Wall
We recently explored pretty wares designed by Julia Berolzheimer with Pottery Barn including this classic, vintage-inspired Pattern:
I love how this Poppy Crossover wallpaper was used as an accent in the bedroom below because it is proof that even one wall can be enough.
Wallpaper Can Calm an Interior
While it may not be your first instinct to add the texture of paper to a space that needs to calm down, it truly can be an effective move.
Of course there is a subjective element when selecting a wallpaper pattern. The blue trees below may be too busy for a bedroom for you, but there’s something very cocoon-like about it for me. There are colors and motifs that some of us want to wrap up in, yet those same elements may repel someone else.
That’s what is exceedingly delightful about humans and art and colors and the spice of life. No wonder wallpaper is one of those design elements that feels utterly personal and can richly tell a story.
It may surprise you to learn that adding wallpaper to our entry at the Georgian was not a tricky decision at all despite the commitment. (You’ll recall that in our entry, there were no walls, we built them ourselves to create a more intimate, atmospheric foyer.) And I didn’t ever second-guess the decision.
As soon as the walls went up, it was clear we needed something organic, classic, and timeless.
Which Wallpaper Pattern is for You?
Floral patterns are common, and there is such a broad variety of the theme. The scale can be large:
Some floral patterns can even feel geometric or abstract.
Certain floral wallpapers have a more vintage or historic feel.
And the colorways are endless!
Have you noticed how many folks are adding personality-laden paper to their bathrooms and powder rooms lately? I recall the 1980s being an era where the trend was also huge.
And it gets me thinking about cultural or societal patterns that correspond to such decorating trends. Are there certain eras where we become hungrier for nature themes or historical patterns?
Wallpaper designs, natural fiber-made papers, and nature-themed prints have been around for ages since bringing the outside in feels life giving and nurturant. Yet I think it is interesting to consider the junction certain design trends surge.
Our relationship to technology and the virtual world has changed dramatically in the last two decades, and it’s fascinating to notice how it influences our design preferences.
Traditional and Modern Wallpaper Motifs
While the choice of a specific paint color is the most common way to create a backdrop for a room’s decor and express personal style, choosing patterns expresses far more individuality and personal style.
Think of the personality traits that spring to mind when you spot a whimsical wallpaper pattern that brings a smile. Is that decorator light-hearted, quirky, or a little eccentric?
Do they have an engaging sense of humor or a playfulness in their spirit?
How does the mood of the colors and subject matter relate to the homeowner?
It truly is a fascinating analytic journey to consider. Professional interior designers will learn all sorts of personal information about clients when it comes time to choose patterns.
For instance, there are folks who have intense feelings about the color yellow.
There are people who may be open to covering the walls with a lavender paper not because purple is a favorite color but because their favorite aunt adored it, and seeing the color fills them with warmth.
We all have these hidden and unhidden sensitivities and proclivities that may surface when we choose art or embellishments.
Wallpaper Can Intensify Memories
The thing about understated, flat, one dimensional neutral walls is they can be forgettable.
But oh the power of bold pattern and saturated full bodied colors!
I personally have lived in many, many different homes over the years so I have a wealth of experience with wallpapers personally. My folks worked in a profession where we moved every couple of years, and my parents decorated our homes colorfully and beautifully to distinguish them and express their idea of “home.”
Some of the wallpapers they chose for our homes were not my style, but I must say that they were all memorable! They affected my brain’s wiring and memory storage in a particular way.
I’m not sure we pay this aspect of decorating and home design enough respect or study.
Colors and patterns become entangled with the memories we form, and they may keep working their magic on us years away from them.
How to Choose Patterns that Suit You AND Your Home
Is it okay to use country French toile wallpaper patterns in a city apartment?
It depends. (I covered three rooms with French style traditional patterns in a city condo we where we lived in the 80s! And I covered a room’s walls with periwinkle bunnies in a rural townhouse.). While there aren’t fast rules, it truly helps to have a designer or design savvy friend helping with such stylistic decisions.
If you fall in love with a particular wallpaper, yet the color story is a departure from the rest of your home, it may still be possible to use it.
Americans in particular get anxious about “matching.” Maybe that wallpaper you love can be paired with trim color or painted furniture in tones that relate to the rest of your home’s decor.
Perhaps you could use it with wainscoting or on just one statement wall.
It’s even possible to use wallpaper as framed artwork, framed panels, or in smaller areas to be enjoyed in an alternate fashion.
Just imagine opening up this wardrobe every single day and being greeted with this beautiful interior:
Or imagine covering the walls of a powder bath with colors or flowers you adore but don’t want to tire of.
Is it Time to Sample Wallpaper?
Don’t forget that just like sampling paint colors, it pays to sample wallpaper too.
Live with it taped on the wall for a little while.
Even more important if you plan to paper a ceiling:
And don’t forget you can start small if you have never lived with much pattern. Line dresser or desk drawers with a beautiful wallcovering or fabric.
Try not to think about how others might respond to a pattern that makes you feel great.
Because the whole point of feathering your nest is to create a space that feels supportive of you (and your values) and not to reflect a particular vibe for outsiders to admire.
It’s such a critical distinction at a time when our lives and homes are regularly broadcast (while entertaining and sharing our homes with friends non-virtually has become more rare!).
If you have a moment, do check out THIS POST with colorful, adventurous inspiration.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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