The Art of Wallpaper

GETTING CREATIVE with wallpaper doesn’t begin and end with the wallpaper pattern. Creativity extends to the many ways wallpaper can be used inside the home.

by DIANE FRANKLIN

San Francisco–based Heidi Wright Mead has been hanging paper since her high school days, in the 1970s. She says she’s seen an evolution in the way homeowners use wallpaper to enliven their living spaces.

“What I’m seeing is a shift. People are now using wallpaper to create a feature wall,” she says.

Patterns for feature walls tend to be large-scale and geometric, imparting impact, says Mead. Imagine such a pattern, rendered in a trending powdery blue or pastel pink, used to create a feature wall behind the headboard in a bedroom. That’s contemporary design at its finest.

Another eye-catching option for a feature wall is the wallpaper mural, which adds visual interest and personality to an interior space such as a foyer or a dining room.

“Wallpaper today is becoming more like art,” Mead says. “Without a large outlay of money, you can transform a room in a quick, easy way by doing just one wall.”

The creative use of wallpaper extends beyond the vertical walls of a room to the ceiling, also known as “the fifth wall.” Metallic papers, in particular, look beautiful in ceiling installations, says Mead: “They’re gorgeous on a ceiling with a chandelier because they’re so reflective when you turn on the lights. Metallics are also installer-friendly. They’re easier to hang than the old foils of the past.”

Homeowners should also consider natural materials.

“We’re seeing the use of natural fibers, such as grasscloths and weaves,” Mead reports. “Even though they’ve been around a while, they don’t seem to be going out of style. They give an added layer to the design of a space.”