Paper is a definitive statement of BELIEF. Like marriage or a tattoo you’re most likely vested in a positive outcome, if not why do it. It’s hopeful. It shouldn’t be entered into lightly without considerable forethought. Most definitely not after cocktails with the gals. One never wants to wake to a giant bird of paradise wallpaper covering said person’s formerly understated dining area. A unicorn displaying its singular horn prominently between your shoulder blades….and above all else one, certainly does not want to awake to a beer can tab for a wedding band on one’s left hand. That’s just wrong. These types of ill-conceived, semi-permanent decisions are both expensive to undo, and can leave a mark just below the surface.
Sarah Smyth installing my Farrow and Ball . Lotus Paper
Tattoo if that’s your thing. Marriage – we all know the stats – still to say not to love just to save myself from the possibility of having to dissolve the glue that so steadfastly bonds me to a man, or the paper on the wall, as the case may be….unthinkable!
Tools of the trade.
So wallpaper – I do. I like to use it in small space, in surprising ways. I like it to be the wow when you turn the corner, the unexpected when you open the closet, the delightful interlude when you escape to the Powder Room. I want you to glance at the ceiling in contemplation, and be startled, to be inspired.
Finished!
Wallpaper has an opinion. It’s the exclamation point at the end of a sentence, it’s the final argument, it’s the punch line to a great joke.
Clarence House . Tibet Tiger . closet installation.
Fear not you faint of heart design enthusiasts. There is a way to make a quiet statement instead of one that’s bold. Think – finding a covering with a base tone that matches your paint color and whose print is just a few shades darker – subtle but surprising nonetheless.
Cole and Sons . Magnolia Lavendar…cover story for another project.
Unexpected, simple, moving, tells a story (yes, wallpaper can tell a story), or just plain beautiful. These are the elements of memorability – stickiness – love, and I for one think you deserve to have an opinion, and deserve to be love for your fabulous self.
2 Harvard Place . Charlestown . Cabinet interior papered in Cole and Sons Hexagon by David Hicks
Having my own series of “rules” I adhere to regarding paper, means that sometimes I find something I am really drawn to, and must carry a little folded sample around with me for years before I find just the right spot for it. Doesn’t work in 3, maybe I’ll use it in 4. Heart set on using it on the ceiling in 5 but it’s prickly nature pushes it away, perhaps it’ll work in 10. Wallpaper can make the ordinary – extraordinary and cover all manner of flaws.
Find a great installer like mine, Sarah Smyth of John Smyth, LLC. She is a true artist, and craftsperson, who is on the verge of retirement. I have made her promise not to leave me until my quest is complete. She’s agreed and I am grateful.
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