Not Your Mother’s Wallpaper
It’s ‘Way More Interesting’ Than Paint, One Designer Says, And There Are A Slew Of Options
By TERRI SAPIENZA
If you’re considering wallpaper, your timing couldn’t be better.
In the past, wallpaper was regarded as a fussy, old-fashioned choice, too difficult to put up and harder to take down. Its reputation drove homeowners to paint.
Designers insist that wallpaper has never gone away, and among their clients they are no doubt right. But when widely popular chains such as Restoration Hardware, Anthropologie and Pottery Barn offspring PBteen come out with paper patterns, it’s a sign of mainstream acceptance.
In the past couple of months, Anthropologie has debuted five styles, mostly bold patterns in bolder colors. Restoration’s offerings are more subdued, with damasks and stripes in their hallmark latte and sagey shades. PBteen’s beach-themed wallpaper murals will launch in time for the summer; a pink camouflage paper will be available in the fall.
Paper is “way more interesting,” says Washington designer Sally Steponkus. “You get a lot of bang for your buck.” It generally costs more than paint: You’ll need about $70 worth of paint for a powder room and about $130 for wallpaper, depending on your choices, she says. But repainting will be necessary way before it’s time to repaper.
Reyne Kutz, of Edenridge, opted for wallpaper when she and her husband, Steve, remodeled their powder room, along with the kitchen and laundry room. They showed off the results on last weekend’s Junior League of Wilmington Heart of the Home kitchen tour.
The elegant Asian floral paper, Siam from the Thibaut “Pagoda” line, adds oomph to the small bath, which has deep-stained wooden moulding, a hardwood floor and a window valance that matches the paper. Kutz found the paper at Colonial Brandywine Rug and Drapery.
When Kutz was growing up, she says, all bathrooms had paper. “You have to fancy them up a little bit,” Kutz says.
The red, gold and green florals on the creamy yellow background pick up the color in her red Oriental rugs in the hallway and the hardwood floor in the bathroom.
“I think it’s classy, and it always has been,” Kutz says of wallpaper.
Wallpaper became popular in the 1700s, immigrating from Europe and China, says Sandy Brown, an interior designer based at Winterthur. Brown, who does full-service work for private clients, always recommends wallpaper as part of the mix when she’s designing a home’s look.
“It’s never been out of style for me,” Brown says, “but I’m starting to get calls from people just for wallpaper.”
She acknowledges that wallpaper isn’t always the best choice. People may want to change colors, for example, in children’s rooms as they grow up. “They want it quick, easy and inexpensive, and that’s when people paint,” she says.
But Brown agrees that Pottery Barn selling wallpaper is “going to make a difference because it’s going to impact the mainstream consumer.”
Designers say the right wallpaper can make a room appear larger or a ceiling feel higher. It can add interest where there are no architectural features, and it can help disguise damaged walls and other structural imperfections. Paper can bring out a homeowner’s personality and create atmosphere. And there are enough choices to please almost any taste, including large-scale graphics, metallics, silks, linens, velvet flocking, leather, grass cloth, bamboo, lacquer and burlap. Some faux-finish designs resemble silk, suede or marble, and others mimic metal, natural stone or brick.
And talk about versatility: Use wallpaper on all four walls, one accent wall or just the ceiling. Paper the inside of a closet or kitchen cabinets or use it to line shelves. Frame leftover pieces for use as art on painted walls
And say so long to your paper scraper, because many styles (including those from Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn and Anthropologie) have non-woven backing, which allows for easy removal, says Nick Cichielo, former chief executive of the Paint & Decorating Retailers Association. “Grab a corner, pull it and it comes off,” he says.
If that’s true, wallpaper could be sticking around for quite some time.
