Wallpaper as Muse

Oh, how I love wallpaper! I know it’s not kosher for a faux finisher to say that but it’s a not-so-secret crush of mine. I guess I love wallcoverings in general since they all do battle with The Barren Wastelands (which is what I call most white walls).

Wallpaper is experiencing a renaissance. Many people really enjoy these designs but hesitate because of the glue/pasting/taking off issue — a speed bump that both paint and most faux finishes do not have. However, with the right stencil pattern, the design can be painted in and changed easily when a fresh look is desired. Stencil companies have taken this ball and run with it: you can now find everything from historic patterns to modern linear patterns. Some great companies offering these designs are The Stencil Library, Royal Design Studio, Henny Donovan Motif, Designer Stencils, Wallovers (what a great name), Stencil Planet or you can conduct a search through Stencil Search — try using the words allover, repeat, damask or wallpaper stencils.

We’ve done a few commissions ourselves. Here’s two of my faves (coincidentally, both using the same stencil):

There is a company in Chicago, DesignRed, that does gorgeous historical work — they were recently named the best faux finishers in that area. Check out their stencil work here. Beautiful.

Here are some ideas beyond walls, either painted, screened or paper itself, from various books such as Florence Broadhurst, Modern Glamour, Tricia Guild Pattern, Wall to Wall and The Complete Book of Paint.

Until next time!

UPDATE 2/24: I added a second view of one of our fave commissions and a link to the stencil provider, after the original post went up. Cheers!