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Your Walls Can Talk No more excuses - become fluent in wallpaper this weekend  Image courtesy "Wallpaper Projects: More than 50 Craft and Design Ideas for Your Home, from Accents to Art" (Chronicle Books, 2009) Some things just make the average person want to scream - bare walls are one of them. No matter how vibrant your paint color or how radical your freestanding pieces, a naked wall just looks amateur. This is where wallpaper can save your neck. Think of it as a cost-effective way to give your walls some crafty, artful spunk. "I love the idea of a wallpaper installation as a focal point," says designer Karen Combs, the founder of the Nama Rococo wallpaper line based in North Adams, Mass. "It can be viewed almost like a mural or art wall-installation. This works brilliantly in a spare, open space with just a few amazing pieces of furniture or sculptural objects." The Nama Rococo line of hand-painted wallpaper is inspired by the combination of an exciting, raw color palette ("nama" in Japanese means "raw") and a kind of Viennese rococo pattern motif. Don't assume that any wallpaper is just a one-trick pony, though. Derek Fagerstrom, the co-author of "Wallpaper Projects: More than 50 Craft and Design Ideas for Your Home, from Accents to Art" (Chronicle Books, 2009), suggests playing up versatility in the paper for unexpected results. "Even the tiniest scrap of wallpaper can make a bold and beautiful statement," Fagerstrom says. "Why not do an accent wall, or a door, or even a doorway? You can cover just about any object, from TV trays to cookie canisters to notebooks with wallpaper." Since covering all four walls can be expensive, save money by buying a small amount of wallpaper you love and framing it, or even wallpapering only part of a wall in decorative patterns or stripes. Fagerstrom even suggests forgetting traditional wallpaper altogether, using something "improvised" instead, like old maps or any other kind of durable paper. "Many new or rehabbed spaces often end up feeling devoid of mystery, beauty or wonder by the time they're ready to inhabit," Combs says. "I love to think that nontraditional wallpaper will help put that missing soul back into living spaces." When designing, be careful that your wallpaper doesn't overwhelm other furniture or ornate décor. "Simple neutrals, or solid colors are great," Fagerstrom says. "By not trying to compete with the walls, you'll see that both the furniture and the paper look that much better. Anything else will get lost in the paper." Artfully display (or disguise) your switch plate or outlet Materials -Switch plate and screws -Wallpaper scraps (approximately 6" square) Tools -Metal ruler -X-Acto knife -Pencil -Spray adhesive How-to 1. Cut a piece of your wallpaper at least 1" larger than your switch plate on all sides using an X-Acto knife and metal ruler as your guide. 2. Lay the paper pattern-side down on your work surface and place the switch plate in the center. 3. Trace the outline of the plate with a pencil. 4. Remove the plate and miter all four corners of the wallpaper at 45-degree angles. 5. Apply an even layer of spray adhesive to the front of the switch plate and the back of the wallpaper. 6. Set the plate facedown on the wallpaper and press firmly. 7. Apply an even layer of adhesive to the plate backing. 8. Fold the sides of the paper over the back of the switch plate, followed by the top and bottom, and press into place. 9. Cut an "x" from the corners of the switch slot with an X-Acto knife, and fold the paper edges over the slot edges. 10. Place the plate over your light switch and attach with screws. Reprinted from "Wallpaper Projects: More than 50 Craft and Design Ideas for your Home, from Accents to Art" by Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith, by arrangement with Quirk Packaging, Inc., a member of Chronicle Books LLC Copyright (c) 2009 by Quirk Packaging, Inc. |
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