Interiors refresh
If staring at your own four walls for months on end has left you yearning for change, then A-list interior designer Joanna Plant has the solution: statement wallpaper. As the next major interior design trend, there is a method to mastering wallpaper and here Joanna breaks down exactly what that is, from prints and texture, to where to shop.
It won’t have gone unnoticed that wallpaper has, of late, become a bit of a ‘thing’ and is slowly but surely shrugging off its fuddy-duddy vibes of old. Where it wins over a plain painted wall is its ability to transform a room, especially one that lacks scale or architectural detail. I learnt this myself after repeatedly hitting a wall when trying to decorate my loft conversion bedroom at home a few years ago. With no straight walls to hang pictures on or opportunity for curtains, a straightforward paint colour was just not cutting it. I suddenly landed on the idea of using wallpaper to provide visual interest and atmosphere and then went all out and papered every surface including the sloping ceiling and VOILA! I now have a wonderfully enveloping room that is joyful to wake up in.
I used a vintage Laura Ashley paper which is deeply nostalgic with its birds and winding florals but there are lots of masculine alternatives.
I’m a huge fan of stripes for their ability to provide pattern without ‘pattern’, particularly a smart pyjama stripe which is much less man-repeller than its prettier alternative.
I am, however, not a fan of the feature wall as I find it unbalances the room and leaves the plain walls feeling rather unloved.
If the idea of papering the whole room is too much of a stretch for either the nerves or budget, a lovely way to introduce it is to line a bookcase or cupboard. This way you contain the paper which sits in the background behind books or objects rather nicely. We like to use marbled paper which comes in small sheets or wallpaper with a small repeat print.
Equally, if pattern is not your thing or you are concerned that you will get bored of it, a plain textured paper works beautifully to provide colour and atmosphere, and is a terrific backdrop for pictures and expressive curtain and upholstery fabrics.Wallpaper does something clever with scale and proportion: it makes small rooms appear larger and gives large spaces, which can lack atmosphere, intimacy.
Lastly, something to consider is that the installation can often cost more than the paper itself and is a very specialist trade. Make sure to involve your wallpaper hanger right from the get-go and make sure you have considered the setting out of the pattern, where the cuts are to be made and how much to order. Also, that the pattern is the right way up!
Joanna’s favourite wallpaper suppliers:
Hamilton Weston | Watts | Fromental | de Gournay | Lewis & Wood | Barneby Gates