These walls can talk!
What Kelly Page has learned about wallpapering
Is wallpaper making a comeback? Absolutely, says Calico customer Kelly Page of Atlanta, Georgia. Kelly is a lifestyle blogger and social media maven [BlueGrayGal.com and @bluegraygal] plus wife, mother of three—and these days, also a home-school teacher, coach and camp director! Kelly re-did a guest room recently with Calico, creating a serene setting that stars a silvery lilac wallpaper.
Last year, Kelly also finished a major renovation of her home and used wallpaper to add visual interest to the passage from the mudroom, powder room and laundry room to her new kitchen. Kelly worked with designer Jessica Bradley on style, scale and pattern selection of wallpaper to pull these areas together for a harmonious finish. Here is what Kelly learned, as she told Jan Jessup of Calico:
Q: What rooms in your home did you wallpaper? And now that you've lived with it for a while, are you happy with having wallpaper in these rooms?
A: In the mudroom, we used a lattice design paper [Woven Trellis from Magnolia Home] as the bold scale works well here. There isn’t a lot of natural light in this space, some of the walls are covered with cabinets or lockers, and there are doorways to other rooms off this hallway. A patterned wallpaper is a good addition for a place with no carpet, no upholstery.
My designer taught me that the large-scale lattice paper would work in this space because the pattern would be over the paneling.
There is a smaller area off the mudroom with storage cabinets and a window seat [with Roman shade, pillows and a custom cushion from Calico, the latter in a Crypton Home performance fabric]. We thought the small-scale stylized croc pattern would complement the window seat area [from Jaclyn Smith in Heather].
The powder room in this area uses the same wallpaper as the mudroom for visual continuity. The textured ground in the paper makes it more forgiving in a powder room.
Q: Tell me about other areas in your home where wallpaper made the rooms more interesting.
A: In my home office, I put up a removable wallpaper, and it changed the whole look of the room. It’s great! Now my daughter is thinking about adding wallpaper behind the bookshelves in her room.
And in our guest room, we papered the entire room—it’s stunning! I wanted more of a pattern, but I still wanted it to read neutral. It’s like a little piece of tranquility and a bit feminine—a bluish-lavender color with birds. Everyone comments on this paper.
In Kelly’s pretty guest room, wallpaper marries all the design elements: the upholstered headboard, bedskirt, fan-pleated draperies and silver tone rods—all from Calico.
Q: Did you grow up with wallpaper? Do you have memories of rooms with wallpaper in your family home?
A: Yes, we had wallpaper in our main living areas and our kitchen. The family room had a navy blue floral pattern on the walls. My bedroom had a border wallpaper with koalas (my favorite animal as a kid). My mother loved to decorate and use bold colors. She also hung the wallpaper herself. It wasn’t perfect—but good enough was good enough!
As a teenager, I went through big wallpaper sample books and picked a sophisticated gold/emerald green/burgundy pattern with a border for my room. I went from cartoon pastel koalas to a geometric pattern in jewel colors!
Q: In your renovated home, was wallcovering a new addition?
A: We lived in the house for nine years before we remodeled, so I knew what had to change and how it needed to function. The hard part was getting the function down—decorating was the easy part, the pretty part.
In our first home, I experimented with wallpaper in a powder room. A designer friend convinced me to put a bold floral in a bathroom…and grasscloth elsewhere…and wallpaper in my office.
Q: Wallpaper is often chosen for smaller spaces, such as laundry rooms, powder rooms, dressing rooms, walk-in closets. Why do you think that is?
A: I think some people are afraid of the decision—wallpaper may seem more permanent than paint. I think if you went bolder, you would be happy with the payoff. It is removable, it’s not permanent. Just close your eyes and go for it!
Q: What else did you learn when selecting wallpaper?
A: When you look at wallpaper books, and something stops you, pay attention! If it makes you smile, look at it.
Q: Did the installation process go smoothly?
A: Very smoothly—our wallpaper installer knew exactly how much paper to order. He also did the final touches, such as papering the light switches to create a seamless look.
