Pretty Paper

Dudes & Dudettes, you peeps are the bomb-diggity. Seriously. If you dig a saliva dripping cheek, I would be wet-smooching each and every one of you in thanks for your spirit-lifting encouragement. Your sweetness oozed all over Bower Power.

Currently, I am in Steeler Nation - yup, Pittsburgh - here to celebrate grandma's homecoming. And having a grand time reminiscing about her fabulousness. And I wanted to share a bit of her glamour goodness with all of you in the area of home decor - specifically wallpaper. She had her halls covered with ornate paper with flocked details. It felt like crushed velvet. And it begged children to touch it more than the youngest member of the Jackson Five. My grubby little hands could never resist.

This post is inspired by grandma - who is probably teaching Jesus how to bust a move as we speak.

First - get some wallpaper inspiration here:



Sure, wallpaper has a worse reputation than the IRS when it comes to sticking it to ya but these days the work will be well worth it. The new styles and lovely patterns can turn so-so into la-la! Take for instance this Ballard Designs room with the contrasting black and white. It grounds the room for a classic and bold feel and makes the white shower curtain really pop. And the country patterned Southern Living laundry room could bring that sweet farm air into the most lofty New York apartment.




I love how the stripes in this indulgent children's room make the ceiling seem five miles high and takes the attention away from the whimsical pattern on the walls. The paper is barely noticable due to the monochromatic color scheme! And just throw me in with grandma because the textural West Elm room is stopping my heart. Just beautiful.

Second - check out some of the wallpapers that are just like grandma's new home...get it?...heavenly, duh...




Modern Grasscloth
Faux Trees




Ballard Designs Trellis
Topkapi in Powder Blue



Neutral Stripe
Colorful Floral Pattern

And C - get hands on with this interactive wallpaper tool over at Home Depot. It is addictive - not as much as grandma's nut roll - but I would definitely say it comes in at a close second. Plus it doesn't entail a twenty pound weight gain and setting up camp on a certain flushable fixture.

And Number Five, for a ultra useful wallpaper calculator - check it out here.


So what's it gonna be folks? Willing to take the plunge and do an accent wall in paper? How bout some fancy new shelf liners or papering the back of a cabinet or built-ins? Or do you have the guts to go all the way with an entire papered room? Be bold my friends. Not all paper has a cutesy flowered border or makes you gag like the thought of reused catheters.