Wide World of Wallpaper
The wallpaper in my room growing up was a yellow metallic damask and I hated it. I covered every inch of it with posters and pages ripped out of magazines. It felt old and creepy. I guess you can take the girl out of the wallpapered room but the pattern is still burned in her brain because now I can't get enough creepy wallpaper. Oh but there was a time not that long ago when I couldn't have my heart's desire. It's natural that when you rent you dream of wallpaper. Visions of damask and toile would dance in my head but alas, those walls were not mine to adorn. I’d paint…or more accurately Tim would paint and honestly, he’d do a pretty good job of approximating the texture I wanted. Still, my heart yearned for wallpaper. This deer deserved damask damnit:
When we were looking for a house to buy in LA, we stumbled upon one house that hadn’t been touched since the late 60’s and was owned by a little old French couple. They were adorable but the house needed way too much work. We passed on the house but just as we were leaving the agent opened the door to the laundry room and said, “I think you should see this.”
Inside I found floor to ceiling psychedelic foil wallpaper glowing in all its metallic splendor. If I could have bought just that room I would have. I gasped, I grabbed Tim’s arm and in that moment I knew that although this house wasn’t for us, I too would one day have a wallpapered laundry room. Here are a few of my favorite wallpapers.
My number one wallpaper company is Timorous Beasties. London based, Timorous Beasties offers one of the best collections of flora and fauna which is my personal favorite style of wallpaper lately. They also offer fabric and a limited run of bespoke furniture pieces. Here are a few of my favorites from their site, definitely check out their more avant-garde offerings too:
I actually saw the large print version of the Iguana paper (above) at Perch in downtown LA. I'd been coveting it for months and there it was in real life. It's too large a print for my walls but someday...someday.
And if by chance you are homesick for New York, there's their New York toile (sniff).
I even like this one. Oh no, darling, no one died. It's just art. It's called Bloody Empire:
So yeah this one is definitely in the avant-garde category. I'm not sure where I'd actually use Bloody Empire but it sure makes a statement, no? Miss Havisham approves.
Another great source is Walnut Wallpaper here in LA. They're also online. Here are a few of my favorites from their site:
But I'm not all doom and gloom, guys. I also love Pip Studio. They also offer fabric and home decor. It doesn't get happier than these:
Even Anthropologie is getting in the wallpaper game:
And Deyrolle in Paris has released a line of taxidermy inspired wallpapers which I am wild for. They are hard to find and order online because well, they're French and can't really be bothered. I love them all the same, maybe even more.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I haven't even touched on the great mid mod patterns, the art deco ones I'm eyeing, or yes, the yellow damasks. I'll save those for another post. Until then, I'll leave you with the pattern I picked for our laundry room from Graham and Brown. It's metallic. It's blue. It's mermaids. It's not up yet but there are two rolls in my closet waiting. Anyone have a good wallpaper hanger in LA?
