wallpaper

Object of Desire – Bespoke Wallpaper

Decorating, Interior Design, interiors, wallpaper

This week’s obsession is not the Royal Wedding for me, but the amazing new wallpapers which I keep seeing everywhere as new designers embrace the digital printing possibilities that are now available.  It seems that interior trends are embracing large scale and bright patterns, and while they may not be for everyone’s taste I love the boldness they offer.

The original bespoke wallpaper in Europe from makers such as de Gournay are exquisite and I have always lusted after a bespoke wall covering.  But they are not cheap, and there’s a part of me that just cannot justify the expense.  But just look at the beauty of them:

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Recently, due to my somewhat obsessive scouring of Instagram and Pinterest, I came across a designer team in New Zealand called Back To The Wall.  These designers do huge digitally printed murals in gorgeous designs, and while they may not have the hand finished painterly effect of a de Gournay, they are still pretty spectacular.

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In the UK, another digital mural company well worth looking at is Surface View.  They have a huge collection of images available to be printed up as large scale murals.  Their botanical and historical prints are pretty amazing and you can go as wild or as tame as you like in terms of design.  But all are large scale for a great feature wall.

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Another favourite who I love is House of Hackney.  They print beautiful designs which are quite intense, sometimes quirky and also designed as a set of 3 panels which can  repeat around a room if desired.

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I used their design Florida Onyx in my renovation of a townhouse as panels on wardrobes and it was stunning.  Who knows, one day I may be brave enough to do a whole room?!

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Wallpaper – The proper kind…

advertising, Decorating, Interior Design, interiors, wallpaper

I saw this today online and had to share… it’s like porn for interior enthusiasts!

I love the old colour, the music, the voice-over and most of all the skills and time involved in making the papers.

I know some papers today are hand-printed and hence very costly, but this film will make me very doubting when perusing the mass-printed wallpapers in the DIY store from now on. No wonder you can see 150 year old wallpapers in stately homes that have lasted the test of time, as they have been made by hand as in this film.  Here is some more footage….

Has anyone ever used such beautiful hand-printed papers in their own homes?

 

 

Guest room overhaul part 1

Decorating, Makeover

I have a small second spare guest room that is languishing at the top of the house, and one that tended to get used as a dumping ground for all the things I mean to sort out one day, but never get around to doing.  I needed to make it dual purpose as both a room with a piano for my daughter to practice in, (thanks to my godaughter who has lent us one…) and also as a workable spare room.

The room is in the eaves of the house, so it has an angled ceiling and walls, and a dormer window.  It has always been a cream and pale blue scheme, with patterned sisal carpet.  There is a cunning daybed which opens out either into 2 x singles or into a double, (and this is only used at Christmas and Easter when relatives overflow, as we have another larger guest room for visitors to use throughout the year).

The shelves made it really cluttered to add a piano into the mix, so I had a serious purge and cleared them all out and removed the shelves.  I then worked around the existing carpet, bed, artwork and chest of drawers to come up with a new scheme that was fresher and more spacious.  I wanted to keep the paintings which are by family members, they already have a blue theme in their colours, plus beautiful maple and gilded frames.

The mission:

To spend as little as possible on raw materials, and to refresh the room using whatever I had lying around the house.  I did a rough moodboard to keep my mind focused.

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Decorating:

I found a great wallpaper called ‘Charlotte‘ to use on the back wall where the shelves once stood.  It is a light blue paisley on white and cost only £18 a roll from B&Q, plus it is paste the wall paper which is amazing, (first time I have used paste the wall paper and it is SO easy). It took less than an hour to whack it up and I only needed one roll.  I then repainted the remaining walls in First Dawn by Dulux, which is pretty much an exact match for the pale blue used in the wallpaper.  The woodwork was all repainted in Farrow and Ball’s Wimborne White, which is quite a bright white for them.  The room instantly looked fresher, brighter and bigger.

Total cost: £56.41

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12 Easy Furniture Hacks courtesy of Houzz

Decorating, Makeover, Upcycling

Give ordinary pieces a whole new spin with these crafty updates

By Cheryl Freedman – Houzz Magazine
Not the DIY type but still hankering after a creative interiors project? The answer could be the trend for style hacking – shorthand for taking an existing piece of furniture, be that a tired old chair or off-the-peg bookcase, and adding some quirky, crafty personality. (It all began a while back when clever bods discovered they could give Ikea staples new life with a few smart style tweaks.)

Style hacking sits in that happy space between DIY madness (new bedstead built from scratch? No problem!) and mass-manufactured blandness. The result can mean an original piece for the price of a tester pot of paint or a roll of wallpaper – ideal if, like many of us, you’re on a budget, but don’t want cookie cutter interiors. The following projects are achievable even for beginners. Happy hacking!

Eclectic Dining Room by Holly Marder
Pretty up a table
Oilcloths come in loads of gorgeous designs these days. This all-white farmhouse table has been given a super-sweet makeover, thanks to some pretty pink polka dots secured on top. It’s much neater than the usual flapping-about tablecloth (and easier to wipe down, too).

Measure up, fold the corners neatly, and fix in place underneath with a staple gun or tape.

Eclectic Kids by Luci.D Interiors
Swap drawer handles
Give a plain chest of drawers, new or old, a pretty lift by swapping neutral drawer pulls for colourful glass knobs. This tall chest was a given a breezy makeover with a lick of white paint and a set of contrasting turquoise handles. Sleeping baby optional…
Mediterranean Dining Room by Godrich Interiors
Upcycle vintage chairs
If you can hold a paintbrush, you can definitely manage this one! Painted wooden furniture is a brilliant way to add the wow factor to a neutral room, as seen in this country dining room. If you don’t have an old chair in need of love, scour second-hand stores or eBay. Old-school Windsor-style chairs, like the ones here, work perfectly.

Prepare varnished wood with sandpaper (use wire wool and white spirit for wax). Use a primer to ensure a good finish – acrylic-based is easy to use. Apply two layers of eggshell, lightly sanding between coats. When it comes to colour, the only rule is to have fun. Try block hues, like this cool blue, or experiment with painting the legs and seats in contrasting shades.

How to source the perfect dining chairs

Eclectic Home Office Eclectic Home Office
Cover your seat
Got a tired chair with a removable seat pad? Try revamping it without the need to call in a professional upholsterer. First find some cute fabric, checking the pattern works with your seat’s dimensions. Remove the existing fabric (the wadding/foam and seat pad frame should remain; if the former looks ancient, replace that, too).

Use the old fabric as a template to cut out your new fabric. Secure snugly in place over the stuffing and seat, using a staple gun to pin it to the underside of the seat frame, or upholstery tacks hammered into place. Replace the seat and admire your funky, upcycled new chair.

Tip I picked up an old chair for a tenner in a junk shop and made a new seat for pounds, but this trick could work equally well with new chairs.

Contemporary Kids by Cristin Priest {Simplified Bee}
Paper shelves
Wallpaper the back of a cheap bookcase for a shot of uplifting pattern. It’s an inventive way to give otherwise dull units a bespoke twist. Buy offcuts of wallpaper from decorating shops (look for cut-price rolls from discontinued lines) or use samples.

First give the shelves a wipe down, then measure the recesses carefully. Cut the paper to size using a paper knife. (It sounds obvious, but insert them into the recesses to check they actually fit!) Mix a little wallpaper paste, apply it to the back of the paper using a small brush and fix neatly into place, smoothing out any wrinkles or bubbles.

Contemporary Kids by Nina Jizhar
Paint a mirror frame
Transform a humdrum mirror into a super-cool one by giving the frame a lick of bright paint. The result can really lift a room, this hot pink number being a case in point. Try spray painting for an even, glossy finish.

First clean the frame, then sand it. Lie the mirror on plenty of newspaper, making sure the glass is well masked. Cover the frame with a suitable coat of primer (depending on whether it’s metal, wood or plastic). Then get spraying, making sure the area is well-ventilated. Wear a mask and always read product instructions carefully before using spray paints.

Alternatively, paint it in gloss using a small brush, coating the frame thoroughly. Allow it to dry, then repeat.

Contemporary Home Office by Holly Marder
Get in the frame
If you’re anything like me, you probably have empty picture frames just waiting to be filled with exciting artworks you haven’t actually sourced yet (or photos still unprinted). No more waiting. There are so many beautiful wrapping papers around these days, so simply frame your favourites. Snip to fit your frame’s dimensions and voila – a lovely, original display.

Check out easy ideas for upcycling household items

Eclectic Entrance by Erin Lang Norris
Go collage crazy
Like flower arranging before it, decoupage is back in fashion with crafty souls. This humble hallway bench has been given a shot of personality thanks to a bright veneer.

Decoupage is a smart way to use scrap paper and glue to create a lacquer-look surface, and you can use just about anything: magazine clippings, wrapping paper or old greetings cards. Craft shops can guide you on the right glues to secure paper in place, and you can also find decoupage kits, special papers and detailed how-to guides online. The results can look fantastic.

Eclectic Living Room by Celia James
Decorate a sideboard
Second-hand sideboards make great candidates for style hacking: you can often pick them up cheaply, and their rectangular shape makes a great blank canvas for all kinds of creative designs.

This 1950s model has been given a quirky update using classy wallpaper featuring winter trees; try stencilling for a similar effect. The shimmery gold top adds a nice glam touch as well.

Eclectic Home Office by Louise de Miranda
Brighten a wardrobe
With their blank facades, wardrobes also have tons of potential for adding extra style points. You can pick up plain models inexpensively if you look around. The owner found this cabinet in a flea market and gave it a chic, modern twist using wood panelling-print wallpaper in white and aqua.
Contemporary Home Office by Heather Merenda
Design a pinboard
The humble corkboard isn’t just for pinning up to-do lists: it’s also a brilliant textured surface for experimenting with design. All you need is some paint and your imagination. Here, several have been given a geometric slant, and displayed as practical artworks.
Transitional Home Office by LEIVARS

Copy the crate shelf trend
The crate shelf is becoming a staple in urban-rustic cafés and shops. Follow the trendsetters and turn your own wooden crates or wine boxes into similarly eclectic shelves. Buy weathered, vintage crates online or ask your friendly local wine seller for spares. New ply crate shelves can look fab too, as seen here.

Secure the boxes firmly to the wall using mirror plate fixings or screws and Rawlplugs. If you want the natural industrial look, leave the crates unpainted; alternatively, paint using eggshell, or cover the interiors with quirky wallpaper offcuts.


Give a plain chest of drawers, new or old, a pretty lift by swapping neutral drawer pulls for colourful glass knobs. This tall chest was a given a breezy makeover with a lick of white paint and a set of contrasting turquoise handles. Sleeping baby optional…

Raring to go… next projects plans

Makeover, Upcycling

My over excitement at recent transformations knows no bounds, and I am planning new makeovers, (and trying to work out which one I should do first and stop procrastinating and just get on with them…).

The Fireplace:

I have a working fireplace in the dining room which has a lovely cast iron insert, but a really uninspiring reproduction wooden surround.  I am planning to modify it with paint to look like slate.  The room is very neutral, with handpainted pale furniture so I think the surround needs a bit of darkness to create oomph.  I read once somewhere that Nicky Haslam, (genius), always has black somewhere in a room to ground the eye, and it is a great tip that I have followed ever since.

photoI have been looking for various ways to create slate trompe l’oeil via paint effect books, but most just have marble and sandstone effects, so I think I am just going to grab a slate tile and use it as my inspiration.  I did use once the textured stone paint on a fireplace, and although it looked great it is really hard to clean the mantlepiece shelf as it becomes rough and a magnet for dust.  So slate it shall be, and I can always try another effect if it does not work, such is the beauty of paint!

Wardrobe:

I picked up, nearly 18 months ago, a wardrobe in a junk store for £40 as it has potential and nice carvings.  The veneer has started to bubble in a couple of places, so it needs some TLC and is begging for a makeover.  It has been sitting in a friend’s garage since I bought it, and I have finally got it into the house ready to begin its transformation.  I think I shall be going for a wallpapered and painted effect again, and found some great bargain wallpapers down in Cornwall at Trago Mills last weekend.

Progress will be shared… procrastination must end!

Wallpapering furniture – The Result

Decorating

I had decided to upcycle an old cupboard, and finally settled on a fantastic Colefax and Fowler wallpaper called Snow Tree which has brushstrokes and graduations of tone in the background. As a first attempt I decided just to wallpaper the inset panels and then to do a paint effect to match the background of the paper on the rest of the wood.  I figured that if it went wrong I could remove the paper do a simple repaint…

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Snow Tree by Colefax and Fowler

Here are the results, I am pretty pleased with it.

You will need: Charcoal, Original and Olive Chalk Paints (Annie Sloan) Clear Wax Earthborn wall Glaze Wallpaper paste Wallpaper Scissors Kitchen sponge Paintbushes How to:

  • Apply a coat of base colour over all of the wood that will be visible.  Being chalk paint, I only needed one coat and it adhered straight to the existing varnish without any need for sanding down.  Plus it dries really quickly which is a bonus!
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Base coat applied to all areas that will not be wallpapered

  • Measure your wallpaper for the panel sections, give it an extra inch all over in case the piece is old and not even in its dimensions.  Cut pieces, then one by one put paste on them, wait 5 mins for the paste to soak in well before hanging, and then stick to piece.  Smooth well with a very slightly damp cloth, and cut off excess paper where needed with sharp scissors.  Smooth down well again and allow to dry.  I left mine for about 3 hours as we had the heating on.

Stage 2: Papered and painted with base colour

  • Mix up a separate small pot of a lighter version of the base colour with some white paint and water and start to randomly dry brush and streak it over the base coat using just the tips of the brush.  At this point it looks quite brutal but do not worry.  I did mine in a similar pattern to the wallpaper background.  Allow to dry.
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Rough dry brushing with a lighter tone

  • When dry, dilute some of the original base coat colour with water so it is quite runny and put it onto a plate.  Then dab a kitchen sponge into it so there is just a little on the sponge and start to work it in small smoothing circles on the painted areas of the cupboard.  This softens the highlights you made before without removing them.
  • Work away at the piece until you are happy with the effect.
  • Highlight any mouldings with a complimentary colour, I used Olive as it picked out the green in the leaves of the wallpaper.
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Highlights picked out in complimentary colour

  • Once you are happy with the piece it is time to wax and glaze it.  As the Chalk Paint is totally matt and the wallpaper had a very slight sheen I needed it to all have the same finish.
  • Wax the painted woodwork and buff to a sheen.  This creates protection for the paint, and also very slightly darkens down the paint, even with a clear wax.
  • To protect the wallpaper I used Earthborn clear wall glaze, and roughly brushed it on so the strokes again matched the wallpaper’s background.
  • And voila, the finished cupboard.  The sheen is the same all over and close up it is hard to tell it is wallpaper and not hand painted flowers:

Hand Painted Wallpaper ♥ Want Wednesday No. 1

Decorating

De Gournay paper and murals from the masters of the most exquisite wallpaper hand made by artisans has always been Number 1 on my dream list for decorating a room, (or Gracie Studios as a close second as well).  However, you do usually pay a small fortune for hand painted wallpaper and murals on silk or paper, and so it has always been out of my reach, and I am not sure my own artistic skills would match the pieces I have seen if I tried to replicate it, (actually definitely not when I think about it).

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All Photos from De Gournay

I love the way the paintings meander over the walls, around corners and are so obviously not normal wallpaper.  These papers cost literally hundreds per roll. A friend purchased a roll a couple of years ago, and hung it like a painting rather than stick it to a wall directly in case she moved house and had to leave it behind.

But, GOOD NEWS, I have just found a supplier of Chinoiserie papers in China (via my lovely friend that is Ebay) that has good recommendations via Jenny Komenda at the Little Green Notebook blog.  They can paint onto paper or silk so you have a choice of medium.   Jenny had some panels from them with the backgrounds specifically matched to a paint sample she sent them, and the results are stunning.  Jenny framed hers as separate panels in acrylic, however I think I would go the whole hog and use them as wallpaper directly in alcoves, and match the background colour paint to the colour on the rest of the walls. The room would then have the hand painted sections in the alcoves, and if you used 2 panels per alcove they could curl around onto the adjacent walls.  Scrummy.

Here is the link to the ebay store where they can be found.  They cost approximately £237 for an 8ft high x 3ft wide panel which is quite a lot less than one roll by De Gournay.

!Bqg7-4wB2k~$(KGrHqEH-CUEu43COgQRBLvzp)R(-g~~_12 !BzJRsogEGk~$(KGrHqF,!i8Ew5judG52BMUufWuWtg~~_12 !BzWi,M!BGk~$(KGrHqYOKjgE)OofPoj3BMVr+sc,nQ~~_12Definitely an option worth investigating further, and not much difference in costs to using a designer wallpaper all over the room from design houses like Colefax & Fowler, Prestigious Wallcoverings or House of Hackney.