I'm mad again, sad again, a simpering wimpering fool bewitched, bothered and bewildered by wallpaper. That being said, I think I've already decided my next house won't have wallpaper. Well, at least, the masterbedroom won't. But I won't tell you what the masterbedroom will look like!
A geeky little secret, I like looking at new wallpaper collections, almost as much as some people enjoy reading the celebrity tabloids. It's a lovely guilty pleasure but here are some ideas I was thinking about. Maybe I should have labelled this page, Ways to Avoid Having a Singaporean looking House.
I'm convinced the reason most Singaporean apartments look similar is because they have similar design concept. A little too boxy, a little too many fluorescent lights and a little too dark and veneer on the panelled cupboards. And a strange predilection for retro, almost neo-victorean (but in a loud, not a chintz way) patterns on wallpaper and a penchant for the colours purple, black, red and pink (and green and orange)! Sometimes it's like, the more velvet and organza the better!
No, actually. If you want modern, go with pale or restored off-blues, (never full blues), stone greys, moss greys and graphite greys (think, american towels), sand browns, pale sage greens and white, white white. Think naturel fibres, linen, sateen-cotten and nubbed wool). If you want rich, keep the house well-lit, naturally, if possible (choose cool rather than bright white light) with open airways, glass and high ceilings. Keep the wood beech or lighter and always pay for good wood with a beautiful grain.
Here are some cute looks that we already know, just for the fun of them. This first one is like the wallpaper from House at Dempsey, an off-beat almost cartoonish little sketch, you can get this kind of look from Paris Chique or Woodland from Prestigious. The second is a neat scroll that you can put round a fun room, made of old Life magazine covers prints and 1930s film stars, from Themes of Life II.
These next three are very Cath Kidston, I love it but they are actually from Millie. Perfect for a chintz-vintage kitchen or Strawberry Shortcake little girl's room. You can match it with blue and white candy-striped wallpaper or colour-matched to fair blue walls.
Okay, I guess being a bit serious here, these are some lovely flowered wallpaper, bold and quite beautiful. You can take it vintage with white-wood furniture, or sophisticated with a white stone table or tan leather tufted furniture.
The first is classically Monsoon and has that crowded, slightly jarring yet traditional look and the second from Amaranta, which is probably my second favourite Harlequin collection, I swear their fabrics are as beautiful if not more so than their wallpapers! I love the coral colour, one day I'd like to have a room in coral.
I guess for me what is important is that firstly, if the pattern is hand painted, that gives a very resplendant plantation feel to the wallpaper. Secondly, that the repeat motif in the patterns is not too large and the colour contrast on the wallpaper is pastel and not too stark. If the colours are all too primary, like red and black or yellow and black, that can drive an overly bold look or, in too small a place, look downright silly.
When seen in a room setting, the prints are actually a lot lighter but when you isolate the wallpapers, they can come off as too vivid. I think that's why not many people choose to pick them (though why they then pick the velvet black fleur de lis one or the gold crysenthemums is beyond me).
The first print is typical of a solid colourblock pattern but I like it because of the rather rare combination of colours and print called Foxglove by Hothouse by Suzy Hoodless, who used to design for the very classic Osbourne and Little Collection. (There are milder colours) The second was one of my favourites and much easier to match. A gorgeous, feminine iris pattern by Organza in a yellow and then a grey colour, both very sophisticated for a living room entrance or guest powder room.
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