Easier Shopping at Graham & Brown Wallpaper
Wow, Graham & Brown has introduced a new site that is one cool breeze. Choose your wallpaper and you can see it in a variety of room settings. You can also see other color choices and, best of all, coordinating patterns. Since they have such an enormous selection (and no, they didn’t pay me to say that), it makes finding what you want really easy.
You can start by choosing color, or a style, or a designer you like. It’s so efficient, it’s almost better than shopping in a store. But, since you’re not, be sure to order a sample so you know it’s the right color.
Check out their new line called Essence (above). It’s a series of wallpapers designed to work together. Most sell for $70 per double roll.
Going Big with Graphic Wallpaper Patterns
Wallpapers aren’t just back in style, they’re back with a vengeance. Big, bold patterns are a great way to make a bold statement.
You can’t get much bolder than Marimekko’s Unikko pattern. Try it on one wall, or all four in a small area like a hallway.
Black and white patterns look great and are easier to work with. They’re not blinding. Use color is in the accessories. Here I’m showing Walnut’s Little Whales pattern, and Graham & Brown’s Suzanne.
Bedrooms are a favorite place for a patterned wall. Anna French’s Glamour Collection is a particular favorite of mine.
If you want to use bold patterns like this, here are some tips:
- Try a colored pattern on one wall. Paint the other 3 in a matching color.
- Cover all four walls in a small space. This is the best way to make use of a bold pattern. A large room might create a kaleidoscope effect.
- Don’t stop at the walls – think about the ceiling, too. A powder room would look terrific covered in a bold print. Use a matching fabric on the window.
Are you brave enough to try a big, bold pattern?
Call for submissions
I’m in the process of redesigning Design Hole. It needs some sprucing up. I’m changing the masthead, which will now have a series of rotating wallpapers and fabrics. 
I’m contacting some favorites of mine, but I’d like to showcase undiscovered, young, old, interesting fabric and wallpaper designers. If you, or someone you know, might be interested in having their work on the masthead, please have them contact me. Their name will appear in the lower-left hand corner of the masthead, or just below it.
Thanks for helping me spread the word.
Historic wallpaper from Bradbury & Bradbury
The wallpaper company, Bradbury & Bradbury, must be a set decorator’s dream come true. Their collection of wallpapers encompass more than a century of design styles, from Victorian to The Mod Generation of the 1970′s.
Their wallpapers are very well done and put together beautifully. And I like the way their site is organized. The Victorian aesthetic was so over the top that it’s difficult for to figure out how to put all that pattern together in a way that makes sense. So, Bradbury & Bradbury organized the Victorian era and its friend, the Arts & Crafts movement, into vignettes.
Yowza! That’s a lot of pattern. It looks good, though. Check out the decoration on the ceiling. Leave no surface untouched! This is Bradbury & Bradbury’s Dresser Collection. High ceilings help pull this look off.
I like the girlie-girl flounce in their Aesthetic Movement Collection. Is it too over-the-top? In the right room, it would work really well. The pattern takes the place of molding. It helps, however, that the existing molding is beefy.
Bradbury & Bradbury also has a nice selection of more modern patterns, which are not shown in vignettes. They run through four eras.
There are several Art Deco styles in different colorways. These are a couple I like best. True confession: I really don’t like Art Deco. I’m not sure why. It must be due to a bad experience in a previous life.
Ah yes, the 1950′s. Who says the middle of the last century was all modern? I picture this in a cute cottage kitchen with a fabric skirt under the sink. I love that look.
Next up, Sputnik and the Jet Set collection. The 1960′s was a strange leap into the modern age. I have a collection of cookbooks from this era. You would not believe what you can make with Jello and how popular prepared foods were.
Finally, the Mod-Era when girls wore go-go boots, mini skirts and had Marsha Brady hair. I like the pattern on the right best. This would look fantastic in a powder room. To make the most of this pattern, cover the walls and the ceiling. Matching fabric at the window will give you the biggest impact.
All wallpapers by Bradbury & Bradbury are handprinted. Prices start at around $50 per single roll. Be sure to check their sizes because they’re not standard. They seem to have a very good customer service department, too.
How to you feel about wallpapers v. faux finishes? Are ragged and stippled walls truly over for you?
Introducing Marimekko wallpapers
This just in…  Marimekko has re-introduced wallpaper to their fabric and home collections. The new vinyl wallpaper collection features some of the most well-known patterns, as well as a number of more recent designs from young, popular artists.
Let’s take a peek at some of them:
Unikko comes in 3 colorways – love it!
Pienet-Kivet comes in black, too.
Biloba anyone? Comes in two colors.
Joonas is also totally cool. Love the black.
Yst?§v?§t (say that 3 times fast) looks bold.
Minneapolis-based AlwaysMod is launching the wallpapers in the U.S. Initially, 12 patterns (some available in several colorways) will be available for quick-ship with plans to add more patterns in the future. The wallpaper is sold in European double rolls for $89 each. Samples are available.
Who doesn’t love Unikko? It’s one of my all-time favorite designs.
