Wallpaper

For the past year, I've been driving back and forth to Cape May to tend to my shop space at West End Garage. On my way home a few weeks ago, I noticed this amazing exposed interior wall next to a vacant lot on Vine Street in Philadelphia. I only just got around to photographing it this weekend, though sadly the sun had already set by the time I got to it.  What amazes me is that one home could have featured so many bold patterns and that a couple of them are just old enough to be current again (the blue chandelier print on the first floor is my favorite).


I think wallpaper has gotten a bad rap for the last couple of decades because so many of us have suffered through the process of removing the stuff and don't ever want to experience it again. In the past, people wallpapered every exposed surface in their home, often including closets and the inside of kitchen cabinets. The result was a visual assault that many have fought against by leaning toward the opposite extreme--all white or all beige walls. Ever since I discovered Neisha Crosland's gorgeous designs, I've warmed to the idea of papering one wall in a space or adding it to a half wall of tile in a bathroom. I wasn't a huge fan of the movie Kate & Leopold, but I'll watch it whenever it comes on cable just so I can catch sight of Meg Ryan's wallpapered bathroom (see Hooked on Houses for images). One of these days, I fully intend to paper a room--though I'll probably go with the new generation of papers that don't require pasting and can be removed and re-attached in another space.

Images: Simple Style by Julia Bird with text by Bridget Bodoano, photography by Hotze Eisma; published by Friedman/Fairfax 2003. Thrifty Chic by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell, photography by Simon Brown; published by CICO Books 2009. Living etc magazine, September 2010 issue. Inside Out magazine, March-April 2009 issue and June 2004 issue. Country Homes & Interiors magazine, June 2010 issue. Red magazine, July 2010 issue. Living etc magazine, August 2009 issue. Country Living magazine, September 2010 issue.