Wallpaper Wednesday

OK- so here I go again, giving advice to the ever popular Pioneer Woman that will never actually visit my site. I feel a little like David Letterman, when Oprah seemed to be ignoring him for so long. (Except that I am more of a peon than David Letterman. - is that how you spell peon?- who knows? And except that it has only been a week :) So anyway- now she is up to 660 responses from people giving her advice- so since she will never actually see my advice- my advice is for you! My loyal readers! Think of this as your laundry room!

Here is Ree's text:

"How would you make this laundry room fabulous? I’m thinking a great color for the washer-dryer: red or chrome or bronze. I’m thinking a rich color on the walls. I’m thinking something cool in terms of cabinetry. Something un-laundry-roomish. Something unexpected."

1. First of all- even though it is "just a laundry room," I would still suggest that the colors and style flow with the rest of the house- in this case- a "zen lodge." Don't break too far from your other colors and feel. Don't go modern, if the rest of the place is rustic- don't go pastel if the rest of the home is muted, etc.
2. Nothing creates an atmosphere like wallpaper- (have I said that before?). So- in a room like your laundry, that is low on the personality scale, add some wallpaper. Washer and dryers, by nature, are not the look of a "rustic zen lodge"- neither is paint- so add your ambiance in paper.
3. I am actually slow to use colors in appliances, for fear that the appliance lasts longer than the color- but hey-- isn't this bronze from Kenmore fabulous?
4. Add some green- this gives the room life- and good feng shui.
5. Good lighting and good organization go without saying- stay halogen, not florescent. Your lighting in your home is not the place to save the earth. I know that is not a politically popular view- but until they REALLY make fluorescent not cast a blue light- I say- stay away. They make skin, food, and yes, cloths, look an off color. They are not flattering, and not soothing. BAD feng shui!
6. Put a Roman shade on the window- this is your only opportunity for softness, so don't use a hard surface. I would do a soft sheer copper-colored relaxed Roman shade with exposed grommets.

Hey Ree- thanks for the post ideas- even if you never look at it, it was still fun for me!

Wallpaper is Ronald Redding.

Judy's Paint- let's cast a vote!

My neighbor Judy asked me to help her select some paint for her house. This is a cushion from her sofa:

So what are my options? Blue:

Blue is not my favorite. Especially with this fabric- which really has more of a navy blue- too dark. The light blues just aren't quite right. How about green? There is some green in there:

The green is such a secondary color in the fabric, in order to pull it off on the wall, she would have to add some green pillows and maybe window treatments that pull it together- so it doesn't look disjointed. What about the yellow?

The yellow is my favorite of the paints- my very favorite- "compatible cream" SW6387- a Sherwin Williams color. So- what's wrong with this? Judy said, "I'm not really a yellow person." So- I hate to select a yellow paint for her. Also- her chair in the room is a cream color- which doesn't have a great contrast with yellow. Back to blue....
How about a toile? I love toiles!! This is a great look for her room as well- the sofa and the dining set both have a "french" feel to them. She could do just a portion of the area- and have the other the shade of white in the background, or the yellow. (Ashford Toiles by Ashford House) But hey- there is a stripe of red in that pillow....
This paper picks up the red, with a touch of the yellow and green- that would be a fun paper to put in her kitchen again, with the yellow carrying through her family room. (Laura Ashley Home) Oh- wait...look at this one- Ronald Redding - always my favorite.....
This is perfect! I love how you could really pull out the browns too! If she wanted to use a dark brown leather in her living room... or green, or red- oh- this is a great paper! Look!!! It also has a coordinating stripe and fabric! The stripe would be fun in her hall bath..... We wouldn't do wallpaper everywhere- how does it look combined with the paint?What a great pallet! She could use the different colors in different rooms in her home- they would all flow, and the wallpaper would pull it all together, and balance the strong print in the sofa. Let's see what the print looks like hung- (this is a different color- but the same print)
So- what do you think? Is your favorite mine- or a different one? Cast your vote! (there's a little pole at the top of the page:)

Baby Lilian's Nursury

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  I just stumbled across your blog and love your thoughts! Thanks for sharing, and of course I have a room I need desperate help with. My daughter is 6 months old and we are currently renting, therefore her room is combined with the guest room, the walls cannot be painted, etc. It is now just a mish mash of small things I liked here and there crammed in the room with the guest bed. In a few months we are moving into a house where she will have her own room (finally!). I would like to use bright orange and pink but I don't want it to be obnoxious. I like the shabby chic style, but not sure that jives with hot pink and bright orange. The only thing I'm pretty sure I want to do is have a shelf all the way around the room at 3/4 height. Other than that, I'm not sure if I want to paint all the walls, one accent wall, just decorative paint or a mural...My main problem so far has been finding bedding. Crib bedding was impossible to find something I liked that incorporated the orange and pink but wasn't too "baby". So I ended up with the Lullaby Dreams set which is okay for now, but just that. I can sew and made her curtains in the current room. If I find great fabric, I can make a duvet cover for her twin bed, but I just can't find fabric or sheets that I love, let alone crib bedding.I do have a few items now that I wish to use in the new room (pink and orange suitcases, piggy bank, star tin, princess ballerina print, bow board) and will attach pictures of those. I would like to have all these things on the shelf at the 3/4 height as to keep away from the cluttered look. I love all things pink & orange, star shaped and paisley, and I I've just grabbed whatever matched any of those descriptions here and there and don't have a cohesive theme. I desperately want one though. I want it to look designer, but not "no touch". Her crib is cherry wood, sleigh style, with a changing table attached. As soon as she grows out of this it will be re-purposed in the guest room as the headboard and footboard (the only reason we chose cherry wood rather than white or cream), but for now it will be in her room along with the twin bed. The furniture for her new room is furniture my great-great-aunt purchased after her husband died. It will be painted, and given new pulls before being put in her room. My first thought is to paint it all hot pink, but I'm thinking a cream or white would be better. She currently has a plain white dresser and toy box that can either stay in her new room or go. Help please!!! As you can see, it's all just a mishmash of thoughts right now and not one cohesive theme. Pictures are located in an album here http://picasaweb.google.com/StaceyBrill/LilliansNewRoom?authkey=NXdJLQNDVFg.



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  Dear Stacey,

  I will try to break it down for you and answer your questions and concerns.

  • You would like to use bright pink and orange, but don't want it to be obnoxious. No problem- just tone it down in other areas, and keep bright orange and pink off the walls (except in small doses) . Your pink and orange items that you have right now are cute, and your nursery is going to look great!
  • You want to put a shelf all the way around the room, at 3/4 height. I am tempted to photograph my girl's room for you, but I am a perfectionist, and I don't have my paneling up, so it just looks too unfinished. However, let me tell you what I am doing, as I think it would work great in your nursery. I had a mural painted all the way around the room , only the top 2 feet of the room. It is darling. My plan (this part is not done)- is to add paneling to the rest of the wall. This would work great for you for a couple of reasons. First of all- your colors are too bright for the main part of the wall. Use white (or a shade of white) on the main wall, and only have your bright colors on the upper part. This same look can be accomplished with a wallpaper, or wall applique kit again just hung on the top part of the room. It would also look cool to have an enlarged version of your drapery fabric painted around the top part of the room.
  
  
  • If you are going to have a shelf around the room- you have to have crown moulding. This will separate the ceiling color from the wall color also. I would put your ceiling back in a white (the same as your main wall color). Add a fun chandelier, with something decorative around it. In my girls' new room, I have put little polk-a-dots around the chandelier. In the room I posted on this blog, I had a simple decorative fleur-de-lis painted around the chandelier. On this use the bright pink and orange.
  • Do not have a shelf around the entire room, and then treat only one wall differently (say with an accent color or mural). If you want to do this, only put a shelf on one wall (as in the child's room pictured on this post. In this room, I had wallpaper on three walls, with a shelf and bead board on one wall. Combining a shelf around all the walls, with one wall in an accent, is combining two looks, creating a split focal point. It will not look cohesive.
    

  

• You have a lot of furniture going into the room. I don't know the dimensions of the room, but unless it is quite large- I would reconsider that. It is going to be a challenge to fit everything in there, and leave no room for a little chair or play area of any kind. I am a big fan of closet organizers, which (in my opinion) eliminate the need for any dressers at all, leaving room for more decorate items like cute rugs and chairs. The rug below is from Pottery Barn Teen.

• You are going to paint your furniture but are wondering what color. I think orange or pink or blue or green would be fun. Especially if the lower part of your walls is a shade of white- it would be a great contrast. A fun quilt like the one below would be great with a bright pink bed! (Pottery Barn Teen again). I like the idea of incorporating more colors than just pink and orange, which will make your pink and orange be a great contrast, rather than overpowering. I always custom design my crib bedding. But- then again, I am a designer, that's what I do. You could find a piece like the one below, purchase one for your twin, and and another to have made into crib bedding. Or the one you already found would work fine.
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Is your room "shabby chic"? Sorry- not really. Don't worry about labels- just go with what you like. Let me know if you have any other questions! Your room is going to be so cute! Congratulations on your baby; 6 months is such a cute age- they learn something new everyday!

-Christine

Chris' Question- Ceiling Wallpaper

Christine,

I stumbled onto your blog when I was searching for paintable ceiling wallpaper.

Would hanging wallpaper on the ceiling be a job better done by a professional? Do the edges of the wallpaper show? Do they make prepasted paintable ceiling wallpaper?

I have a ceiling that was poorly drywalled and has many fine cracks--we want to cover that up with something lightly textured and paintable.

I have been looking at choices on creativewallcovering.com. Any advice?

Thanks,
Chris

Dear Chris,

Let me just start by saying that I am an Interior Designer, not a wallpaper installer. - But I have had a fair amount of experience, and would love to help. Let me break down your question:

1. Would it be better done by a professional?

• Almost always. Professional installers do this every day- let them do it. Ask around and find someone highly recommended in your area.

2. Do the edges show?

• Do you have all inside corners.. then they shouldn't (although seams are never invisible). Do you have exposed edges where your ceiling that you are wallpapering is exposed to, say, a vaulted area? In a case like this you might want to add some wood trim, as would be done with a real tin ceiling. Do you have a Claim Jumper restaurant near you? Go to lunch there and see how they cover their tin ceiling edges. This is what I am talking about. (Yes- this is the kind of thing I notice while at restaurants... movies too- OK- everywhere.)

3. Do they make prepasted paintable ceiling wall paper?

• Check out Brewter's Book: Tin Ceiling and Wainscoting. (The source of the green and gold picture above.) You are more likely to find a pre-pasted paper that is not paintable. Even if I found a prepasted paper- my professional installer would still use paste- to ensure that it would adhere well- especially with the added weight of the paint, or if you are installing in a kitchen or bath that does not have good ventilation, and could retain humidity. (Which in your case is a catch 22- because as it adherers better, it will show imperfections more.)

4. Your ceiling is poorly drywalled and has small cracks?

• I would patch the cracks prior to wallpapering. The cracks, otherwise, will show through your wallpaper. The wallpaper might help to visually disguise the cracks, but they will still be visible, even with a textured paper. If the cracks are bad, you might consider two layers of wallpaper- a solid thick vinyl first (these are made specifically for smoothing textures in the wall). If they are VERY bad, I would consider putting bead board on your ceiling instead. (Like the picture at the very top of this post.) This is a fantastic look- and might be a better solution for your problem. (I have a perfectly fine ceiling, but I am trying to convince my husband to do this in our kitchen. He won't go for it- so maybe it will happen while he is away backbacking! ) Putting actual tin, or actual paneling on your ceiling, will definitely camouflage for you.

For tips on installing- look at Brewater's site- click here

Or York's site- they even have videos- click here

Or Seabrook's site- click here

Good luck Chris- send us a before and after so we can see your beautiful job!

- Christine