Wallpapering
2011/12 FORECAST
Wallpaper has been one of the most popular items spotted on the walls all across the globe over the last few years. People are using wallpapers in different parts of their home starting from the powder room to the main living area. Untill now many people limited their use of wallpaper only for the accent walls. However, the trend forecast for the year 2011 is completely different. You may expect the entire room to be dressed in wallpapers.
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Tone on tone – The year 2010 witnessed bold print but the year 2011 is going to witness something entirely different. Subdued look is the latest trend and as a result, tone on tone wallpapers would be the correct choice. Tone on tone wallpapers features double tone designs and colors. Creating a dramatic statement with these wallpapers is definitely going to be very easy. In addition, they can also be installed in areas such as guest rooms, entryways, corridors, closed balcony and staircase. |
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Metallic – It is doubtless that metallic designs are highly attention grabbing. From rich bronzes and sharp silvers to soft gold, metallic wallpapers are a fantastic way to add decadence and instant glamour to a space.
Paintable papers, metallic prints and more trends coming to a wall near you.
We all know that wallpaper can add instant glamour and warmth to any room, but homeowners used it timidly in 2010. Expect that to change in 2011. "People are finally moving away from just a feature wall and are once again wallpapering two, three and four walls in a room," says David Klaus at Graham & Brown wallpaper company.
Fewer accent walls and more fully papered rooms are cropping up in homes and magazine spreads as of late, along with a handful of "mini trends" in wallpaper design that we've rounded up here. While we started to see some of these trends at the end of 2010, experts bet they'll pick up even more steam in the months to come.
Lets take a look at wallpaper trends to inspire you.
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Paintable Papers
Photos: Graham & Brown |
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Tone-on-Tone & Metallic
Photos: Ferm Living |
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Fabric and Wallpaper Combos This is a new trend starting to show in the interior design magazines. Match your wallpaper to your fabric as shown above.
Photos: House Beautiful Magazine UK |
This coming year look for wallpapered ceilings as an increasingly popular option for creating visual impact in a room.. It is most effective if you have a cornice since it will separate the wallpaper from the painted walls. Wallpapered ceilings create a feeling of intimacy and coziness, which is a special benefit during winter.Its also great for covering up less than perfect ceilings. A wallpapered ceiling adds interest to a square room.
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The new 2011 wallpapers trends take their inspiration from the 30’s, 50’s and 80’s. Retro Wallpaper is becoming very contemporary. Strong graphics are privileged. The association of geometric forms and punk style graphics create a very strong energy. As for colors grey and bright colors are juxtaposed for a more contemporary look. Grey is again a trendy color, it is a dynamic and elegant color that is reminiscent of the 30’s. |
Photos: Graham & Brown
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Feature walls/murals are a great way to inject some added colour and personality into a room. Paper a single wall with an oversize botanical, flower print or op art design as above. They can also be used to help break up open plan living spaces or to highlight a particular aspect of a room.
How to use wallpaper in your home
Large scale prints are fashionable but can be overpowering in a small room, so use them sparingly. Try papering the wall behind the bed in a bedroom or as a feature wall in a family or dining room.
Smaller walls are generally better than larger ones. Larger walls, if made into a feature, can tend to dominate a space rather than accentuate it. Walk into the room to see which wall immediately grabs your attention – this is generally a great way to see where a feature wall would have the most effect.
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Limit the number of colours in a scheme for a coordinated look. A good trick is to pick two or three colours from your wallpaper, and repeat them elsewhere in the room. Matching plain wallpapers are also available to compliment the image.
If you are papering just one wall, match the paint on the other walls to the wallpaper’s background only for a seamless finish.
In gloomy bedrooms, use wallpaper with a metallic or pearlised finish to reflect light.
Flocked and textured wall coverings are an ideal disguise if walls or ceilings aren’t smooth.
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Dark colours tend to make the room look smaller, whereas lighter colours make it look larger.
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Stripes on a wall can help to make the ceiling look higher.
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Vinyl wallpapers are also very durable and washable, and can be removed easily as they are dry strippable.
An Interior Decorator Can Help
As there are so many different types of wallpaper, as well as a plethora of patterns, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of choices available. It is best to get a professional in to install your wallpaper as they will not only be able to prepare the walls correctly, they will be able to match up the patterns for a seamless look. Prices for wallpaper vary from approximately $65 to $600+ a roll, an average price would be around $140 per roll. Specialist painter and decorator, Stephen Brophy will be able to help you choose a wallpaper that is right for the area in which it will be hung and also choose paper that will complement your existing décor or form the basis for entirely new décor.
History of Wallpaper
Wallpaper began in ancient China when they glued rice paper onto their walls as early as 200 B.C.
The earliest know fragment of European wallpaper that still exists today was found on the beams of the Lodge of Christ's College in Cambridge, England and dates from 1509. Jean-Michel Papillon, a French engraver and considered the inventor of wallpaper, started making block designs in matching, continuous patterns in 1675, and wallpaper as we know it today was on its way. Flocked wallpaper was created in approximately 1680.
The manufacturing methods developed by the English are significant, and the products from 18th century London workshops became all the rage. At first, fashion conscious Londoners ordered expensive hand painted papers that imitated architectural details or materials like marble and stucco, but eventually wallpapers won favor on their own merits. Borders resembling a tasselled braid or swag of fabric were often added and flocked papers that looked like cut velvet were immensely popular.
In the Victorian era, rooms paraded print upon print, mostly in garish colors, and the advent of machine-made wallpaper put the cabbage rose and arabesque patterns within the budget range of practically every home. Artisans such as Louis Comfort Tiffany and William Morris and their lyrical interpretations of nature, hand-printed by the wood block method, came to symbolize Art Nouveau. The Victorian Era, as one would expect, was a grand time for wallpaper featuring over embellished designs in sombre colors, but it was in the roaring '20s that wallpaper really took the spotlight for the first time. Known as the Golden Age of Wallpaper, some 400 million rolls were sold during that period. After World War II, the entire industry was revolutionized with the appearance of plastic resins which offered stain resistance, washability, durability and strength.
Although wallpaper fell out of favour during the 80’s and 90’s, people in the 21st century have rediscovered the romance, design and beauty of patterned walls and some of the old designs are being reproduced for the modern market.