Deck the walls with lush florals, patterns and a whiff of nostalgia – The San Diego Union-Tribune

When I was growing up and my dad, a museum administrator, had to go out of town for meetings, my mom had two rituals: make breakfast for dinner, including waffles with strawberries and ice cream, and redecorate the house. She took advantage of her temporary insomnia by painting and wallpapering rooms through the night.

Dad flying to New York? Down comes some old velvety floral monstrosity and up goes old-timey black-and-white 19th-century newsprint advertising in the kids bathroom. Dad is in Chicago for a few days? Thats just enough time for my bedroom to get green, yellow and blue flower paper, and my younger sisters room a burst of pink, red and orange flowers. Sometimes, after we got home from school, Mom recruited us to help steam and scrape off layer upon layer of old paper. I still have olfactory memories of that distinctive aroma of wet paper and old paste.

And I have never approached wallpapering for my own home, as a result.

But Im rethinking that now. According to Homes & Gardens, an interior design and garden design magazine, wallpaper is a key trend for 2021. And its changed dramatically since the 1970s when Mom was putting it up and certainly since the 13th century, when the earliest wallpapers were used in Europe. These were domino papers pasted on the walls of homes of devout religious believers, featuring popular religious icons.

The Amhara design, available at Thomas Lavin, is based on a linen print called Zig & Zag, a playful take on a mixture of African and Asian designs and symbols.

(Courtesy of James Malone at Thomas Lavin)

Now, of course, wallpaper may be too limiting a name. Think wallcovering since, according to Debra Lyons, owner of Lyons Wallpaper in San Diego, the sky is the limit as far as materials used. She pointed out that thin wood, bamboo, raffia, silk, plaster, metals, glass beads and leather are many of the options. Other designers incorporate woven papers, cork and grass cloth as well.

Printing methods, too, have evolved.

Methods used in production range from hand-painted, drum roll printing and silk screen to digitally printed on large-format printers, Lyons said.

Stephanie Moffitt, design director of Mokum Textiles in Sydney, Australia, explained that digital printing has become a huge innovation for wallpaper.

It allows you to print photographic quality and play with much larger scales, she said. This has created a growing trend towards landscape and panel-style wallpapers.

Moffitt pointed out other trends for 2021 and 2022:

The Les Petites Histoires (miniature journeys) pattern, shown in Broceliande (enchanted forest), offers a stroll through a fantastical setting.

(Courtesy of litis)

Trends are now very layered. The area we focus on in the Mokum brand is translating our textile patterns into wallpapers and, as a result, our curated range is very pattern-rich. The key trends we are referencing in our next Catherine Martin for Mokum range, due early 2022, are maximalist in tone and grounded in escapism and nostalgia. We believe that escapism will become even more relevant, with patterns engulfing rooms to create immersive environments. Patterns will continue to reference tropical foliage, creating lush interiors and surreal landscape.

Historical patterns are another key trend which is often explored via digital print, with designers reinterpreting and modernizing traditional techniques and archival patterns via scale and color, she added. This trend allows you to create an interior space with a sense of historic splendor, adding antiqued surfaces or architectural details via wallpapers or panels.

Sois Changeante (between silks) wallpaper, shown in Yuzen, is reminiscent of silk painting. The collection also offers plain designs and stripes.

(Courtesy of litis)

Other trends we see continuing to grow across both wallpapers and textiles are retro and vintage style patterns via the current obsession with Bauhaus geometrics and hand-painted abstract designs.

While these wallcoverings are designed and created to last for years, temporary wallpaper is another option think peel-and-stick designs that make it easy and inexpensive to put up and take down. They can be found at retailers from Wayfair to Urban Outfitters to West Elm, and can be a perfect option for a renter, for a kids bedroom, for someone who wants to create the illusion of a design element or for someone who just cant make up their mind.

Designer Kim Nadel used a vibrant Missoni-style wallcovering on the back panels of a wall unit in this California contemporary coastal home. The choice was inspired by the clients love of yoga, the 1970s and a beach vibe.

(Courtesy of Kim Nadel / Gaia Inspired Design and Consulting)

Encinitas interior designer Kim Nadel of Kim Nadel/Gaia Inspired Design and Consulting has used it for her clients. For one client, she installed a vibrant Missoni zigzag pattern on a removable panel behind the shelves of a custom-designed wall unit/room divider because the client was concerned about committing. The pattern is one of several for the client.

I had panels made up that were covered in different things so she could pop the back panel out if she wanted to and change it out with another.

For a quick, low-cost way to add visual impact to her own fireplace, designer Kim Nadel used a temporary wallpaper around the arch that looks like tile. The effect also helps balance a large TV hung above.

(Courtesy of Kim Nadel / Gaia Inspired Design and Consulting)

She also put in temporary wallpaper strategically in her own home around the arch of her fireplace to balance having a massive TV over the fireplace.

It probably needed some beautiful Spanish tile, but because of the expense and the time involved installing it, I found a temporary wallpaper that looks like tile, Nadel said. People think its real and it cost a fraction of tile. And we could do it ourselves.

The Papillon wallpaper pattern, shown in Powder, brings a romantic, floral look to the room.

(Courtesy of Mokum Textiles)

Whether you choose a unique textile or temporary paper, you have to be strategic in the design you choose and where you put it. Still, both Nadel and Lyons insisted there are no rules. It just depends on your aesthetic and the impact youre looking to make.

There are no rules, but I would say in general for a small room, like a powder room or a den, if you put it on all the walls and use a large pattern, understand that it will give you a cocoon feeling, said Nadel. If youre trying to add just a little pizazz or wow factor for a living room, you could put a small pattern on every wall.

If its a large pattern, think about the scale and what else you have in the room. Will it compete or clash with a patterned area rug or other textiles or complement them? Is it meant to stand on its own for attention or be a background for art?

Nadel pointed out, You might want a calmer pattern or color in your bedroom unless you put it just on the wall behind your bed where it wont impact your sleep.

But, she said with a laugh, if you want to be adventurous in a guest room or an office wall, a hallway, stairwell or the powder room, go for it. They can be fun spaces to be in.

And, she added, you could even put it on the risers of stairs.

LOdyssee collection by James Dunlop displays exotic flowers, foliage and jungle animals in a colorful, artistically rendered style.

(Courtesy of James Dunlop Textiles)

If youre only going to choose one wall in a room for installing wallcoverings, Lyons recommends making it the wall you see when you first walk into the room or wherever you want to create a focal point or setting.

Should you do it yourself?

Wallpaper installation can be fun and challenging, Lyons said. But if you are purchasing a high-end wall covering, I definitely recommend hiring a professional. The best way to find a good installer is a referral from someone who has had wallpaper installed. Check out websites online or sites like Yelp, where you can read reviews. Always make sure the installer is a licensed contractor who is bonded and insured.

Golden is a San Diego freelance writer and blogger.

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Deck the walls with lush florals, patterns and a whiff of nostalgia - The San Diego Union-Tribune