How to get the hang of wallpaper to stunning effect – The Guardian

Let your building dictate the wallpaper

Ben Pentreath, architect

The architect and interior designer Ben Pentreath whose practice has become synonymous with characterful, modern English style suggests your choice in wallpaper should be guided by the architecture of your home.

With a very historic house, Id use period papers that are sympathetic to the building, he says, citing the high-end American manufacturer Adelphi Paper Hangings, which reproduces wallpapers from original documents and hand-prints its designs using contemporaneous methods and materials.

Alternatively, if you are decorating a period room, he suggests choosing a wallpaper that has been in production for a long time. Cole & Son, for example, has been creating patterns since 1875 and many of its contemporary designs are reworkings of historic block-print papers. Often, its a simple tweak to scale and a fresh set of colourways that lend its historic patterns a contemporary edge.

At a less high-end cost, Pentreath continues, I use a lot of Morris & Co papers, as these seem to belong beautifully in houses of all periods. Pentreath has spent the summer recolouring a selection of Morris & Co wallpapers and fabrics. The new collection is set to launch this autumn and will no doubt combine the lushness of William Morriss 19th-century designs with Pentreaths peppy approach to colour.

If your architecture is more neutral, then Id say the sky is the limit when it comes to mixing styles, he says. By all means go bold and rich, but be careful not to overdo it in space which you spend a lot of time relaxing in, he cautions. Id tend to choose something calm and more neutral in my bedroom, such as the brilliant dragged papers by Farrow & Ball but then go wild and have fun in the hallways, WCs and guest bedrooms. benpentreath.com

Clare Gaskin, interior designer

When clients say they dont like wallpaper, most of the time I ignore them, admits interior designer Clare Gaskin. Often, its simply because they havent been exposed to enough of it. Thats my job: to sift through the options and find whats appropriate.

For Gaskin, wallpaper is both functional and decorative. On a recent project, she was confronted with an awkward anteroom dissected by four sets of doors. To unify the space she papered the walls and the doors in Cole & Sons Clock Court.

She has also used wallpaper to make a feature of plain doors. One of my clients had a sliding door that separated the dining room from the kitchen, she explains. We papered it in Cole & Sons Antique Mirror, which gave the door the appearance of a vintage foxed mirror. Now when you draw the door across, it functions more like a piece of art. (For papered areas that are going to be frequently touched, she recommends applying a coat of decorators varnish.)

Gaskin has also recently used faux grasscloth, such as Chandbali by Villa Nova, in several projects. These vinyl coverings have the textured appearance of natural grasscloth, which is made from handwoven strands of natural fibres and is both delicate and expensive.

Im always recommending textured vinyl beyond the kitchen and bathroom, she explains. Particularly in busy households with children. Why not have something that looks just as good as an expensive covering, but that you can take a sponge to should something happen? claregaskin.com

Ottoline de Vries, wallpaper designer

Five years ago, Ottoline de Vries quit her job at a law firm in Amsterdam to launch her eponymous design house. While decorating my childrens rooms, she recalls, I suddenly found I had so many creative ideas.

De Vries spent her evenings scouring the internet for wallpaper designs to cover vintage finds, such as console tables and chests of drawers. I guess you could say I became a little pattern-obsessed, she admits. Eventually, she realised that she was looking for something that wasnt available and began sketching her own designs. She sent one of them to be printed and when the roll arrived in the post, she realised she had the makings of a new business.

The Ottoline aesthetic is inspired by an appreciation for modern art and traditional craft and can be described as both bold and naive. Everyone has their own way of looking at things, de Vries concedes, but my advice is to go bold in smaller spaces and use a smaller pattern in larger rooms.

De Vries doesnt recommend wallpapering just one wall in a room. On the contrary, her advice is to paper every surface. A design becomes much more harmonious and demands less attention if you paper an entire room, including the ceiling. De Vries, who has become an expert in hanging wallpaper, has tried this herself at home, but admits finding it physically quite a struggle and suggests hiring a decorator for this particular job.

The final result is completely enveloping like stepping into a gift box. When a room is wrapped in the same pattern, the pieces in it stand out more. It will interest and inspire you without dominating the space. ottoline.co.uk

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How to get the hang of wallpaper to stunning effect - The Guardian