What’s UP With Wallpaper – Part 2

                                         PUT IT UP!

Jill, this is for you!

As promised, here is the latest and greatest from the wallpaper industry. It’s all about texture. Environmental overtones are very strong, like grass cloth and linen papers. . . anything “green”.

But so are papers with just a little more sass.

Sometimes these two elements are combined! Metallics are back – have they ever really gone away? With stainless steel showing up in appliances, countertops and even ceramic tile, it follows to see its subtle shimmer in wall coverings. And it doesn’t stop in the kitchen.

Gold, bronze, and copper sunset tones are being used in foyers, bathrooms, and home offices. Complicated (and sometimes risky) faux-finish paint techniques are suddenly fool-proof with wallpaper.

 Candice Olson, of HGTV’s Divine Design offers a wallpaper that looks like ostrich leather, rich in texture and subtle in pattern. Her book is simply called, Candice Olson, Fine Wallpapers. In it she presents metallic and pearlized grass cloths as part of her fresh look. 

Textures is the name of a book from Ralph Lauren. He shows us papers that look and feel like silk, cork, linen, and art paper. And, not to be missed, the illumination of metallic is available in sophisticated textures throughout his collection.

So don’t turn your nose up at all wallpapers today. Many of them are metallic, oops!  I mean magnificent! Are you bloggin it?

Dianne Ross/Interior designer

Phelan’s Interiors 363-9634

Easter Eggshell Paint

 Happy Easter to Everybody who has been in these shoes!

 

Border Patrol

                         WHAT’S UP WITH WALLPAPER?

 

                                                     TEAR IT DOWN

  Wallpaper trends, like all trends, come and go. From the 1980’s through the 1990’s wallpaper reached its heyday. A house wasn’t a home without the sweetest matching wallpaper borders.  

Recently a friend of mine purchased a home. During the house search, she and her husband sometimes took bets, before entering, on what the borders might look like inside. They even had a name for this little exercise:

                                  Border Patrol!

If you have masses of darling posies on your walls or swooping and drooping in borders, they need to go away. Far, far away. That look takes us back 15 to 25 years. It was before Trading Places, before Divine Design . . .  Before HGTV!

Back then we were just crazy for little flowers, big flowers, fruit of any kind (especially grapes), plaids with stripes, and ribbons and bows. Nobody, it seemed could have too much ivy.  The best would be to use all of them – preferably in one room – as correlates!

Well, I don’t think we need to brow beat ourselves too much because it was a beginning of sorts. Granted, in the 50’s a number of people had stagecoaches on their wallpaper or even oval sputnik looking things. But wallpaper didn’t become a huge craze until early in the 80’s.  

We were just beginning to seriously experiment with pattern, color and texture. We went crazy for pattern! We were having fun. Hey, I hate to admit it but I had a very fruit-covered wallpaper in the kitchen with – you guessed it - grape border. And I loved it! Times change.

Today wall coverings are a quieter version of pattern and texture. Much of it is done with paint; however there are some fantastic new wallpapers out there. Don’t overlook them!

More about that next time –

Dianne Ross / Interior Designer

Phelan’s Interior’s

363-9634

DESIGNERS AND MONEY

DESIGN AND MONEY

 

Today let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and talk about Design and Money! I know – the “M” word makes most people a little uncomfortable, but just today a client said something to me that I often hear. And it goes something like this, “I am so afraid I will make a co$tly mi$take. I know what I like but I don’t know how to put everything together.”

 

                           PERFECT. Use an interior designer!

 

“Color, space, style, proportion, function, lighting, accessories, budget, time frame” are words in my work-a-day vocabulary.

 

With endless choices in the market place, of course people can feel a bit overwhelmed when working on a project. Whether you are purchasing furniture, floor coverings, or color for an accent wall you probably don’t have much experience.  Chances are you won’t furnish a master bedroom more than once or twice in a lifetime! So, how could you be expected to have experience?

 

A designer works with these products all day, every day. She will listen to your needs and wants, and guide you through the project. Her job (my job) is to take the “I’m so afraid” out of your vocabulary and have you say instead, “I love it!”  And that $aves you money.

Are you bloggin it?

   

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer

Phelan’s Interiors

363-9634

Hand scraped wood. WHY?

                          Hand scraped what?! Hardwood floors? Really?                                                       

                                                                 !YES YES YES!

The technique is not altogether new in the market place but Iowa home owners are beginning a love affair with this look. Yes, the finest (wood floor) brands offer planks that are indeed, hand scraped. The scraping is done to create a warm vintage look, to give the floor “instant” character with the feel of heritage, or history.

The unique distressing holds a comfortable flavor within itself. It’s a floor that says welcome. The wood varieties selected for these planks have quite a range, as well. Stained with an intense charcoal color, for example, the floor easily moves toward contemporary tastes. One thing is certain – it is here to stay

 If you haven’t had the opportunity to see or feel hand scraped hardwoods, stop in the store and check it out!  You can also get great information from one of our lines by going to www.homerwood.com.

If you have other questions concerning hardwoods,  or engineered wood floors, or whatever – just BLOG me!

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer

Phelan’s Interiors

363-9634