Wallpaper has been in and out of fashion for decades. Going back centuries, the Chinese are credited with being the first to decorate their walls with rice paper depicting scenes from nature. By the 12th century, these papers along with other decorative arts from China, spread to Europe via the Silk Road. The style became wildly popular in Europe and the French called it, “chinoiserie”, meaning Chinese.”
Like many of you, I’ve used wallpaper in the past. When it’s been fashionable I loved it, but, after spending hours trying to peel it away after it fell out of favour, I swore I’d never use it again. One year when my daughter was a teenager I wallpapered her bedroom in coordinating Laura Ashley patterns as a surprise for her birthday. I thought it was fabulous…she hated it! Many hours were spent getting it off the walls ASAP! Not only that, I used the same patterns for bedding and other accessories…not a good idea!
Over the winter I’ve spent hours pouring over decorating books. Wallpaper has been featured in almost every one of them. And a tiny seed was planted in my mind last summer when I was in Paris and London. It seemed that the rooms I loved the most were wallpapered and I started thinking…maybe I’m ready to go down that road again. Not ready for a huge commitment, I decided to paper the powder room.
The sample (taped to the corner) appears to pick up all the colours in the painting. The paper should arrive sometime this week…now I’m nervous about how it will all come together.
If it works out, I will post a photo…if not, I’ll be spending the following week trying to remove it!
xox Judy❤️