Check out these fabulous Etsy stores offering objects made from wallpaper.(Click on the photo to go to the site where they are sold.) Inspiring stuff!
Thanks for the heads up Karli!
Every once in a while, I get an e-mail from a customer that really stands out. This one comes from Jennifer, who (like many people) was wary of installing wallpaper permanently. She ended up mounting the paper onto foam core to great success:
Dear Cavern,
A bit more than two years ago I bought Blackbird in gold/brown. I gave half to my mother as a gift and kept the other half for myself. Frankly, though I own my own home, I just didn’t want to put it on a wall. It felt like too big of a committment (any wonder why I’m still single?) What if I redecorated? What if I wanted the birds on a different wall? What, heaven forbid, if I moved and had to leave it BEHIND?
Solution: I dry mounted the wallpaper and framed it, so I can now move it around to my heart’s content. And, even more importantly, take it with me wherever I go!
It’s stunning! I currently have my framed wallpaper serving as a room divider. I stare at my wallpaper and am filled with incredible joy by its beauty.
Thank you!
-Jennifer
Thanks for the kind words, Jennifer! And congrats on the project!
Shepard Fairey just put his mark on the wall Keith Haring made famous, on Houston and Bowery. Like Haring, Fairey covers surfaces with his signature style and activates spaces that were previously neutral, unnoticed, or forgotten. But unlike Haring, Fairey’s work draws direct inspiration from traditional wallpaper– his oft used, repeating floral pattern looks like it came right out of a baroque living room. By conjuring wallpaper right beside images that evoke posters, newspapers, stickers, and flags, Fairey creates the illusion of paper layers and toys with the idea of surface itself.
To me, Fairey’s mural on Houston highlights the perhaps obvious but nonetheless dramatic transformation that has happened to New York since Haring painted his mural on the same spot in 1982. “The corner of Houston and Bowery was a desolate area to begin with,” Haring once recalled, “so we decided that we didn’t have to ask permission. We thought that if we cleaned up the garbage then no one was going to ask us whether we had permission to paint it.” How times have changed!
New York Magazine has a terrific slide show of the installation process. I’m looking forward to seeing the show at Dietch.
[Images from Tom Slaughter]
I’m a big fan of using wallpaper in ways beyond traditional wall coverings. Kara Dake entered her apartment in the apartment therapy small spaces competition and used some Cavern wallpaper scraps — blackbird on her cabinets and thatch on her closet door. Her space is busy, but the deign elements all go together because she keeps a consistent color pallet. That is the key to combining patterns. Congrats Kara!
Love this illustration pattern in the window at the Pink store on Madison Ave. Both Tom Slaughter and I noticed it in the same two days. Thanks for the pics Tom!
My dear friend and upstairs neighbor Jordan Reid just featured Cavern on her new blog, devoted to her life as an “uncommon newlywed.” Check out the video as I show Jordan how to re-do a lampshade using wallpaper scraps — I’m getting good at it!
Whenever I want inspiration, I open my “Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book,” published in 1961. Boasting over 300 color illustrations, the guide mixes amazing photos of mid-century modern spaces with practical advice that still holds true almost fifty years later.
Today I’ll point your attention to the idea of patterning ceilings. As Better Homes & Gardens points out, wallpaper on ceilings is smart when you want to lower a too-high ceiling or call attention to an unusual shape. I would also add that wallpapering a ceiling adds an unexpected twist to any room and asserts a confident design aesthetic. Depending on the style paper, the effect can range from edgy/cool to traditional/formal. But no matter the aesthetic, ceiling wallpaper declares that you care about your space and demonstrates that you will make sassy choices to enliven it. Remember: no risk no reward!
In my ongoing exploration of alternative uses for wallpaper (and what to do with wallpaper scraps, if you have them), I will suggest framing a section of the paper on its own. Although the repeat effect will be lost, many wallpapers look great in smaller pieces — especially if its colors are bold and the composition dynamic. (Cavern patterns are perfect.) Framing wallpaper also works well for renters.
Happy wallpapering!
Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith sent me a copy of their new book, “Wallpaper Projects.” They sent it over because they feature Cavern throughout, but after a few days I started reading all their ideas of what to do with wallpaper scraps. Notecards, headboards, pinwheels… Derek and Lauren cover everything.
The book is fantastic; I highly recommend!
Below are some lampshades I made with left-over “Tigerlace” and “Casa de Melagros.”
