Wallpaper on Ceilings and in the Modern Home

In February 2012, I wrote a post entitled The Sky's The Limit: Painted Ceilings where I discussed the benefits of painting the ceiling in a room.   I'm amazed at the number of people that are interested in painted ceilings.  It continues to be my most viewed entry even four years later.

I have fully embraced the concept of painted ceilings in my own home to provide additional visual effect in a room.  Depending upon the color used, it can soften the appearance or elongate the room.   For example, here is my sunroom with Benjamin Moore Spectra Blue 2049-50 Walls and Arctic Blue 2050-60 Ceiling.

Today, I wanted to discuss using wallpaper in a room to create visual effect and character.  Wallpaper often gets a bad rap.  Many envision the hard-to-remove paper from their grandmother's era.  (Think large florals and Golden Girls).  For that reason, it lost popularity for awhile but has recently undergone a resurgence.   As you know by now, I'm a bit more daring than many people and I actually love to wallpaper the ceilings of my house.

For example, when I decided to renovate my guest bedroom room, I wanted to use elements that were unexpected.  I decided to add wallpaper to the bedroom ceiling using Meg Braff's Roxy wallpaper.  I had selected an over the top urchin sputnik chandelier for the room (which would have stood on it's own) but I wanted something to push it over the top.  I loved the idea of dark navy walls (Sherwin William's SW6510 Loyal Blue) complimented by a patterned ceiling.

My daughter has now taken over this room for her own and between the Turquoise Urchin Sputnik Chandelier and the Meg Braff Paper, it's a wonder she is able to fall asleep in this room (giggle).  But I purposely went solid on the walls so that the ceiling could have a splash of fun.  No, this isn't for everyone, but this is a perfect example of how a wallpaper ceiling can add texture and fun to a room.

I decided to go a bit more subdued in my son's bedroom  .  I wanted to give the ceiling an appearance of wooden planks.   The Thibaut Rodanthe Wallpaper fit the bill perfectly.  

On the support walls, I used a custom vintage wallpaper with the global design from   Design Your Wall called Sea Explorer.

 

Sometimes, people get caught up in design rules and are uncomfortable taking a plunge in the decor.  I'll admit, wallpapering the walls AND ceiling in a room can be a bit much.  And, though, it's not visible in these photos, I ended up only covering two of the non-ceiling walls and painting the other two a neutral color just to the eye could catch a break from all of the patterns.

For my upstairs bedrooms, I decided to take more daring liberties in the decorating.  However
in a more formal room, like the dining room, it's important to support the mood and purpose of the room.  For example, wallpaper is still acceptable, but must be utilized in a more classic form.  For example a grass cloth is a tasteful way to cover a wall, add character and still maintain the rooms formality.  This is Phillip Jeffries Grass Cloth.

In a transitional space such as a mudroom, there are no rules that say the room must be boring or  neutral.  Why not be greeted with a splash of fun color upon entering the house?  No surprise, I went with a Kelly Green chinoiserie pattern by Meg Braff in the mudroom entry off our garage.  It's bright and cheery and, what I love most, unexpected!  Again, not for everyone, but I like to reiterate that it's ok to be daring and push the limits a bit.  

Additionally, wallpaper does not have to be permanent.  There are creative ways to create the effect of wallpaper in a room without using paste and permanent paper.  For example, this is a vestibule in our upstairs hallway and it's simply a strip of striped fabric that I nailed to the wall and trimmed with grosgrain ribbon.  

The kids have a shared bathroom and I used removable wallpaper strips to create a bit of dimension to the room.   The walls are painted a neutral beige and I added red stripes that have self-adhesive backing.  They can easily be removed when we want to change out the look of the room.

I'm such a fan of wallpaper, that I used it in the Vivid Hue Home store as well.  I wanted something that felt like retro Palm Beach.  Golden Girls meets Connecticut, in a good way!  Meg Braff designed a vintage trellis paper in kelly green (my favorite) and, voila!   

Where do you stand in the use of wallpaper?  Are you reluctant to plaster it to your walls for fear of the amount of effort it will take to remove?  Or do you embrace the use of wallpaper in moderation?  Have you used wallpaper on the ceiling in your room?

Cheers,
Heather