Wallpaper or Paint ?

Don't get me wrong I am a confirmed lover of an all white home but sometimes, just sometimes I have a yearning for a bright, patterned accent wall. 

Decorating the hallway (again)

I love white, all the rooms in my home have white walls but about 6 years ago I saw some stunning wallpaper in Laura Ashley called Summer Palace.  It was on 70% reduction so I snapped up all the rolls they had left in the bin and hurried home to tell hubby he had some decorating to do.  You can see it in the staircase makeover HERE .

Six years down the line Summer Palace has become really popular and the final nail in its coffin to keep it in my house, was when I saw it decoupaged on a piece of furniture in a shop !  Sorry hubby but time to decorate the hallway again.  Luckily he agreed as the paper was starting to look a little grubby and faded.

On a trip to B & Q to buy paint supplies I noticed some beautiful, bright paper on sale. Again massively reduced and also the final batch as it was going out of production.  Yippee, not only reasonably priced but also hopefully never to be seen again for sale so I won't have to suffer seeing it decoupaged somewhere (I hope).  The only problem was it would mean I would have to also re-paint my beloved pink stairs !

I found this mirror at the vintage trading company in Exeter.  A large gilt piece, I painted white and lightly distressed.  Looks perfect.

I painted the chair in a dip dye style.  I recently painted a dressing table for a customer in a similar style and loved it so much I have decided to paint a few more pieces.

Love my hubbie's attention to detail in how he matched the wallpaper up round the corner.

Sorry about the quality of the photographs I really do need to save up for a proper camera and stop using my phone !

Wallpaper time

The walls of most of the rooms in our home are painted white, giving a feeling of bright, light and space.  Occasionally though I come across wallpaper I just have to find a place for.  This happened several years ago when I found rolls of Laura Ashley Summer Palace in a sale bin.  My hubby wasn't sure about the bright vibrant pink birds, but I loved it and just knew it would work with all the white.  We used it in the hallway and painted the stairs pink to match, never failing to get comments from visitors..

Its been up for about 5 yrs now and is looking a little tired so I thought I'd look for something equally stunning to replace it.   Because this is a feature wall as you walk into the house and only needs a few rolls of paper, I can afford to spend a little extra on something really special which will transform the space but not blow the budget.  This is always a good idea if you want to introduce some pattern or colour into a room without spending a fortune.

I love this Mrs Peel  by Fired Earth 

Or how about a game of Mini Moderns Backgammon in Mustard from John Lewis

Love this Mini moderns "Do you live in a town? " 

Subtle but beautiful Sanderson Squirrel and a dove

This is my favourite at the moment  Marimekko Ystavat Wallpaper in grey

I'll let you know what we decide on.