Once upon a time, wallpaper was a thing of nightmares. It terrorized children across the land, who were forced to spend their most vulnerable years enduring the sight of hideous patterns and color combinations throughout their home (to this day I cannot bear the sight of floral prints …). But no more! Now shops are filled with stylish rolls of paper that would grace any home. Here I pick out some of my favorites …
Snapshot Survey
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Blue Alphabet
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Price: $60 at grahambrown.com
And not just any alphabet … no, this paper shows the letters of the Greek alphabet! You won’t be able to make any sense of it though even if you understand Greek, as the letters are jumbled up rather than forming words.
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Birdcage in Deep Yellow
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Price: $60 at grahambrown.com
One for the ecologically minded. This paper is made from managed timber sources and has no nasty solvents. You can even recycle the packaging!
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Huddle
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Price: $60 at grahambrown.com
Despite the price, you might not mind the kids drawing on this one, since it is covered with picture frames! In fact, you could all have fun doodling, or sticking family photos in the frames.
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Paradise
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Price: $60 at grahambrown.com
Designer Julien Macdonald, better known for his couture, is behind this eyecatching paper. If you’re none too adept at papering, this design might be just the thing, as instead of appying paste to the paper and then fighting to put it on the wall, you paste the wall and then hang the paper dry.
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Library Bookshelf
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Price: $33.99 at cgi.ebay.com
This won’t fool anyone into thinking that you’ve got a bookshelf full of lovely old texts, but it will certainly add that historic and literary touch to your home. If you feel like being really ironic, place an actual bookshelf in front – especially if it’s full of trashy beach reads. Another pre-pasted paper, to make your life a bit easier.
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Happiness depends upon ourselves.
Zebra Stripes
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Price: $34.99 at cgi.ebay.com
I’ve seen something very similar in a local shop, that draws my eye every time I see it. I soooo want it! Just stunning … I am very tempted to put some up in place of the boring white textured vinyl I’m currently stuck with. Why did people ever think 3D wallpaper was a good idea?
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Cats in Hats Border
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Price: $9.99 at cgi.ebay.com
If you don’t want to go for a full papering job, then why not opt for a border. And if you want to traumatise your own kids in revenge, then you couldn’t do better than this so-bad-it’s … bad theme of cats in hats. Not just any hats – cowboy hats. Hand on that nightmare to the next generation.
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Flower
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Price: $7.99 at cgi.ebay.com
Okay, I’ll let a flower design in as this one is cool. It just manages to avoid the taint of the original 70s nightmare, and moves into retro territory. Maybe it’s the colors – the bright blue flowers lift the background.
A good tip with strong patterns like these is to use it on only one wall. Now, are you tempted to add some wild wallpaper to your life?
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