Home Time Birdy Nature – Origin Wallpapers
Well, let it be said that design occasionally reflects on past trends (dreaded stirrup pants and neon pink t-shirts), but design’s true calling is moving forward: bigger, bolder, inspired and, well, ALIVE, to be honest.
With so many designers being focused on greige the last few years, it is a welcome breath of fresh air that Pantone has released some awesome, bright and, dare I say, happy, forecasted colours for 2016. Not one greige in the deck.
Pantone Fashion Colours 2016
It’s a designer’s dream. It truly is! FINALLY, something awesome to play with! It’s like giving a kid a million dollars and letting them loose in a candy shop. And not some variety store, but like a serious, of Disney proportion, candy shop. But alas, what to do? More toss cushions? I might be sick if one more person puts twenty different toss cushions on one sofa and calls it good design. Are we not bored of toss cushions? White walls, greige sofas and twenty toss cushions. Just add in a white kitchen with a black island and your house will look just like everyone else’s house! So let’s inject some personality into our homes. They are our homes, after all. Let’s stand on rooftops and yell: “This is my home! My walls tell my story! I am not afraid to splash my personality all over the place!” Well, maybe don’t stand on a rooftop, might get you into trouble…but let’s try to focus, for the next year of our lives, on being who we really are. On NOT-conforming to trendy design, but on doing things we love, so our homes become a reflection of us, our families and, if you are anything like most of my friends, even our pets.
My socially conscious side wants to put this in…so bare with me. Ever been bullied? I was. When I was 13 years old and couldn’t afford a Roots sweatshirt. It was like I was the only kid at school who’s life sucked because Guess Jeans and Benetton were just simply out of my reach. So now, that I am all grown up, and I seriously don’t care about being just like everyone else, I work on designing my home, and my life, around me. Yes, me. And maybe my kids and occasionally my husband. But mostly just me :-). And so I use colours I like. I create the vibe I want. It’s kid-friendly (I can wash and dry my sofa covers) and man-friendly (no flower power and some unpainted wood). But it feels like me. And everyone loves it. Because if they are in my home, we are friends, and if they love me, well they will love my home. It looks like my personality blew up and covered every surface of this place (well the parts that have been done, anyway).
Here are some great ideas to inject your personality and your loved ones onto your walls. We’ll do this as a step by step process. Today walls, next week…read on…
Let no man put asunder the greatness of design for character. Just made that up. Pretty good, eh?
I am a great fan of murals. They add both colour and personality. Here’s a few ways to go about it:
Wallpaper:
JF Fabrics, along with many other companies (I am a JF Lover), have created the easiest way to get a mural up. You just measure your wall and order it. And then you get my guy Joe (or your guy) to put it up. Voila! Instant fabulous!!
Courtesy JF Fabrics
Photographic:
Seriously considering doing this for my kids bedrooms. How amazing?!? And that back-splash is a million dollar idea. You take a high res picture, and then send it in (these two are from www.eazywallz.com) along with your measurements, and pretty soon this rolled up package arrives at your door with instructions and everything! Imagine a photo of your home back in, wherever you come from, or an antique photo of your great grandparents, or your dad’s old football team, or the beach where you fell in love, or or or….
Digitally Printed Art Murals:
Thomas Zeitlberger is an awesome Viennese artist who designed some murals for Marburg Wallcoverings. Now that’s personality! Check out his two murals below. Totally amazing.
Hand Painted:
I know this awesome decorative painter called Suzanne from www.venetianstudios.com. She does all kids of great stuff. She did my living room and I love it! She can do a pattern, a painting, whatever you dream of. I remember she even ones painted a tree in one young lads bedroom, with birds and his name on a train and the kid still loves it years later. It’s a totally unique and personal experience.
How did my living room wall get into this post?
Courtesy of Venetian Studios
So that’s one way to do it. Use your walls!! Next blog, I’ll talk about the dreaded photo wall. Something everyone wants but is too afraid to try. And that’s one serious way to inject some serious you into your design.
Have a terrific day!
Revi
PS: Sorry I haven’t written in forever. Been so super busy!!
