Wall Flower

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Somewhat suddenly, a vision is starting to appear.  A plan.  Just for the backgrounds, really, though it has my blood jumping a little.

I have called to see about the weird spot on the ceiling and discovered Folly Green is great for the dining room, and aptly named as well, I fear.  An omen for the stenciling perhaps.

The strie glaze that I thought would be a piece of cake has turned into a piece of, well, unpleasantness and I am now experimenting with glazes and brushes which was not part of the plan.

I looked for wallpaper yesterday for the first time in years.  It came back quickly, the fast flip to see if anything would catch my eye.  I rediscovered a few friends and we reminisced over rooms they have adorned.

I know some people say “Rugs first!” but my visions tend to come fully formed and it is the paint that I can usually afford fastest, so my houses start with walls.  Today I will be out hunting and gathering information to help with the living room wall project; I am so anxious to begin.

All the images today are from Walls, the Best of Decorative Treatments by Florence de Dampierre, Rizzoli International.  The cover may lead you to believe this is purely a traditional tome, but there is inspiration for every taste.  Murals, panels, paper and paint, there are fine examples of them all.  Photography, Pieter Estersohn.

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19 thoughts on “Wall Flower”

  1. Your first pic reminds me of the work David Hockney did for the opera. What city? No idea. All I know it is has stuck with me for years.

    Great post.

  2. Thanks for the borrowed light for ceilings—you have inspired me!

  4. Let me guess, that dry brush you're dragging through the glaze doesn't exactly stay dry, or you're brushing off more glaze than you want because the brush isn't "hairy" enough?

    I can't wait to see your wallpaper picks.

  6. I love all of these rooms. The first one was an important tear-sheet in my life, too. I'll send you some photos. I still love that room! Have fun. ; )

  7. There is some very good strie wallpaper available in lots of colors. I would try the usual suspects in trade sources plus some lower cost retail sources. Looks good and so much easier. To me strie is something I would have to have a professional do, or risk my last nerve. 🙂

  8. Sloane – you just sent me on a very happy tangent. Thanks.

    FbD – you're welcome – you will love it.

    David – worse – it's doing nothing at all. No drag. Just like a solid glaze, which is pretty, too, honestly and I may leave it at that and call it creative process.

    pve – I am doing that someday.

    Barbara – can't wait to see them.

    And, Dandy – I am determined.

  9. I love the tole chandelier in the first room and "Walls" is a phenomenal book. Good luck–after all, it is mainly paint and can be covered up fairly quickly–go for it.

  10. Mrs. B, if you go the wallpaper route, I have had good luck online using Select Wallpaper based in Dundee, Scotland. Around half the cost for a few of my favorite brands. Even w/shipping to the US, it's still a good option.

  11. I am with you on many accounts, the paint first, since it's the fastest and most affordable change, the many ideas popping fully formed up in your mind and the anxiety to get started!
    Good luck Mrs.Blandings! You will succeed!

  13. I love the first image too. It makes me think of Ludwig Bemelmans' illustrations.
    Didn't Domino do a spread where someone outlined the existing architectural features of an interior and then drew a few more in for fun? It was charming.

  14. i've never been a rugs first girl. i'm a fabric first one. just put up wallpaper in my bedroom this week. eek!!!! very very nervewracking. not for the faint of heart.

  15. that mural of the carriage! I have seen it somewhere else!

    racking my brain……oh I do so miss my mind!

    Do you know???

    Penelope

  16. Oh, I was hoping someone would say that wallpaper and stencils are perfect. Both beautiful and ….easy. I am down to pocket change and I need something new and extravagant and tasteful and cheap. I will be watching to see you make magic with all that blank space.

  18. Paint first, I agree. We've been in our new house for just over a year and are slowly adding furniture and rugs as we find things we love. Our new house is much bigger than the old one and all hardwood, so there is a lot of space to fill. I could never have waited so long to paint. Besides, it's amazing how things just kind of work out once you have an image in mind. Wall color is as good a starting point as any, in my opinion, and easy enough to change later.

    I just ordered my first can of Farrow and Ball paint. Orangery, for the solid wall of our enclosed back porch. I can't wait.

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