Wall Ideas: Color, Pattern and Style

Filed under: Color, Design, etc, House Tours

Forget tones of cream, beige and gray, this San Francisco residence proves your walls deserve so much more.

When considering wall ideas, many people opt for safe choices. But Meliisa Warner didn't shy away from bold colors and patterns when she was commissioned to decorate a home in San Francsico. As one of three partners at Massucco Warner Miller (named for the firm's three principals Julie Massucco, Melissa Warner and Carrie Miller), Warner has a way with walls. And as this house shows, her wall ideas are endless.


To learn how we could be as confident as she is with our wall coverings and colorings, we asked Warner about the decisions that went into creating this beautiful home. Here's what she had to say:

Dining Room (above)
The stunning hand-painted, emerald silk wallpaper by DeGournay and the orange chairs strike a nice tension in this classical dining room. "The wallpaper was probably the first piece picked in the whole house!" Warner notes, "The bright orange chairs were picked later to compliment one of the accent colors in the wallpaper's flowers." Gray painted moldings (Ralph Lauren's "Grange Hall") are an unusual and masculine choice to frame this show-stopping pattern.

Master Bedroom
While the Osborne & Little wallpaper (#W5220-0) in the master bedroom is a bold choice with its graphic, retro print and metallic sheen, it actually looks like a neutral when paired with bright, fuchsia drapery. Says Warner of this choice, "The Clarence House coral silk (that was used for the window treatments) was irresistible with the sheen and subtle gold accents in the wallpaper."

Bedroom Sitting Nook
When it came to the sitting nook off the master bedroom, Warner decided not to continue with the Osborne & Little print but to opt for a different pattern altogether. She chose Nina Campbell's "Deauville" in pearl, a soft zebra-like print, which complements the bedroom's floral wallpaper. Warner notes, "I wanted to choose a pattern that was interesting enough on its own, yet didn't compete with the bolder pattern in the master bedroom. This zebra motif ended up being the perfect compliment and still interesting enough on its own!"

Powder Room
This small bathroom would seem like an unlikely choice for a big, bold print, but Warner says, "I think a small space is the perfect place to use such a bold wallpaper. Oftentimes, small spaces can get neglected, but I think this paper (or any bold paper) can make a more petite room unexpected and fun." The Zebra wallpaper is a legendary pattern by Scalamandré, originally created in the 1940s exclusively for Gino's, a New York City restaurant, which was unavailable to purchase until the company finally released the pattern a few years back. You might recognize its red counterpart as the wallpaper from Margot Tenenbaum's bathroom in the film The Royal Tenenbaums.

Bedrooms
Warner didn't leave all of the drama to the master bedroom. These two smaller rooms both got wall treatments that wow.

In the bedroom above left, the bold stripes are actually painted onto the wall. Warner notes that she worked with a painter to determine the best size for the stripe. Then the painter painted the whole room white. Once it had dried, she used painter's tape to mask off the spots for the navy stripes.

In the room above right, the bold turquoise hue determined much of the room's decor. Warner advises, "If you're using such a bold paint color, I recommend using other neutral elements in the room to balance it out. In this case, I balanced the bolder turquoise with the ivory of the trim, bookshelves, coverlet and rug."

Need more wall ideas? Read on:
- Fresh Floral Wallpapers
- Wallpaper in the Bathroom
- Wallpaper's Curvy New Look
-15 Easy, Chic Ways to Dress Up a Blank Wall
-Grizzly Wall Decor

 

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