A sense of occasion Rooms in less frequent use may benefit from a more dramatic treatment. A dining room will glow in Renaissance gold against cream, offset by midnight blue or Turkey red, or gracefully echo eighteenth-century chinoiserie with a design of exotic birds, flowers and fruit. The sinuous quality of Art Nouveau or the organic vigor of a Morris print is styles to consider where a rich, all-embracing design is required.
Don't be afraid of the dark, especially if the room is reserved for evening use, where pools of light can be used to enhance the scheme. An original effect can be created with paper panels edged by borders to enclose areas of pattern or to correct the proportions of a room. Vertical panels add height while horizontal ones give width and it is possible to widen a narrow ceiling by dividing it into square panels, each with a central motif.
An attractive variation is the idea of an eighteenth-century print room where the walls are clad in black and white reproduction engravings, perhaps aged by a wash of cold tea, framed by wallpaper borders. The borders are characteristically monochromatic and classical in style, featuring acanthus or oak leaves, for example, and the background wallpaper traditionally would be grey or yellow.
Bed and bath From sprig to spray, floral patterns in a bouquet of colors like lilac, rose pink, duck-egg blue, cowslip yellow and sage are the chosen favorites for bedrooms. Wallpapers, borders and ceiling 48 papers can be used pattern upon pattern to give a sumptuous air while simple one-color designs such as those once reserved for attic bedrooms can be used in smaller settings to create a cottage look. Wallpaper in related patterns can successfully be used above tiles in well-ventilated bathrooms.
Choose vinyl for extra protection from condensation, or varnish the wallpaper to create a practical surface with a traditional glaze.
DECORATING WALLPAPERING
If rooms were perfectly regular, with straight walls and true corners, wallpapering would be easy. To ensure that the paper hangs straight, even if the walls are not, it is important to use a plumb line to get the first drop straight and to correct any errors that creep in when you take the paper around corners. Normally, start hanging wallpaper near the door, or any full-height obstruction, so that when you get back to the starting point, any mismatch will be less obvious.
With bold patterns, hang the first drop so that it is centered 011 the focal point of the room, such as the chimney breast. You will need a plumb line (or weight tied to a piece of string), chalk, a bucket and wide pasting brush, a pasting table or suitable surface at least fern (21 in) wide and 1.5 m (5 ft) long, a wallpaper smoothing brush, a pair of long-bladed scissors, a smaller pair of scissors, a trimming knife and a steam roller.
Wallpaper comes in standard-sized rolls. Wallpaper paste is available in powder form or ready mixed. The powder form is more economical, easier to use, and provides a good bond for normal papers and vinyl wall coverings. Always choose a paste containing a fungicide when hanging vinyl.
