Textured Coverings Are Ready to Climb Your Walls

(Squares wallcover from Graham and Brown)

Janet Ramin - Are you tired of looking at wall paint? Do you wish your walls could be livelier, more exciting, more in your face? If you’re not afraid of shaking things up, then take a look at these paintable, textured wall coverings.

Graham and Brown offers their paintable Squares and Pure wallpapers. Squares shows off a dynamic geometric pattern that can be left white or painted in fun colors as seen behind the bookcase above. Pure wallpaper is a curvaceous choice that creates an elegant background. 

(Pure wallcover from Graham and Brown)(Architect Wall Flat from Inhabit)For an even more dimensional wallcover, we have the wall flat series from Inhabit. Above is the Architect wallcover which is made from bagasse, a fibrous matter left over after sugarcane stalks have been crushed. It's lightweight and recyclable. Below is the Drift wallcover, a design that hints at slender tree limbs. 

(Drift Wall Flat from Inhabit)Besides providing visual punch to your walls, these wallcovers are perfect for covering flawed walls. If you have uneven walls and you don't want to replaster them – a process that can take several days of application – then these textured wallcovers will hide the imperfections. 

 

Reprinted with permission of Sheffield School. Are you interested in learning more about furniture and home design? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.  

Is Your Wallpaper This Cool and High Tech?

Jay Johnson - If you think you've heard everything in the world of interior design and decorating, think again - enter modern technology. We've had many revolutions in our industry due to technology, ranging from greener building materials to time-saving appliances. Soon we're going to have Wi-Fi blocking wallpaper!

A French research team at Centre Technique du Papier developed a snowflake-patterned paper - they call it metapaper - made from recycled materials that is effective in blocking 99% of the electromagnetic waves that travel through the air. Traditional wallpaper can be hung right over this special paper if you're not grooving on the flakes.

Why the fuss? Several reasons: homes and businesses that need boosts for their own wireless Internet signals will benefit; personal and corporate Wi-Fi will stay put inside the walls of the home or business to help discourage signal hacking; and there are purported health benefits in blocking out the bombardment of electromagnetic waves we're now being constantly subjected to. The special paper won't block FM radio signals or emergency frequencies. Keep your eyes out for metapaper; it's not on the market yet.

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Design2Share Recommends - Summer Reading for Design Lovers

Irwin Weiner ASID - Whenever I'm in Los Angeles, I make it a point to visit the Hennessey + Ingalls Art & Architecture Bookstore. They have an excellent selection of books and sidelines that are outstanding, and here are some of the titles that really caught our eye while we were browsing through their tremendous stock. Click on each book cover for more information on what we think will be great summer reads; example: The Wallpaper Book by Genevieve Brunet (top photo) is a glorious full-color ode to the history, utility, craftsmanship, and artistry of wall covering, and the new artists who are expressing themselves in this decorative medium will amaze you.

Bonus

Click here to watch a video and read about Axel Vervoordt - Interiors That Respect the Old.

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Bedroom Wallpaper Decorating Tips from UK Designer Jeff Banks

Irwin Weiner ASID - UK fashion and home goods designer Jeff Banks is a busy guy! When he's not dressing the well-tailored man, he's dressing their homes, from tabletop to walls. In this video, he covers some bedroom decorating tips and shares the stage with a design expert from Wallpaper Direct UK.

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