A Fashion Forecast for Walls

This interior decor piece originally appeared in the Summer 2017 print issue of Paprika Southern. This issue is now sold out, but for more features on interior decor, fashion, natural beauty, southern artists, and much more, order our current issue or become a subscriber.

A Fashion Forecast for Walls

Written by Stephanie Tallevast / Photographed by Siobhan Egan

Homes featured: Charleston Symphony Orchestra League Showhouse 2017 / Home of Jessica O’Neill / Home of Julie Harelson / Home of Tracy Rose

Interior design is akin to fashion in that sometimes you feel you have it all figured out, then the trends shift a little, and you’re standing looking at your wardrobe, or your living room, thinking that you may need a change to keep it fresh. When this happens, updating just a few elements can give rooms new energy. If you are considering revising your interiors this summer, begin with your walls! Good looks in paint and wallpaper that are sure to make your home’s style au courant are easy to incorporate.

So much in our world pushes color and design trends one way or another. Our mood created by global events, reactions to previously fashionable looks, the popularity of the hue of a starlet’s awards show gown, and the predications made by forecasting organizations in the design world can all play into what we collectively feel to be in style. In the end, one should create interiors to reflect their own sense of chic. Figuring out how to incorporate design trends so they are still true to one’s authentic style is a task worth completing. 

Since walls are inclined to be the largest surface area of all of a room’s design elements, changing them can produce maximum impact to the mood of a room. Wallpaper can be more of an investment and may require professional installation, while paint is inexpensive and ranks as the easiest do-it-yourself project around. Both paint and wallpaper can help accomplish different objectives, so each should be considered according to a project’s design needs. Researching available products and testing colors and patterns out in their space before making a decision is key.  Current looks are fresh and clean, as well as bold and commanding. Summer is the perfect time to recharge your home with a few of the following wall trends.

White Out

In recent years, more and more spaces have been painted all white. Once considered an unimaginative, go-to color for rentals and spec homes, white is now a backdrop for clean and sophisticated interiors. Decorators are using single shades of the brightest white, barely-there pastels and the lightest neutrals throughout entire homes. All of these colors allow for an interior’s contents and decorative elements to take center stage, usually with some eye-catching contrast. Unlike murky, mid-tone colors of ten years ago, white walls lend a crispness that allows furniture, textiles and artwork to pop. 

And, of course, not all white is white. The quest for the perfect white paint color begins in remembering that a paint can seem pure white, but there are colorants present that will drive its appearance. Being surprised (pleasantly or unpleasantly) by a pink, blue or yellow undertone to your white color can lead to mistakes in other décor purchases. Be sure to buy a sample of the paint and apply it either to the wall or to a piece of poster board to tape to the wall. It is important to observe the color at all times of day and in different light, for several days before making a final selection. 

In addition to pure whites, paint with only a tinge of a pastel color are popular. These can allow for a specific color to be present while retaining the distinction between a room’s decorative elements and wall color. One of the darlings of pastel paint colors recently has been blush pink, along with lightly hued aqua and soft orchid purple. Neutral colors nowadays bend towards taupe and gray, but there are warm versions of both, so don’t abandon an existing warm palette just to update a space. People are finding that living with a white, light pastel or a pale neutral throughout all or most of their rooms offers a cohesive simplicity. This is a streamlined approach to the wall color of an entire home and makes for visual ease and flexibility in décor. 

Continue reading in Paprika Southern Summer 2017

Into the Dark

In an about-face from white paint, it has also been popular lately to shake things up with a moody, dark hue. Deep navy, evergreen, chestnut, eggplant and even black have become popular wall color choices for creating rooms that are both dramatic and cozy. Just like with white paint, contrast between décor and the walls makes for an appealing energy with dark paint. However, dark paint colors often are kept to one or two spaces in a home. While the consideration of dark paint may cause worry for it becoming a dreary space, remember that dark rooms can enrobe and even feel cozy. In some homes many of the spaces share an open plan, so a single, lighter paint can be better there, but in isolated dens, bedrooms or bathrooms, a dark wall color can feel rich, like the interior of a jewel box.

Dark putty browns and taupes lend a natural warmth to a room. Purple charcoals and navy blues create a feeling of opulent infinity, recalling a night sky. And, black walls can provide pure drama and definition in a room’s design. All of these colors let architectural elements such as white painted moldings stand out. When selecting colors in the darkest range, there are a few things to remember. Dark paint is a commitment. It takes many coats to achieve the richness and saturation of the paint chip, so know that it’s a longer painting process. Test the color on a wall or poster board in your space and research online how it looks in a room. Pinterest offers a wealth of images for paint color research. 

Continue reading in Paprika Southern Summer 2017

Wallpaper for the Win

Over the past decade or so, it was difficult to find much wallpaper product on the market. When it became unfashionable to use busy papers and kitschy borders, painted walls were favored for decorating fashionable homes. But now wallpaper is back in a big way. Images of walls covered in eye-catching patterns are everywhere in shelter magazines and on social media. Unlike wall-covering application of years past, the current tend is mostly limited to just a few rooms of a home or only accent walls and ceilings. 

Fresh patterns range from hip geometrics, marbled designs, overscale florals, tie-dyed and ombré looks, juicy tropicals, as well as printed grasscloths. Recently, accent applications have been noted in powder baths, the backs of bookshelves, ceilings and accent walls. For sourcing nowadays, the world is your oyster. Online and brick and mortar retailers, as well as interior designers, can help you procure your perfect wallpaper. Also, print-on-demand services have emerged online, which allows people to design and print their own wall-coverings.

Continue reading in Paprika Southern Summer 2017

The Fifth Wall

Lastly, a wall trend that has everyone looking up is ceilings that are anything but plain. The departure from the standard white painted ceiling to a tinted paint color or wallpaper design has opened up a huge design opportunity. Lowcountry residents achieve a regional look often by incorporating their own version of “haint blue” on porch ceilings and even on the ceilings of their interior spaces. Pale blue is always refreshing and evokes the feeling of a wide-open sky. 

Other options for popular ceiling considerations are a pale color that repeats something used in a room already (top left, as seen in the CSOL 2017 Designer Showhouse). This could be a pale salmon pink ceiling to pick up the color of coral pillows on a sofa. Often when a neutral is chosen for walls, a slightly lighter version of that neutral can be mixed and applied to the ceilings. Consider that ceiling paint will have a cast down on the room. Color on ceilings is a very powerful way to establish a specific style.

If a single color on a ceiling seems intriguing, wallpaper can take it to the next level (as seen bottom left in the CSOL 2017 Designer Showhouse). This method of injecting pattern in a room has been in style intermittently; now it’s a hot trend again. Here, the ceiling can be considered an accent “wall” to drive the design of the room towards a desired look. This is an ambitious project, but one with impactful results. Be aware that this project will take extensive planning. Be sure to have all correlating design features worked out before embarking on your wallpapered ceiling installation. (An installation, by the way, that may best be left up to a professional!)

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