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Design

All of the Different Wallpaper I have Used

August 1, 2022

In case you missed the announcement in our Love Letter, the wallpaper is officially installed in the laundry room, and I could not be ANY MORE IN LOVE!

My ultimate goal for the laundry room was to create a space that is fresh, clean, bright, and a little utilitarian (the straight-laid tile floors definitely bring that). With the checkered floor, I wanted a wallpaper that could break up all the lines and would liven up the room a bit. And these lovely warm white colors with delicate florals and curved, ornate lines do just that!

Colonial Laundry Room | Off-White Floral Wallpaper

In honor of the laundry room wallpaper finally going in, I'm feeling reminiscent. I want to take a trip down memory lane to remember all of the different types of wallpaper I have used in our homes. These goodies deserve to be brought back out of the archives.

While a fresh coat of paint can really change a room, wallpaper can completely transform it. So let's get to it, shall we?

First on the docket is the gorgeous mural wallpaper in our Colonial home study. I have a hunch that mural wallpapers will start trending - I mean, what's not to love?! They are the epitome of traditional elegance, and the wallpaper in the study is no exception. This wallpaper adds so much depth and dimension to the study, turning it into a real show stopper.

Colonial Study | Mural Wallpaper

The powder bath in our Colonial home is the perfect mix of modern and traditional thanks to the penny tile and this gorgeous, classic, pinstripe wallpaper. This wallpaper was the first thing I picked in the room, and I originally chose it to show off the height of this 10' room! This bathroom all came together because of this organic wallpaper that takes this tucked away bathroom to a whole new level.

Colonial Powder Bathroom | Block Print Stripe Wallpaper

This next wallpaper will always have a special place in my heart since it was in the first room our girls shared. After struggling with secondary infertility for four years, I didn't know if Greta would ever get the chance to share a room with a sibling, so this space will always be extra special in my heart. I wanted this room to be nice and cozy, and that forest-themed wallpaper was the perfect statement that tied it all together.

Girls' Bunk Room | Forest Floor Wallpaper

Remember this entryway in Idaho? This was one of the first wallpaper designs I experimented with in an effort to bring some fun, playful dimension into our entryway. The black and white pattern was originally chosen to compliment the once blue bench and natural wood mirror I had in the entry. Yet, both eventually got replaced, but the wallpaper stayed. Funny how things shift and change in unexpected ways - but generally in a way that is even better than you originally planned.

Entry | Black Speckle Wallpaper

(Peep the sweet photos of Charly in these entryway photos!) Our sofa line was named Charly after our sweet pup.

The next wallpaper was in our girls' office space in our Modern Cottage. This study was one of the first rooms you saw when walking in through the front door. Originally I kept it stocked with craft supplies, and it was a room for the girls to create. But, after COVID hit and they began doing virtual school, it became their new office space. That's when I decided to spruce it up so it looked less "executive office" and more of a fun room for them to learn and do schoolwork. This gorgeous wallpaper did just the trick, turning this room into a whimsical classroom/office.

Cottage Girls' Office | Scalamandre Raphael Wallpaper

Let's talk about the wallpaper we used in Faye's bedroom in the Modern Cottage, which was inspired by her wish to have a princess room like Anna's in Frozen. The wallpaper in this room is what pulled it all together. Once that was decided, I could pick the paint color, drapes, and finishing touches that gave the entire room a feel that was fit for royalty.

Cottage Faye's Room | Hawthorne Wallpaper

The yellow striped wallpaper in the cottage playroom made this spot bright, fresh, and sunny. It's hard to believe the before and after of this room. That red carpet still gives me the ick. 😬 A lesson I learned during this project that I will never forget is that peel and stick wallpaper and textured walls are not a match made in heaven. However, what would life be if there weren't hiccups along the way?

Cottage Playroom | Stripes Away Wallpaper

Once upon a time, this subtle wallpaper in Greta's room had her screaming with excitement. It was the perfect pattern for a pre-teen girl's room. Not too grown up or too childish. This wallpaper job ended up being one of the most intricate, with three door frames and tall slanted walls. We ended up hiring out help for this one, nothing wrong with knowing your limits. 

Cottage Greta's Room | Meadowfield Wallpaper

The wallpaper in our cottage's primary bathroom gives so much personality and oomph! With how busy the wallpaper is, I went for a less is more with the rest of the decor and finishes. The brass warms up the wallpaper a bit, but not too much that it takes away from its busy yet elegant beauty.

Cottage Primary Bath | Cole & Son Florencecourt Charcoal Wallpaper

Now this wallpaper is still one of my very favorites and most missed. The soft florals with the charcoal and cream brought so much softness to the bathroom. This bathroom was one of my first and most controversial design decisions; people had some opinions about the green tile I used in the shower. But the wallpaper buttered everyone back up again. I mean, just looooook! 😍

Primary Bath | House of Hackney London Rose Wallpaper

The wallpaper in Polly's room makes the space feel like it came from a storybook!! It's like straight out of every child's dreams. The horses. The lions. The treeeees! I will never get tired of looking at this timeless and mesmerizing wallpaper.

Colonial Polly's Room | Owl & Willow Wallpaper

I opted for an organic and traditional-looking wallpaper for the Colonial hallway. Those elegant lines pair SO well with the organic toile. While this hallway isn't especially large, it gets used quite a bit as you have to walk through it to get to the garage, the bonus roomlaundry room, and playroom. And every time I walk through this hallway, those lines give me a little serotonin boost.

Colonial Hallway | Aegean Stripe Navy Wallpaper

Have you learned by now that I love thinking outside the box? Polly's room in the cottage had plum color walls that somehow seemed to just perfectly match her personality. Then we added wallpaper to the ceiling, which was the perfect special touch. Especially when the light hit the metallic medallions, the whole room looked magical.

Cottage Polly's Room | Brockhampton Star Wallpaper

For the last wallpaper, let's take it all the way back to Polly's first bedroom. I wanted her nursery to feel soft, serene, and calm. A place for her to hopefully sleep blissfully for many hours at a time. 😅 And this wallpaper felt so dreamy, like waking up inside a happy little cloud. This room ended up being the perfect nursery for Polly girl, and it wouldn't have been the same without that beautiful wallpaper.

Polly's Nursery | Cole & Son Nuvolette Pearl Wallpaper

Oh boy, we did it! We went over all the different wallpaper I have used throughout our homes. Some tears may have been shed as I re-read some Charly posts. And some big smiles were had as I remembered the various stories along with the wallpaper, like when I stubbornly spent hours trying to wallpaper textured walls in the cottage playroom that kept bubbling before admitting defeat. Hey, that tenacity is what kept me blogging and sharing this journey throughout all these years, so I'll take the lighthearted reminders. Which wallpaper that I have used is your favorite? I want to hear in the comments!

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  1. Truly love it all! We have a darker small hallway that I think would be perfect with the navy stripe like you used. It’s caught my eye since you first mentioned it but finally making the jump. Do you usually recommend peel and stick, grasscloth, or something else?

  2. New reader here and I really enjoyed this look back! I love the hallway in the current house and the primary bath remodel in your cottage! Lovely!

  3. I just love seeing all your designs! Even ones that I might not use, they all have one thing in common to me, they are welcoming and beautiful. Thanks for all of your hard work and transparency when things do and do not work. You encourage me, even though I am at the empty nester stage of life. You guys are a blessing to me!

  4. It has to be the Polly Colonial fairytale wallpaper her mom so lovingly made even more magical by adding unicorns! Sigh....

  5. I think my first exposure to Cole and son‘s novolette cloud wallpaper began here on this blog with the nursery. The subtle, billowing clouds took my breath away. I finally installed it in a bold way this spring in our new old house in Florida. The cloud formations are trimmed on the ends and onto the ceiling with a medium blue paint background. I’d add a picture but I guess that’s not an option.

  6. Took a long time to read this post because I couldn’t stop scrolling up to look at that hutch in the laundry room!! It’s so warm and beautiful. Can’t wait to see the finished space!

  7. This was such a fun read! I love them all!

    I especially love how the grasscloth texture interacts with the navy stripe pattern in the wallpaper used in your hallway.

  8. Favorite. Owl and Willow. The "Frozen" inspired is lovely too. What surprised me was that I liked most of them so much. I never saw myself as a wallpaper person.

  9. It's so lovely to read about all the background stories that come with the wall papers you used. Such a fun read!

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