DECORATING WITH JEANIE--NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S WALLPAPER

When you think of wallpaper, do you have visions of your grandmother’s house? Chickens scampering around the kitchen walls? Enormous floral bouquets adorning the bedroom walls? Seahorses cavorting above the bathroom sink and tub?

Wallpaper has come to represent old-fashioned decorating in the minds of many women. However, lately we’re seeing a resurgence of wallpaper on home and decorating shows. The right wallpaper used judiciously can create quite a statement in a room.

Here’s the trick: keep to the philosophy of “less is more” when contemplating the use of wallpaper. Instead of covering all four walls in a room, pick a focal wall.

Want to make a statement but fear an entire wall might be too much of a statement? Create a wallpaper border around a window or cover a headboard with wallpaper. Paper the backs of built in shelves or the drawer fronts of a chest. Use wallpaper to cover a lampshade or the top of an end table or coffee table. (Tip: for tabletops apply several coats of acrylic varnish to the wallpaper afterwards.)

Remember, you’re only limited by your imagination.