WALLPAPER DELIRIUM

 

A series of essays….

CABIN OF THE CUSTOMS WATCH BY CLAUDE MONET

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

The courtroom artist’s renderings on the nightly news tonight remind me of Norman Rockwell toile (French: an illustrated fabric). Snarky me sits here wishing the background color immediately behind the judge in the drawing was just a slightly darker shade of green.

Cabin of the Customs Watch, painted by Claude Monet in 1882, contains the perfect color palette for my selected wall and reached high-ranking mural status while sporting a number one rating on my top-ten list, last week.

This week conjures up the spirit of the Hopi people of north-eastern Arizona performing ceremonial rituals while dressed in elaborate and beautiful costumes adorned with feathered headdresses. Although the spirit and colors match my ideas very well, this one might be a bit busy for my small space.

THE SPIRIT OF THE HOPI

Walking around The Detroit Institute of Arts a few weeks ago was like studying a gigantic showroom of wall covering samples with all of their fine details popping out at me: colors, periods, styles (Chinoiserie in particular). So many amazing and talented artists who have created such wonderful delights to choose from!

CHINOISERIE: A STYLE OF DECORATION
OR FINE ART BASED ON IMITATIONS OF 
CHINESE MOTIFS

Everything I see has the potential of being the perfect wallpaper! I find myself living each waking (dreaming) moment totally obsessed by potential patterns; infinite possibilities. Lately, I have been inundated, overpowered, and totally mesmerized by it!

Since I have not thought about wallpaper as a decorative option for decades, I am finding the new generation of it to be collaborating with my senses and driving me into a delusional and highly misleading effect of perception.

Similar to binge-watching television programs, it is a production by Wallpaper Direct starring Turkish Ikat and co-starring Lucious Flora in all her super abundant glory, followed by The Transylvanian Manor Toile adorned in tones of green, brown, and taupe and brought to you by Birch Lane. Switching the channel to Milton & King (perhaps a talented duo and fine stand-up comedians?), I long for a free sample of English Roses adorned in sparkling, gold stars with plum and dark green accents.

THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS

When I pick up my laptop to write or research an idea, I inevitably find myself scrolling through wallpaper sites within a matter of seconds. I can’t help myself! Obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder in which people are driven to repeat the same act, such as washing their hands (or scrolling through wallpaper Websites), over and over again, usually for many hours. 

Could the remedy to my compulsiveness come in the form of finding the perfect wall covering, literally, as soon as possible? Does the perfect wallpaper actually exist? This latter question conjures-up even more anxiety and plunges me into the abyss and I find myself clawing my way back up to the surface in order to find life sustaining oxygen and glorious light I require.

After refinishing an antique dresser (to be used as our bathroom vanity) in deep, emerald tones with gold and copper accents, the need for another design statement hit my decorating sensibilities. I decided that wallpaper was the smart approach that would add a certain je ne sais quoi and make a very personal statement in our new bath. I am, usually, a pretty precise and capable person when it comes to knowing what I want, but this wallpaper thing has, absolutely, thrown me through a loop.

MY REFURBISHED ANTIQUE DRESSER

First of all, it’s not an inexpensive endeavor. The product has been improved beyond expectations since decorating our first home in 1973. We all know that with improvements and time comes equated expense. Did you know it’s washable now? Sure, washable vinyl has been around for a very long time, but this new generation of paper is durable and reaches far beyond the stodgy Victorian wall coverings that older homes epitomized. I recall having to peel back at least five layers of paper from the walls of our Victorian home before we could paint; like peeling the layers of an onion, our home’s history unfolded before my eyes.

For now, many samples are piled-up on my oak library table with golden rays of sunlight shining on them via the bent mini-blind slats that are disliked even more than the difficult task of choosing the perfect paper. In addition, green painter’s tape secures even more samples to the wall above the new vanity. Dan accurately mentioned that if I got a few more samples, we could just cover the walls with them and enjoy an eclectic array of color and style and it would be much less expensive. He really does make a valid point.

A pile of wallpaper samples: a proclamation of how important the design of one room can be; a sign of respect consigned to posterity. I’ll get to where I want to be—sooner or later. True perfection always takes time and patience in the making, right?

Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline E Hughes

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