Hung Up on Wallpaper

By Elisabeth Salemme

Laura Lovett had always associated wallpaper with her grandmother's dated prints, but when she heard that her hip mom was redecorating with contemporary wall coverings, Lovett was intrigued. After 14 years of experimenting with painting techniques in her home in Summit, N.J., she started poring over books filled with materials like bamboo, sand-embossed patterns and unexpectedly large shapes. Wallpaper, she quickly realized, had changed since her grandmother's time. "I'm looking to make a statement," says Lovett, 49. "And with these funky designs, you can do that with texture and color."

Lovett has caught on to interior designers' latest passion. Photographic murals of nature, distressed leathers and bead-encrusted designs are some of the new styles adorning the walls of homes across the U.S. York Wallcoverings, the nation's oldest and largest manufacturer, has seen a 25% increase in sales of its new line of the trendiest wallpapers this year. "American designers are rediscovering what the British have always known--wallpaper is one of the best ways to bring personality into a house," says John Loecke, an interior designer based in Brooklyn, N.Y., who has recently added wallpaper to homes in Louisiana, Iowa and Connecticut.

Wallpaper's popularity has had ebbs and flows. It fell out of favor in the '90s when faux-painting techniques were preferred. Now some of the most popular wallpaper designs are inspired by haute couture. "On runways, we see embellishments, beading and crystals, which are all new innovations for wallpaper," says Gina Shaw, York's design director. "Black-and-white is also big in fashion, and that has translated to walls." Lovett has taken a cue from that trend. Six months ago, she put a twist on the traditional by papering her 8-ft. by 10-ft. (2.5 m by 3 m) home office in a large-scale black-and-white toile. Though she will hire professional hangers when she redecorates her kitchen and bathroom, wallpaper isn't as difficult to mount as it once was, adding to its appeal. "The new, heavier papers have structural integrity, as opposed to older, flimsier kinds," says Jerry Russo, ceo of Roman Decorating Products, which develops adhesives.

And while some patterns can cost up to $260 a roll, using wallpaper is often a cheaper alternative to masking a wall's imperfections. "It's also a good foil for small spaces," Loecke says. "Treating walls and ceilings the same way helps the room feel bigger because the eye doesn't move." And it can be a cheap-chic way of adding interest to a home. Rather than covering every wall, mounting a bold design on one surface is a striking technique. Says Shaw: "It's like having a work of art."