Think big and be bold
Roll up and take a punt with one of the many exciting wallpapers from Wellington company Aspiring Walls.
WHEN it comes to choosing wallpapers take a punt. ‘‘Don’t be conservative, go with your personality and in the worst case scenario, if you don’t like it you can peel it off,’’ says Aspiring Walls’ sales and marketing manager Piers Braddock.
From its Wellington base, Aspiring Walls has been manufacturing and supplying the New Zealand market with wallpaper products for more than 40 years.
Anything goes on the wallpaper scene, says Braddock, from geometrics, grids, retro and scandi through to the more traditional damask or the kids and teens collection that features sport, animals, trucks and diggers and flowers.
‘‘There’s a huge range, in fact, it’s almost like if you can dream it, it’s probably available somewhere.’’
Take the conversational collection of novelty wallpapers, which includes the likes of combie vans, multi-coloured monkeys, colourful animal heads and dogs on scooters, to name a few.
‘‘Through our Facebook page we got a really cool picture of dogs on scooters that was done in a powder room of what looked like a really modern house.
‘‘I’d look at that and go ‘geez, that’s a bit big to have in a powder room’, but when you see the actual photo you go ‘man, that’s cool’.
‘‘I’ve also been in a lounge room that has the gold bars wallpaper on one wall, and it suited the people down to the ground.’’
Wallpapers featuring bricks and wood are among the most significant trends over the past few years, says Braddock.
‘‘People are covering the walls with what walls are essentially made out of themselves,’’ he laughs.
‘‘In the case of brick, it gives a slightly more industrial feel, and there’s some incredible concrete finishes for those that want that sterile type loft environment that you see on movies out of the US predominantly.’’
Florals are becoming increasingly popular too.
‘‘In the 60s and 70s they were quite small scale florals, but now the flowers are becoming really big.’’
Traditional designs like damasks haven’t disappeared either and, like florals, have grown in scale.
‘‘Rather than having a damask repeated in about the same size as your cellphone, they’re now up to the size of an A3 or A4 piece of paper.’’
Often damasks, stripes or florals appear in old Wellington villas, but Braddock says some homeowners are now going for a more modern approach.
‘‘You walk into an old villa and you think it will be decorated in that period but instead the owners have flipped it completely the other way and you walk into something amazingly modern, it’s incredible.’’
In his own home Braddock like to experiment.
‘‘People who walk into my house can easily get their head around what we like, just by looking at the wallpaper.
‘‘In the lounge there’s a wall of a topical view of a sketched black and white architectural city, that’s on one wall, and I’ve repeated that through to another wall in the hallway that’s visible from the lounge.
‘‘On the other wall there’s a dark grey with two other tones of grey that’s just a repeating pattern, then on the other two walls there’s a plain grey that has texture.
‘‘I do things with a real statement or feature wall rolling into it and then keep two walls plain.’’
To settle on wallpaper decisions in the first place, Braddock suggest people look online or head into a wallpaper retailer to get an idea of what is available.
‘‘Some people start with a theme in mind, or a type of design they are looking for, other people look more for a colour that fits their scheme.
‘‘It really is dependent on how you show your personality in your house – some people have brightly coloured furniture, other people have plain furniture and keep the colour on the curtains and/or walls.’’
Once the choice is narrowed down to two or three, people can order samples of each to take home and pin to the walls.
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