As readers of our blog already know, we love wallpaper. And there is definitely a wallpaper moment happening in the design world right now. I am just finishing a great project decorating the sets of a Roland Emmerich TV pilot and got to have a bit of fun with the colors and patterns. I was looking for something chic and original for the main characters apartment and nothing new seemed quite right – so I looked back for inspiration.
Vintage wallpaper with gorgeous patterns, interesting color combinations, geometrics and damasks were just what I needed. One of the sources I love for vintage papers is Secondhand Rose, a NYC business that has been in operation for 45 years. Below are some of the papers that they have in stock now.
Gracie, a family run business in New York City since 1898, has a stock of rare and vintage papers as well. They are incredibly beautiful. They also produce new hand painted wallpaper murals and carry antiques and custom lacquer furniture. I was curious how Gracie began their wallpaper business and found the following info on their website. “During the 1930′s, a friend of Mr. Gracie’s, a textile trader, returned from a visit to China with a roll of exquisite hand painted wallpapers that he had discovered in Beijing. Mr. Gracie was immediately enthusiastic, and felt that he had a market for this product. A relationship was established with the studio that produced the wallpaper and continued until the Chinese revolution in 1949, when the studio was relocated to Taiwan under new management. Decades later, the studio was returned to Mainland China, Gracie’s studio in the orient have been managed by the same Chinese family for fifty years. Hand painted wallpapers are Gracie’s signature product line.”
I have just received 2 panels of custom Gracie paper that I am having framed for a client. Stay tuned for pictures of this amazing artwork we are creating! We based our design on the panel above but reworked it with our own colors and scale.
Now I want to design a nursery with the cute elephant and inchworm pattern from Secondhand Rose and a powder room with one of the rich chinoiserie papers. The paper is all limited quantities so when it’s gone it’s gone!
