Classic Design: Matching Fabric & Wallpaper (and how I did it)

27 Jan Classic Design: Matching Fabric & Wallpaper (and how I did it)

lynn scalo design

All we ever hear these days in design is about mixing things up, right?  “Don’t buy the matching furniture set at the furniture store, mix hardware, have a surprise color pop in a room”…but if there has been something matchy-mathy that has been beautiful since the beginning of time, it is coordinating fabric and wallpaper.  It is a classic style choice, and while I may not advise it for every room, I think it can work in the right space.

Check out these beautiful photos for ideas, plus how I changed up my dining room recently with this style in mind.

I think this style can work really well in bedrooms.  If your pattern is not really wild, I think there could be a calming element to matching the wall and fabric design.

windsor smith’s home

windsor smith

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elle decor

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ivanka wallapper & fabric, house & home

I love little nook rooms like this!  Is this not the sweetest little girl’s room?

nancy lancaster

For living spaces, I think this look works best in smaller rooms.  For example, a small study or living room.

chinoiserie chic

I really like the moody feel to the Jeffrey Bilhuber design below.

jeffrey bilhuber

hadley court

apartment therapy

Is this too much for you? (photo below)  It is a bit over the top, but I would love it in a small bump out of a room or some kind of quirky space.

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This room in Carolina Herrera’s home makes me swoon a bit.  Those floors, are you kidding me?!

carolina herrera’s home, vogue

helen flont

I think the style of my home is suited to the matching fabric/wallpaper look, and the idea struck me when I was pondering what to do with the host chairs in my dining room.  The chairs are vintage, and I adore the Mad Hatter wingback look, but the silk fabric was just not working.

image by kat phillips, thegrayattic.com

For one thing, this fabric is not meant for use on a chair that is touched and used every day.  It’s just not.  The fabric was pulling, and I was constantly snipping threads.  It was driving me nuts!  Plus something was just off…

image by kat phillips, thegrayattic.com

So the silk fabric came off and was turned into pillows.  Yardage of my dining room wallpaper pattern, Cole & Son’s “Hummingbirds” was ordered via my fave hometown store, Simple Things, and we were ready to roll.  I only needed a couple of yards for the reupholstery, and it was $30 apiece to recover the chair backs.  Not much to pay for something that turned out pretty great!

I love how the fabric on the chair brings out the wallpaper above the beadboard, and it just feels right.  Sometimes it takes time for a room to come together, and I think I am finally there with my dining room.  We’ve come a long way since we first started.

What about you?  Could you go for the matching fabric and wallpaper style in your home?  Or is it a little too much for you?

P.S.  Pardon my absence last week.  I will be honest with you and say it is hard to write when there are things going on at home.  A dear friend of mine’s little boy is in the ICU, and it’s difficult for me to write about my subject matter when deep things are happening.  He is doing better, but there is still a long way to go.  It was with a heavy heart that I left Texas to go to AltSummit, but I am home now, and you can expect a post every day this week as usual.  Thank you for understanding.