Decorating with wallpaper

Ronald Redding, designer of Ronald Redding Designs and VP of Design at York Wallcoverings, is a leading source when it comes to advising on wallcoverings that will work in your space, large or small, old or new. We got in touch with him to get his take on why wallcoverings are a great alternative to paint and why you shouldn’t be scared to embrace wallpaper.

Style at Home Ronald, what trends are you finding popping up in wallcoverings?
Ronald Redding Metallics have been a big theme for the past couple of years. We noticed that metallics -- gold, silver, copper, bronze -- often combined, are important in everything from fixtures, furniture and decorative accessories.

S@H Your wallcoverings are beautiful. Where do you find your inspiration?
RR I look to trends in residential architectural design. For example, ceilings are becoming more dimensional and a more important design feature overall to a room.  The tray ceiling, which can be subtle or quite dramatic, breaks up a flat ceiling line. In turn, this trend inspires me to create wallcoverings with the ceiling -- also known as the “fifth wall” -- in mind. We’re introducing more non-directional patterns, textural wallpapers and embellished designs with metal elements and even Swarovski crystals that look particularly striking on the ceiling.

S@H Do you advise people to use wallpaper in small spaces? Won’t patterned wallpaper make a small space appear too busy?
RR Not at all. A very dramatic design can make a great decorating statement in a small space. If you wrap the entire room -- including the ceiling -- the walls seem to disappear, so that you don’t feel as if you are enclosed in a small room. Also, since many new homes have high ceilings throughout the house, they often feel out of proportion in the smaller rooms, so wallpaper on the ceiling can help bring the room into balance and make it feel more comfortable.

All images courtesy of Ronald Redding Design.