Warmer Walls

I’ve always had a small problem with personification. My imagination (always a little errant) runs wild when it sees things like a tub of peeled garlic cloves (so vulnerable!) or  a lonely little cloud in an otherwise clear sky. But the real tragedy has always been bare walls…poor things, they must be so cold! Which is why I was delighted to stumble across a charming little company called Farrow & Ball. Founded way back  in the 1940s in the English countryside, the company prides itself on using original formulations and raw materials. (Never switching, as others have, to acrylic, or adding plastic ‘fillers.’) What’s truly unique about their papers, though, is that unlike other companies that invariably use printer inks, Farrow & Ball creates their papers using their own paints. What does that translate into for those poor shivering walls? Texture. Layers of vivacious color that you can literally feel.

Farrow & Ball tends to specialize in traditional colors and prints, and while those can be all fine and dandy if you’re restoring a traditional home, I’ve also discovered that some marvelously modern things tend to happen when you take a traditional print, exaggerate the scale of the pattern, and invert the time-honored colors (so the lighter hue goes to the background and the bolder hue takes center stage). Take a look at a gloriously large pattern like Silvergate (below, right), and liven it up with some eye-popping pink, or add a little whimsy with the more modern Vermicelli in sage and silver. Even something as seemingly yawn-worthy as a stripe can look smashing when that stripe measures over 5″ wide, and becomes a gorgeous study in contrast of simple gray and white. They’re generous with their samples, but if you just can’t wait, Brunschwig and Fils in the Denver Design District is an official showroom. Best bet? Go online, find a pattern you love, pair it with the most unlikely color you can think of, and start wallpapering some warmth onto those poor walls!