Makely

Today is Day 8 of a 31 day series on creating and cultivating an eclectic home.  For some crazy reason, I have accepted The Nester’s challenge to write on the same theme every day for the month of October.  This may end up killing me.  Or you.  But, I appreciate you reading and welcome your comments.

I have a love/hate relationship with wallpaper.  I love it, because it can transform the feel of a room in ways that paint cannot.  Although the wall stencils that are out there these days are amazing (and a far cry from the grapes that were stenciled around the kitchen of the first home we ever owned), they don’t replace the luxe richness of a delicious wallpaper.

So, why do I hate it?  Because it scares the bejesus out of me!  I can use a saw like nobody’s business or climb a ladder to the second story of our house without blinking an eye.  On the other hand, the thought of hanging wallpaper simply terrifies me!  I’m positive that I would somehow screw it up and not be able to fix my mistake.

If you aren’t scared, select a vibrant wallpaper that fits into your eclectic style mix for the biggest impact.  One word of caution on using wallpaper, though.  My opinion is that only one wall in a room should be wallpapered.  I know it seems contrary to my issue with only one accent wall, but wallpaper is far busier than a single color of paint on the wall.

One day, I will push myself to hang a nice wallpaper on one of my walls.  I’m sure that I will do it and then wonder why I made such a fuss about it.  Until then, I will admire other people’s walls, and gawk at how they can give a room such an eclectic vibe with a bit of paper.

What are your thoughts on wallpaper? Have you ever hung it yourself?  Are you scared like me or are you ready to make a statement?

Photos via Pinterest, Alkeme and HGTV.

Today is Day 7 of a 31 day series on creating and cultivating an eclectic home.  For some crazy reason, I have accepted The Nester’s challenge to write on the same theme every day for the month of October.  This may end up killing me.  Or you.  But, I appreciate you reading and welcome your comments.

Eclectic gallery walls are easy to create.  In fact, they are so easy that you could put one together this weekend.  Gather some artwork, frames, plates, or mirrors that you likely have hanging around your home anyway and get started.

Easier said than done, you think?  Let’s check out some eclectic wall displays (via Pinterest) and talk about why they make each room look special.

The first one combines a coordinating color scheme with the proper balance.  The mostly white artwork is offset and grouped in such a way that the lamp shade rightly looks like it’s part of the overall design instead of being an afterthought.  And although the placement of the art isn’t symmetric, you can draw an invisible vertical line down the center of the large piece and see that it is balanced – the left side is weighted towards the bottom while the right side is weighted towards the top.

This next photo shows a great way to cover a space on a small wall.  The overlapping china is grouped so that the heaviness of the large yellow piece is balanced with the five small plates on the bottom.  Don’t believe me?  Cover the bottom five plates with your and you’ll see what I mean.  Without them, the wall doesn’t make quite the same impact.

This next collection is one that I know you could put together right now.  Again, the heavier pieces on the bottom are balanced by having a tight grouping of smaller items on top.  A hodge podge of art, old photographs, and a lantern (? any guesses as to what that is?) in a coordinating color scheme make for a great display.

This one will take a little more collecting, but this is a great look for a child’s room or play area.  An eclectic mix of letters creates a fun alphabet on the wall.  A friend of mine is creating a similar wall in her home, and we started her collection while we were at the Round Top Antique Show last weekend (more on the show is coming later).  My friend’s letters are much more vintage looking than these, so this is obviously a display that you can easily style to your own eclectic mix.

Lastly, this wall of art makes quite an impact in an entry way.  The large pieces feature floral arrangements in vases while the smaller pieces have an almost geometric feel.  I think the balance between the two types of artwork give it more of an eclectic feel and less of a wow-that-person-really-loves-floral-arrangements vibe.

I need to work on eclectic gallery wall myself!  I have a huge wall going up my staircase to our second floor, and I’d love to find some old paintings to mix in with some other unique items to put in that space.  Do you have an eclectic gallery wall in your home?