Good Questions: Combining Wallpaper and Artwork

Allyson mentioned in the comments of a recent post that she had wallpapered her nursery in ferm LIVING Kid's Dotty wallpaper. We had to see! Not only did she send photos of her darling room, but she posed a really good Qood Question:So here are those pictures of our Dotty- wallpapered nursery! It was tough to get good shots because the room is so tiny, all the angles are a little odd, but you get the idea! We are trying to decide whether to hang anything on the walls or just let it be all about the wallpaper...

(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first. Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line to: nursery(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)

Maybe you could advise? We have an alphabet print that is sort of muted primary colors, poster size I was thinking of framing in either red or white and hanging on the wall where the rocking chair and changing table are, but my decision making abilities are pretty bad here in my ninth month of pregnancy

We decided to go straight to the source and ask an expert - someone who practically lives and breathes wallpaper: Christiana Coop of ferm LIVING. Here's her advice to Allyson:

The room looks SO CUTE! And Allyson did such a fantastic job with the wallpaper – adorable! I think because she applied the wallpaper on all the walls in the room that a simple framed piece of artwork would look really nice. My instinct would be to do a red frame just to make the artwork pop from the ceiling more and to play up the red from the lovely mobile. A white frame would definitely work well though, too. Generally, I wouldn’t recommend hanging art on wallpaper if the wallpaper is used as an accent wall because in that instance, the wallpaper is acting more as art. But, since the paper is used more like a backdrop on all the wall throughout the room, I think that adding in a piece of art is a great idea.

Our instinct is similar to Christiana's and we also love the idea of adding more red. If you were worried about artwork getting lost on the walls you could hang brightly colored mirrors or even empty, painted frames. Readers - what do you think?

(Thanks for sharing this with us Allyson!)

My first instinct is white frames and wide white mats around the artwork - basically creating a bit of space between the wallpaper pattern and the art. And big - with that strong pattern it would be easy for little pieces to get lost.

I love the wallpaper and would love to see if you choose to hang some art. I'm going to be facing a similar dilemma in my dining room soon, so I found the question really interesting.

posted by MrsCatbird on July 13th 2009 at 6:29pm
view MrsCatbird's profile

i love this wallpaper and was thinking about doing it in my daughter's room...i think i have to now. you can totally put things on the walls...as long as it is simple. maybe a framed mirror or corkboard or chalkboard. the alphabet print could work if it was in a thick frame with a wide enough matt. i like the layered look though...

j
http://prudentadviceformybabydaughter.blogspot.com

posted by jaime5 on July 13th 2009 at 6:41pm
view jaime5's profile

i really like the idea of a print that has a large area of solid color around the actual graphic. that way you have some nice space between the wallpaper pattern and the image on the print. i think this piece would like really nice considering your red bird mobile: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=27772140

posted by christinalikesbirds on July 13th 2009 at 8:01pm
view christinalikesbirds's profile

Thanks for all the tips! I think I will be out scouting out a red frame tomorrow, and thats a great point about having a nice wide matte to put some distance between the wallpaper and the art. I'll let you know how it turns out!!

posted by allyson v on July 13th 2009 at 8:20pm
view allyson v's profile

I love this wall paper! If I were to put this wall paper on just one wall in our nursery, what should i paint the other walls? White?

posted by Carrie too on July 14th 2009 at 11:57am
view Carrie too's profile

When a room, any room, has wallpaper with an allover relatively small print, the scale of the art work must be considered or else it blends right in with the walls no matter what the colors are. Bold and graphics prints that pick up the tones in the paper is what I would do. Perhaps a series of pages from a wonderful child's book where the graphics are simple.Place them around the room in the sequence in which they appear in the book. I have done this in nurseries I have designed for clients. I hope this helps.

posted by charmgirl on July 14th 2009 at 1:00pm
view charmgirl's profile

Hello again! I love your suggestion of pages from a children's book, charmgirl. The print we have has the same aesthetic and charm of storybook pages (Here's a link: http://www.willowandstone.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=1744 ) But obviously it is much larger in size, and not very bold. Hmmmm...more decisions to be made I suppose!

posted by allyson v on July 14th 2009 at 1:37pm
view allyson v's profile

dumb question ---- where did you get the bracket that holds the mobile over the changing table? i'm looking for the exact same thing!

thanks.

posted by tulipp76 on July 14th 2009 at 1:59pm
view tulipp76's profile

What about a large black and white photo of baby (or you and baby) in a white frame with a RED mat.
I agree that the art should be pretty large in size, but I'm not picturing an entire red frame--maybe it could work.
Send pics when finished.
Wallpaper is soooo pretty!

posted by burnttoast on July 14th 2009 at 4:12pm
view burnttoast's profile

Tulipp76 - the bracket is actually from Home Depot - its for hanging a plant!

posted by allyson v on July 14th 2009 at 4:24pm
view allyson v's profile