Wallpaper is experiencing a resurgence in the design world, offering stylish new ways to decorate your space. Home stores are filled with beautiful designs, ranging from intricately embossed traditional wallpaper to easy peel-and-stick options that are ideal for renters and frequent renovators. Traditionally, the edges where your wallpaper meets other surfaces like adjacent walls, the ceiling, or lower wainscoting have been popular spots to add a wallpaper border for a more polished appearance. However, many contemporary designers suggest avoiding overly busy and ornate wallpaper borders to prevent a dated look.
With numerous ways to incorporate wallpaper in a room, you might wonder how to achieve a finished look without veering into unfashionable territory if you avoid busy patterned borders. While traditional views emphasize the importance of drawing the eye upward, a heavy or intricate border can have the opposite effect, creating a clunky horizontal line that makes the room feel smaller. This is similar to how it’s sometimes suggested to bring a high ceiling down to a more human scale. There are several creative alternatives to explore, including molding, picture railing, and paneling, among other techniques that can serve the same decorative purpose. These options provide visual separation and definition between the wallpaper and its surrounding elements.
Border wallpaper with wood trim or panels instead
A fantastic way to add interest and achieve a polished look is by using wood trim or molding. If you plan to wallpaper most of the wall, consider capping it with decorative crown molding made of wood or vinyl. Crown molding acts as an architectural detail that gently curves and softens the junction between the ceiling and wall, creating an illusion of greater height. Since the molding is painted or stained wood, it doesn’t contribute to the busyness of a pattern but can introduce additional texture and carved details to the room.
For a paneled appearance, run sheets of beadboard or shiplap two-thirds or three-quarters up the wall, and apply the wallpaper above. Alternatively, apply wallpaper to the lower section of the wall beneath a decorative picture rail molding. This is an excellent way to wallpaper walls in rooms with very high ceilings without covering the entire wall. You can also add a contrasting picture rail with wallpaper that extends to the ceiling, effectively creating the look of a border without actually adding one. Additionally, create a perfect accent wall by using segments of wallpaper separated by slender strips of wall molding. This method allows you to introduce patterns without covering an entire wall with wallpaper.
