Pepper Design Blog

New Nursery: The Wallpaper Has Arrived

Well sort of. The wallpaper samples for the nursery remodel have arrived. I’ve been staring at them for a couple of days now and am trying to imagine how each might look covering an entire 10×15′ ish wall – and I have to be honest – I love them all. I’m pretty sure that any one of these designs would be so perfect in here. Which oh which to choose?

Here they all are up close if it’s hard to see the above at an angle.

Most of these I shared here when I was debating on what direction to take my solo statement wall. Clearly I’m still debating, even when I was sure that ordering my favorites and hanging them up would help settle that nursery quandary!

All of these wallpaper samples are from Spoonflower, an awesome site that lets you design and print your own fabric and wallpaper (oh search thousands of predesigned options by different artists, sort of like Etsy). I’ve used them a ton and they are reasonably priced compared to purchasing something manufactured (though boy does it take a long time to process and ship your order… I have too little patience these days).

I designed the two starry prints (top left, bottom right) which were inspired by this Osborne & Little wallpaper. I spotted the pretty night sky in House Beautiful a while ago and the image sits in the back of my mind. Not happy with any of the colors offered through Osborne & Little, I recreated from scratch and used both a peach (top left) and light pink (bottom right) as the background, while also softening up the stars and playing with the frequency in pattern. The rest of the prints are handmade on Spoonflower by various artists. Clockwise you can find the links here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.

The pinks are not exact, the fabric examples are still undecided (and will depend largely on the wallpaper) and this is in general a pretty crude photoshop markup, but here’s how I think the bookshelves will work with the space once they’re installed:

Amazing for storage, right? Oh man I can’t wait.

Update: Fabric Warehouse Direct is offering that beautiful Kravet window covering fabric that I photoshopped into the above pic at a steal of a rate right now. 

Ignore the random throw pillows and the other pieces of photo I didn’t get a chance to photoshop out. I’m imagining a dark pink painted backing in those top shelves, hence the awkward block of color at the moment. If you squint you can begin to see it all come together…

Ahhh, it’s all becoming so real!

Weekend Project: DIY Wallpapered Bookshelf

I’ve been mulling over my living room bookshelves recently… and am suddenly inspired to add a modern Jonathan Adler-esq wallpaper print to cover the back of the shelves. Here is some inspiration that might inspire you to take on a weekend project as well!

Canadian House & Home stripped kitchen cabinets to reveal neatly stacked dishes and a vintage print (via Centsational Girl).

These white bookshelves with Orla Kiley wallpaper from design*sponge is one of my favorite examples a bookshelf backdrop (above).

Whole Latta Lovely and All About You features various color combinations in the same or similar floral prints for a fun variation (below).

What about fabric? There are so many options to choose from… cutting templates (out of foam core, balsa wood or mdf) to fit the back of your shelf and ‘upholstering’ the board is a great option that can be replaced as often as you’d like. For a more direct application, fold fabric edges in (for a makeshift hem) and use colorful pushpins to pin fabric to each corner. I love this Taxi Leaf Stripe in Yellow print from Timeless Treasures

For a smaller commitment (isn’t this perfect for the office or guest room?) Apartment Therapy shares a tutorial for lining a bookshelf in this black and white paisley print.

Four more ideas plus a quick How-To after the jump! Read more »

Fabric of the Week: Du Barry Velvets

So I’ve changed the name of my favorite fabric show-and-tell postings to “Fabric of the Week”, which more aptly explains the purpose of sharing my favorite prints that I get so darn giddy over (old name: Fabric of the Day, despite the fact that I kept just one beautiful design posted all week!).

This week’s fabric, a rich velvet by Du Barry, is a gorgeous print that has caught my eye with it’s vibrant colors and bold texture. You want to reach out and pet the walls thats how great the fabric/wallpaper combo looks. Du Barry Velvets is part of the Spring 2009 collection over at Osborne & Little (a treasure trove of great fabrics and wallpapers to check out). I’d LOVE to reupholster a bench or settee for the end of my bed in this bright purple or fuscia — I wonder if the husband would concede.