About Arren Williams
If Arren Williams were to walk through one of those new scanners at the airport, security personnel might be surprised to see chairs, tables and lamps floating around in his head. As one of Canada’s top stylists, editors and trend reporters, he is always on the hunt for the next great find that could take a room from blah to spectacular.
Love Your Walls
design diarycanada
(Aug.04.10)
1 of 4
Manderley by Graham & Brown
Yes, your walls need some love – and these days plain old paint just isn’t doing the trick. I’m talking wallpaper, and oh, before you go into histrionics about how awful it is to remove once it’s up on the wall, I’ve got news for you. Much of the latest wallpaper on offer is actually dry strippable, which means you can grab a corner and peel a whole strip right off. Seriously, it’s that easy. The other issue that befuddles people to no end is the debate about doing just one feature wall versus papering the whole room. Here’s my advice: if it’s good enough for one wall, then it’s good enough for all four... but I’m all for making big design statements!
Admittedly, I am a bit of a wallpaper fanatic. I have grasscloth in the bedroom and a kooky black- and-white paper all over the powder room (it looks like a colour-by-numbers 70s rock album – I found it in Paris). Graham & Brown’s Manderley wallpaper, the large-scale vintage-y floral you see in this hallway shot, wraps my living and dining rooms in pale silvery grey, cream and gold. Take a look around and you’ll find wallcoverings to suit almost any taste. When you find one you like and cover a wall (or four) in fabulous pattern, I have to tell you that dipping your toe into the world of wallpaper is a bit like getting your first tattoo: once you start, you just can’t stop!