Inspiration for decor devotees

INLSA

Designer Anne Colle gives practical tips on how to make the best use of wallpaper in a home.

Local design guru Anne Colle has lent a touch of her magic to a contemporary wallpaper trends installation which is sure to give inspiration to the many decor devotees expected to attend Decorex Durban 2012 next week.

Colle’s collaboration with 10 premier fabric houses to create two room settings displaying contemporary wallpaper options will show visitors the different design and decor effects one can create simply by applying wallpaper.

Colle believes wallpaper options are limitless.

“Whether you have a contemporary or classic interior, there is perfect wallpaper for your setting,” she says.

Among the wallpaper options available are many patterns and colours, photographic designs, stone, brick wall and wood panelling lookalikes, textured grasspapers and white embossed papers that can be painted over, to name a few.

“Wallpapers can become the focal point in a room. Nowadays we are seeing fewer patterns and colours in furniture and curtaining designs, often leaving a room boring. Clever use of wallpaper is a wonderful way of bringing colour to the room, and you have fairly quick or even instant results!”

You can achieve beautiful design and decor effects in your home simply by applying wallpaper.

Timeless Interiors

Since decorating is about personal expression, choice of paper can give character, create a theme or personalise a room. Hot wallpaper trends this season include grasspapers, thanks to the warmth and texture they bring to a room, as well as metallics, golds, greys, blacks, and large patterns. In rooms where space is limited, “wallpapers can be effective and practical features in areas where there is no space for furniture”, says Colle. However, she advises against using them in passages, as the area is too small and it would be too busy, nor in bathrooms, because it is too damp.

“One has to be cautious when choosing patterns and colours if you already have patterns or colours in the room, be it curtains, upholstery, rugs or carpets. Ensure your choice complements the rest of the room, and that the room stays balanced. Certain wallpaper designs and colours will date, so be aware of this when making your choice” she advises, adding that if you don’t feel confident, ask for a decorator’s advice before making a potentially costly mistake.

The South African wallpaper market is well represented, with a number of fabric houses featuring its ranges, 10 of which will provide materials for the Wallpaper Trends installation at Decorex: Hertex Fabrics, Silk & Cotton, Décor Wallpaper Company, U&G Fabrics, Black Fabrics, Home Fabrics and Halogen.

Colle, who was born and raised in Belgium in a family in the carpet and textile business, has been passionate about decorating from a young age. She has lived in Durban for 28 years and is the owner of Timeless Interiors, a decor and design company she founded in 1989.

She is excited about the Decorex installation.

“It is not the norm to use multiple wallpapers in a single room setting so it will be a challenge for me to show the latest trendy papers in the one setting, and the timeless classics in the other.”

You can achieve beautiful design and decor effects in your home simply by applying wallpaper.

INLSA

Decorex Durban is sponsored by Plascon.