Welcome to National Wallpaper week. If, like me, you were raised in the 80’s, your thoughts about wallpaper probably aren’t that complimentary. And if you’d recently moved into a house covered in woodchip and peeling yellow wallpaper, you still might have nothing good to say about the stuff.
But there has been a growing part of my heart that’s embracing papered walls, and the more patterned the better in my opinion! We’ve just decked out our bathroom in bold bright blue paper and when it came to decorating the spare bedroom it’s wallpaper that I have turned to again.
The bedroom as we have it at the moment is functional – there’s a big comfy bed, and a wardrobe, but it’s not, well, all that nice. The wallpaper in there currently is old and it has the strangest border around the ceiling. But I want to create a super calming environment for our guests. Somewhere, when they visit, they feel at home and relaxed, and somewhere that feels a little bit luxurious. I’m past the days of asking friends to sleep on the sofa with a random blanket I’ve found in a cupboard.
I’ve absolutely fallen in love with this Mirage wallpaper from Graham and Brown. Those trees are a little bit magical and mountainous at the same time. And that shade or greige is just so beautiful too. Used on a couple of accent walls, I can see it being the perfect backdrop to my calming guest bedroom. I’ve also picked out a couple of other bits that I am convinced are a must in a perfectly restful guest room.
My perfect room, for me or anyone else, must have luxurious bedding. Fluffy duvets and plumped pillows, layered with cushions for those moments you want to stay up reading. Talking of reading, I always make sure there’s a stack of books in the spare room for guests to get started on (but only ones I don’t mind going home with them of course.) And every good bedroom needs a bit of candle light, so why not combine it with the relaxing scent of lavender. One of the things I love about fancy hotels is sinking your feet into a soft carpet or rug – I’d love for us to have deep, soft carpets but the next best thing would be a beautiful rug. And if we can’t have that, maybe a big pair of woolen socks to pad around cozily in would suffice? Every good room needs blankets. Especially in a house as old as ours, so a pile of throws stacked in the corner for snuggle emergencies make the list. And what would be a calming room be without some mood lighting? Fairy lights draped around the room definitely make the cut here!
So tell me. What else should I be including in my perfect calm guest room? What would make you want to come and stay, and maybe never leave?
*This is a PR collaboration but all views are my own*