Ronald Redding, designer of Ronald Redding Designs and VP of Design at York Wallcoverings, is a leading source when it comes to advising on wallcoverings that will work in your space, large or small, old or new. We got in touch with him to get his take on why wallcoverings are a great alternative to paint and why you shouldn’t be scared to embrace wallpaper.

Style at Home Ronald, what trends are you finding popping up in wallcoverings?
Ronald Redding Metallics have been a big theme for the past couple of years. We noticed that metallics -- gold, silver, copper, bronze -- often combined, are important in everything from fixtures, furniture and decorative accessories.

S@H Your wallcoverings are beautiful. Where do you find your inspiration?
RR I look to trends in residential architectural design. For example, ceilings are becoming more dimensional and a more important design feature overall to a room.  The tray ceiling, which can be subtle or quite dramatic, breaks up a flat ceiling line. In turn, this trend inspires me to create wallcoverings with the ceiling -- also known as the “fifth wall” -- in mind. We’re introducing more non-directional patterns, textural wallpapers and embellished designs with metal elements and even Swarovski crystals that look particularly striking on the ceiling.

S@H Do you advise people to use wallpaper in small spaces? Won’t patterned wallpaper make a small space appear too busy?
RR Not at all. A very dramatic design can make a great decorating statement in a small space. If you wrap the entire room -- including the ceiling -- the walls seem to disappear, so that you don’t feel as if you are enclosed in a small room. Also, since many new homes have high ceilings throughout the house, they often feel out of proportion in the smaller rooms, so wallpaper on the ceiling can help bring the room into balance and make it feel more comfortable.

 

 

 

All images courtesy of Ronald Redding Design.

S@H And what about wallpaper in a large space?
RR There are so many large-scale patterns that are designed expressly for large spaces and for rooms with high ceilings. If, however, there are budget constraints, you can choose to feature a luxurious pattern on a single wall and choose a less expensive coordinating pattern for adjacent walls or paint the walls a colour that plays up the pattern. A small pattern can also work in a large space. It becomes more of a texture than a pattern and gives the room an intimacy that is often lacking in sprawling rooms.

S@H Many of us are a bit wary of incorporating more than one pattern in a space. Are there any rules that should be followed regarding multiple patterns in a room?
RR There are no rules just as there are no limits to the imagination. I’ve visited with interior designers who have done some amazing work with our wallpapers. I’ve seen them mix several patterns in a room, turning it into artwork. One look I love is having one pattern alternate with another to create a wide stripe. Some designers will hang the product on its side -- it’s called ‘railroading’ -- to create a horizontal stripe and that too, is a beautiful effect.

S@H It seems as though wallpaper is really starting to become more popular again, but what would you say to those who still feel it’s a bit outdated?
RR I would say that they really need to just take a look around them. You know wallpaper has arrived when it’s in the background of major fashion magazines like Vogue.