Warm Your Home with a Taste of the Tropics
Decorating With Wallpaper
(ARA) - Tropical decorative motifs, such as palm trees, monkeys,
pomegranates, and the pineapple that symbolizes "welcome,"
endure for many reasons. Not only are they intrinsically graceful
in their own right, but they are also evocative of a relaxed,
comfortable, leisurely way of life. Their reflection of ease
and warmth has made these motifs popular for generations,
and they are enjoying another home fashion renaissance now.
They coincide beautifully with the trend toward such nature-friendly
materials as bamboo, wicker and rattan. They also relate to
increased interest in exotic places, such as Key West and
Bali. Pineapples and pomegranates add an international flavor
to the traditional basket of decorative fruits. Monkeys represent
a gender-neutral motif, easy to decorate with and especially
appropriate for shared spaces, such as the master bedroom,
where men may raise objections to an abundant use of florals.
While tropical themes are ideal for decorating a vacation
home in a southern climate, they can also carry their luxurious
sense of comfort to the harsh winters of the north.
Patterns in the Ellison Bay collection from Maxwell’s
Piper Designs division offer an example. The collection takes
its name from a beautiful inlet on the Wisconsin side of Lake
Michigan -- an idyllic summer resort that is snowbound for
much of the winter. While pineapples, interspersed with tropical
flowers are in perfect sync with the surroundings in summer,
they bring the welcome glow of summer to winter's short, dark
days.
For added winter warmth, we used this pattern in red in an
entryway. It is installed above a white molding at chair-rail
height, and topped with its even more densely floral coordinating
border. A harlequin pattern in matching red runs from the
chair rail to the floor.
Classic ring-tail monkeys meander along tropical branches
in a design in Maxwell's Vintage Colonial collection, which
also contains matching borders and a coordinating cheetah
print. All three help unify a master bedroom and adjoining
dressing area, while also making each space distinctive. To
produce a "positive/negative, reverse" visual effect,
we combined the monkey wallpaper with a white background and
a border of the same design on a black background.
This stunning pair of patterns extends along one wall into
the dressing area that is otherwise wallpapered completely
in the cheetah pattern. Because Maxwell collections use color
families to make coordination easy and mixing and matching
foolproof, this cheetah's spots are perfectly color-matched
to the monkey's fur.
Such coordination also makes it easy to add true decorator
distinction. For example, we covered the two shades on the
sconce at the entry to the dressing area with the cheetah
wallpaper print. Details like this bear the mark of professional
interior design and become a signature of your great taste
of the tropics.
The most dramatic of all Maxwell's tropical references is
an innovative vertical wall mural, created for the Vintage
Tuscany collection from Maxwell's LV Emmert Studios' division.
It replicates a floor-to-ceiling window, complete with trompe
l'oeil window panes and drawn shades, with an open view to
a nearly life-size palm tree in a faux Italian courtyard.
We know of no other pattern that can so completely infuse
any room with the lush look of the tropics.
To locate a retailer in your area that carries the Vintage
Colonial collection from S.A. Maxwell Co., Ellison Bay from
Maxwell's Piper Designs, and Vintage Tuscany from the company's
LV Emmert Studios, call (847) 932-3700 or visit www.samaxwell.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jaima Brown is director of design for
S.A. Maxwell Co.
