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Warm Your Home with a Taste of the Tropics
Decorating With Wallpaper
By Jaima Brown
(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.
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