INTERIOR DESIGN Á LA BABY

- contributing writer, Norinne De Gal
One of the most important aspects in decorating a nursery is creating a healthy non-toxic atmosphere for our little ones.  For me, as the owner of a specialty wallpaper boutique called walnut, my son Henry’s nursery had to include wallpaper, specifically a bold, modern dinosaur pattern from Palace Papers that I loved. Now admittedly, wallpaper has not always had the best reputation as an eco-friendly product, but much of this bad rap was from lower-end vinyl lines widely available at paint stores. 

When I first opened my shop, around four years ago, I intentionally stayed away from these lower end lines, instead concentrating on smaller start-up artisan lines. Quickly, I noticed that many of these lines were also eco –friendly to some degree.

Palace Papers, for instance, is a truly homespun line.  The original designs are drawn by hand with no computer help—and then the papers are hand-screened and printed on non-vinyl paper.  Other wallpaper lines including Geoff Mcfetridge, Mod Green Pod and Flavor paper, to name a few, are also hand-screened with water bases inks. One specialty company called Cavern Home, whose papers are also created using good old fashioned “man-power,”  started out using oil based inks, but has now completely switched over to water based ink.  Even some of the bigger players like Studio Printworks, are slowly catching on. While their hand-screening is done with oil bases inks they will customize an order with water based inks at no additional charge, if specified.  As far as install goes, most of these papers can be hung with a wheat paste that is widely available and that many installers are familiar with.

Some of these wallpaper lines are also offering coordinating fabrics that match the wallpaper designs. These fabrics, which can be used for draperies, bedding and upholstery, are also hand-screened using water based inks.  One company, Mod Green Pod, takes it a step further by specifying fabric and paper that is created using only organically grown cotton.  Another great option for wallpaper is non-bleached Kraft paper which Cavern Home and Palace Papers print some of their designs on to great effect.

For a look at some of these designs, check out   www.walnutwallpaper.com