Wallpaper Only One Wall, Maybe Keep Your Rental Deposit

I’m not a huge fan of most accent walls—you know, the decorating technique where you paint one wall with a color and leave the other three some version of white. It always seems to scream, “This is the wall where I got crazy and really went for it!”  Why not buck up and paint all four? If you hate it, it’s paint; you repaint it white.

But when I saw Jason Wu’s bedroom wall wallpapered in a gray floral paper, I had to eat my words. I loved it! Here’s why it works for me: The wallpaper acts like a stand-in for a wall of art. If I could pick a wall to put up a gorgeous De Gournay paper (it’s hand painted, heavenly, and hyper-$$$), you bet your ass I would. If I didn’t have to pay for it, that is.

To make this treatment even more luxe, consider hanging it behind your bed (like Jason did) to act like a headboard or frame it with molding near the ceiling, floor, and connecting walls. I’m loving the wallpaper here, here and here.

Unless you’re a pro, don’t hang it yourself. You’ll only get crooked seams and bubbles.