Cursed by a Dark Room? *This* Type of Wallpaper Is Your New Best Friend
OK, so we all know the age-old trick of using mirrors to make a room feel bigger and brighter. But there’s another unsung—and equally reflective—design hero that deserves some credit.
We recently stumbled upon a copy of Joanna Thornhill’s brilliant new book, My Bedroom Is an Office: And Other Interior Design Dilemmas, and found a particularly, well, illuminating passage on decorating a dark home. Her pretty and practical solution? Metallic wallpaper.
“With its reflective properties…[metallic] wallpaper helps the light move throughout the space,” Thornhill writes. “Use [it] to bounce around the light you do have.”
Fear not: This doesn’t mean trimming your room in wallpaper that looks like aluminum foil. Rather, there are actually tons of gorgeous papers that include subtle, tasteful metallic patterning.
Pin-spired by the tip-off, we rounded up a handful of stylish options to consider for your own space.
RELATED: 8 Expert Tricks for a Lighter, Brighter, Airier Home
Nature-Inspired
We love the subtle wave and cloud motifs in this soothing wall treatment.
York Wallcoverings ($1/square foot)
Textural
Say it with us now: Luminous.
Mercer41 ($1/square foot)
Floral
A little bit shabby-chic, a little bit chinoiserie-chic.
House of Hampton ($1/square foot)
Tropical
How swoony is this gold foil-meets-palm frond situation?
Bay Isle Home ($2/square foot)
Geometric
Minimalist metallic lines FTW.
Graham & Brown ($1/square foot)