Custom drapery teamed with window shades or blinds can make a statement

For architect Barbara Bestor, who chairs the graduate program at the Woodbury University School of Architecture in Los Angeles, the biggest selling point about today's wallpaper is its disposable nature.


Bold wallpapers, often intended for an accent wall rather than a whole room, and larger-than-life wall decals, are a new way to decorate without a major - or permanent - investment. As a result, intense colors and whimsical patterns play well against more subtle wall colors.


"You get to really individualize your environment with about as much effort as putting a poster on the wall," she told the New York Times about choosing a wall décal.


In the same way, choosing a window treatment such as custom drapery allows homeowners to change out colors and fabrics according to the season. They can be used in conjunction with practical window coverings from rollup blinds to cellular shades.


The staying power of a well-chosen window shade or blind should also apply to wallpaper. "Anything too trendy is not for your walls," Bestor told the newspaper. "You have to be happy living with it for a couple of years."