Fashionable wallpapers make bold statements

Art has never been an easy term to define — especially when a creation is intended for use in a home rather than for display in a museum or gallery.

Does wallpaper, for example, qualify as art? Maybe so or maybe not, but the more appropriate response might be: Who cares?

What’s nondebatable is that certain types of wall covering function just as effectively as focal points as do objects universally acknowledged to be works of art. If the visual appeal is powerful in both cases, then what difference does it make whether wallpaper confirms with some subjective definition?

I’m thinking specifically of bold and colorful geometric patterns that can set a room aglow. Wallpaper featuring small, cute figures or florals will seldom work as a focal point. And that’s why I’d rule it out — not because it’s something other than art.

Q: The entrance foyer in my home could use some jazzing up. The space contains a small chest of drawers made of brown-stained wood. I want to retain this functional and well-situated piece, but I’m wondering if it will interfere with my aim of making a contemporary design statement. What do you think?

A: A contemporary design statement often involves the unexpected. For that reason, juxtaposing two styles in what I take to be a small foyer should actually be consistent with your aim.

You might consider adding something like the wall covering seen in the accompanying photo as a contrasting accompaniment to your brown wood chest of drawers.

This Gordon & Brown wall covering, called Macintosh Roses, was designed by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway. With its big swirling pattern of interlocking black circles on a white background, this is obviously not your grandma’s rose wallpaper.

Like many of today’s designs for the home, this print resembles a fashion fabric. And if something’s attractive enough to wear, then it’s probably going to look good in a room, too.

Even though the Bombay chest shown in the photo differs greatly from the one you describe, the overall look of this setting may offer some bits of inspiration for jazzing up your foyer. The floor and woodwork, for example, could be painted a high-gloss white. The silver floor-height chandelier with candles might make an appealing addition as well.

Other lighting elements should be installed in the ceiling so as to wash the walls and the top of the chest. And, by the way, you could give your wooden chest of drawers a silver finish and ornamental ring pulls.

The wall covering makes the loudest design statement in this setting, but the other elements contribute as well. Please keep that in mind as you plan how to make the entrance to your home dramatically welcoming.

Rita St. Clair is a syndicated columnist with Tribune Media Services Inc. E-mail general interior design questions to her at rsca@ritastclair.com.