By Kevin Ou

Having made an indelible mark on the world of interior design, Barclay Butera, a Los Angeles-based celebrity interior designer, shared a few expert design tips on modernizing interior walls and sprucing up your home:

1. Choose pattern-on-pattern, and layer with textures.

"I keep this in mind, when I design the interiors, walls and ceilings of all my projects," Butera tells Modern Home and Living.

2. Put wallpaper on the ceiling.

"I wallpaper the ceiling often; it adds depth and creates interesting perspective," says Butera. "In fact, I'm a huge fan of wallpaper, so every room is wallpapered in several of my homes. Don't be afraid to blend them! For example, raffia can go with stripes and with toile. Wallpaper the entire room, or even one accent wall, like behind the headboard of a bedroom. Don't be afraid to do something non-traditional."

Connecting rooms don't have to match, Butera points out. "Try stripes in the bathroom and toile in the adjacent bedroom. Pattern-on-pattern works, especially if using different tones or shades within the same color family."

3. Take a lesson from fashion.

"For instance, in a powder room that I just finished at a penthouse residence in the new W Hollywood, I referenced fashion details used in men's tailoring," Butera comments. "As part of the installation, I used black-and-white ticking-striped wallpaper--inspired by classic men's suits--as the base. I then accented the walls with strong red artwork--the similar effect of a tie or pocket square--which provided contrast in the room. This is a fun and stylish way to combine art with wall coverings."

4. Create the illusion of a well-defined entry.

"If there is an entry without a defined structural wall-break, use wallpaper to create an illusion of visual delineation," Butera suggest. "Finish off this visual break with molding, such as a vertical wood trim.

5. Combine wall-covering ideas.

"In my family room, I applied wainscot paneling 8 feet up the wall, and then continued the top portion of the wall and onto the ceiling with raffia," says Butera. "This especially works if the room has vaulted ceilings. I created pattern and rhythm by including a raffia rug, which ties the room design elements all together. These applications give the room a fresh sense of dimension."

6. Fabric-backed wallpaper adds a sense of sophistication, without upholstering the walls.

7. Today's hottest trends in wallpapers are exotic wall coverings, such as stamped crocodile.

8. In addition, "paint colors are also very important to accent and help set the mood of the home," says Butera.

To see more of Barclay Butera's work, visit www.BarclayButera.com

 

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Home & Garden - Barclay Butera: Create Modern Rooms Simply By Changing the Walls