Posted on: December 12, 2007
If These Walls Could Talk
Optical illusions, LED light shows and scratch-n-sniff magic are reinventing wallpaper, taking your walls to new heights
By Mary M. Murphey
CTW Features
Image courtesy of Flavor Paper
Oh, to be a fly on one of these walls! While most walls don't experience much beyond the rotation between striped patterns and floral prints, the lucky walls under these strips of wallpaper (and the flies that frequent them) get a full-fledged sensory experience.
The scratch-n-sniff Fruit Cocktail Collection by New Orleans-based Flavor Paper, the light-emitting wallpaper created by industrial designer Jonas Samson and the "warped wallpaper technology" of German-headquartered Surrealien represent just a snippet of the budding technology and creativity behind today's wallpaper.
Flavor Paper's Fruit Cocktail Collection currently has three offerings - Cherry Forever, Tutti Frutti and B-A-N-A-N-A-S - but will expand to include new flavors in 2008, including magnolia and cupcake scents. Flavor Paper also creates custom scents upon request.
Jon Sherman, the owner and founder of the wallcoverings company that managed to survive Hurricane Katrina despite being located in the hard-hit 9th ward, attributed the excitement customers have for the scratch-n-sniff line to its novelty and aesthetic. The wallpaper evokes "memories of your junior-high sticker book," he says.
"There has always been an acceptance of uniqueness in the home," Sherman notes. "I think it started with the first caveman with a bearskin rug, but now it is more appealing to the masses with the proliferation of information. Now that the masses have access to the formerly unique, there is a constant hunt for the next innovation or twist."
The "magic" behind the line comes in toward the end of the production process, Sherman explains. When the water-based, adhesive, microencapsulated fragrance oils are hand-screened onto the printed wallpaper, that scratch-n-sniff allure is sealed in and ready to be experienced.
Samson's high-tech LED wallpaper offers light-show designs of birds, trees and other elements of nature, displayed at the speed or frequency of your choice. And interestingly, Samson gives owners the option of turning the wallpaper "off" so it gives the appearance of normal wallpaper.
Image courtesy of Surrealien
Surrealien's spin on wallpaper involves strips of fleece custom designed according to your particular wall, taking into account doorways, windows, outlets and artwork. The end result is the illusion that brightly patterned wallpaper is squeezed around the existing elements of your wall, creating a popping warped effect.
Whether these particular types of wallpaper will stick around as long as nautical themes have is yet to be seen, but even if they fade off the market radar in two years, the trend they reinforce is far more important to acknowledge. Your home is your pocket of the world - its appearance, décor, design, even scent, are all your choice.