Design Trend: Ceiling Wallpaper

APOLLINA BAKER had every intention of papering the walls of her children’s craft room. Then reality set in. “Paint splatter and markers often end up all over the walls,” said the attorney turned design consultant in Dripping Springs, Texas. “We decided to install wallpaper on the ceiling only.” She chose Hygge & West’s Daydream, in which blue swallows swirl through cotton-candy clouds. “The room seems so much bigger and taller with the ‘sky,’” said Mrs. Baker.

That perception-altering effect of papering the ceiling—and its sheer exuberance—has design experts and DIYers looking up. “More of our customers are making a statement through wallpapering the ceiling,” said Elizabeth Rees, founder of Chasing Paper in Milwaukee, Wis. “It provides an unexpected design moment, something we’ve been looking to create this past year.” Wrapping an entire room like a present skews maximalist, but you can add a more subtle dimension with textured neutrals like grasscloth. “People are starting to realize how much design potential has been hanging above their heads,” said Adam D’Agostine, chief marketing officer of A-Street Prints, another wallpaper company, in Randolph, Mass.

If your room otherwise features wall treatments with presence and a graphic rug, ignoring the topside is like wearing a ball gown without a tiara. “It’s a balance story,” said Karen B. Wolf, an interior designer in Short Hills, N.J. “With a patterned ceiling wallpaper, you tie the room together.”

For cohesion’s sake, paint walls and/or trim a shade you pull from the ceiling paper, suggested Dina Holland, an interior designer in Needham, Mass. A white perimeter looks unfinished, “like you started but got scared,” she said. In her children’s craft room, Mrs. Baker painted the built-in desk and cabinets in Farrow & Ball’s Stone Blue, picking up the color of the birds overhead. Mrs. Holland gave a powder room (shown) personality by combining sparse fish graphics on the walls with a dense coral print above, varying scale to give the eye a place to rest.

A couple of precautions: A pattern that relies on an up/down orientation to make sense can create discord because you come at the ceiling from multiple directions, noted Cathy Purple Cherry, a designer in Annapolis, Md. And removal can be quite challenging. But don’t let that dissuade you. Powder rooms in particular lend themselves to ceiling design, Mrs. Purple Cherry added, because visitors sit with little to do but check out the room, “and it’s kind of a peek-a-boo moment.”

Tucked away in Byron Bay’s coveted hinterland, Whimsy Farm is a traditional rural homestead surrounded by more than 16ha of lush fertile grounds with equestrian facilities and a host of whimsical additions including a fairytale-inspired maze.

Just listed with Sotheby’s International Realty Byron Bay, agents Denzil Lloyd and Will Phillips are running an expressions of interest campaign on the glamorous getaway with a price guide of $5.25 million to $5.75 million.

The romantic estate in Federal, 25 kms from Byron Bay dates back more than a century, but has been meticulously renovated by its current owners to attain modern day dream home status.

Back in 2016, the enviable property even featured on Foxtel’s short-lived reality TV show I Own Australia’s Best Home. The picturesque parcel has also been appreciated by location scouts and has appeared in a long list of fashion brand and magazine shoots such as Country Style and Queensland Homes.

Owner Melinda Boundy, founder of boutique interiors firm Melinda Boundy Design, was instrumental in reviving the historic Federal homestead. She has described the rural property as a “a respite from the world” where she and her husband have raised their two sons over the past decade.

“I brought my boys down 10 years ago to nurture their creativity, their boyhood,” Boundy said in a recent Instagram post announcing the impending sale.

“We found our farm with its double-storey treehouse and 40 acres the perfect place for two young boys to thrive.”

In addition to hiring out the estate for formal events, Boundy said the family had celebrated several milestones at the address.

“Many parties, sleepovers, friends staying and events have been held [here]. It has seen the filming of a TV show or two, music videos, location shoots and weddings,” she added.

“Now it’s time to pass the baton to another family to share the magic and wonderment of this beautiful compound.”

Lloyd agreed that the listing is a magical estate, ripe for the picking.

“It’s a wonderland. There’s the maze, but it’s also got the treehouse, teepee, dams, beautiful established veggie gardens and it’s perfect for those who love horse riding,” Mr Lloyd said.

“It really is an oasis with plenty of classical charm as well. It’s not an ostentatious home; it’s an original Queenslander from 1910.”

Living up to its storybook name, Whimsy Farm is home to a preserved traditional Queenslander residence with five bedrooms, plus a freestanding guest cottage. There is also a separate pool house and a combined shed or office on site, all capturing scenic hinterland views.

The main single-storey residence has a choice of entertaining spaces inside and out as well as bedrooms opening to private alfresco areas. A grand kitchen and the large living room both open to a vast terrace and pool area.

In the primary bedrooms suite there is a bay window overlooking the natural surrounds, an ensuite with double vanities, and out on the covered deck an outdoor bathtub is an idyllic spot for soaking under the stars.

The playful property has also operated as a holiday rental and offers up unique bonus features including a solar-heated semi circle pool, a double-storey treehouse, a teepee, horse stables, paddocks and a an Olympic-sized dressage arena.

A true tree change destination, the Federal address is home to 10 acres of regenerated forest, eight water tanks, two lagoons, extensive raised veggie gardens and a citrus orchard.

It is conveniently located a scenic 30-minute drive to Byron Bay and 20 minutes to Bangalow.

Whimsy Farm at 711 Federal Dr, Federal is listed through Sotheby’s International Realty Byron Bay through an expressions of interest campaign closing February 20, 5pm.

Design Trend: Ceiling Wallpaper

As designers and DIYers look for a finishing flourish they’re adding patterns to the ceiling.

Whimsy Farm is a playful period estate positioned in Byron Bay’s picturesque hinterland.