What I’m loving right now: Decorative painting directly onto walls (as opposed to wallpaper!). I love when details in a home are visibly done by hand. The little imperfections make me giddy. It makes a home feel personal and loved—and those are the best kinds of homes to be in.

I’d recommend it to someone who also likes…DIY, folk art, and the Bloomsbury Group.

Photography by Alicia Waite

Where I’ve spotted it in the wild: 

• Artist Frances MacLeod has done this in quite a few places in her home, but the first project of hers that left an impression on me was her painted nook.
• My friend Abby Miller did a striped pattern that I find 10 times more charming than any wallpaper (below left).
• Scott Csoke painted most of their apartment!

Three real-life ways I’d try it:

1. In a powder room, closet, pantry, etc. A small-scale space makes the project manageable, and I feel like it ups the surprise and delight factor when it’s not in a super-obvious place.
2. On a doorframe or on the inside edge of an opening between rooms.
3. If you can’t commit to your walls, painting a lampshade could be a good way to dip your toe into these ~whimsical waters~.

Things to keep in mind:

• I am staunchly anti-painter’s tape! Paint can still sneak underneath and give you weird lines. Freehand is the best way to get a smooth edge.
• Celebrate any inconsistencies, flubs, or other things you might label as “mistakes” as painterly details!
• Don’t underestimate the visual power of simple stripes or checks. It doesn’t have to be an incredibly detailed motif to be impactful.

If money, time, and space were no object, I’d…Hire Andie Dinkin to paint a mural in my entryway. Her work is so transportive. 

My elevator pitch to skeptics: Live a little! Paint can always be painted over.

How I see it evolving: I would love to see this segue into a revival of convincing trompe l’oeil. I feel like this hyper-simplified motif has been making the rounds, but I love more realistic decorative painting like this.

What’s the next…

• Paint color you want to use: Jawbreaker by Backdrop. I’m on the hunt for a mauve for our bathroom.
• Decor item you’re on the hunt for: A giant glass-front antique cabinet for our kitchen. I am prowling every auction site I know.
• Vintage score of your dreams: A French verdure tapestry like this.
• Design destination on your bucket list: Copenhagen! Get me on a bicycle and let me ride around like one of the cool fashion girlies!
• Home project you’d like to tackle: I want our outdoor space to be more livable next summer, and based on my unenthusiastic reading of landscaping books I’ve checked out from the library, I think I’m going to need to hire a pro to help me make a plan. Indoors? I’ve absolutely got it under control. Outdoors? I have no idea where to start.
• DIY you might actually do: Currently ruminating on creating a linocut stamp to block-print my own curtains.
• Trend you hope makes a comeback: Kitchens with freestanding furniture pieces versus built-in cabinetry, although I’m not sure if this is a trend as much as a way of life pre-1950s!
• Project you’re working on: I painted our dining room taupe and I…dislike it. I want to pivot to an off-white, but, wow, picking a neutral paint color is vexing. 

What’s the last…

• Thing you bought for your home: Vintage sconces for our dining room. I got this pair for $35 on eBay from this seller, for those interested in joining me in harnessing the power of rewiring your own lamps.

• Post you saved: This one about an estate sale that I will not be able to go to (because I do not live anywhere near L.A.). Those bobbin corner chairs—Mamma mia!
• Account you followed: McLaurin & Piercy. I’ve been looking for a striped fabric to use on a sofa I’d like to have custom-made, and I just found this company. I love the Nagoya print (above right). 
• Photo you snapped: This seems like I am cheating the system (I assure you my camera roll is in fact full of bad fit pics and screenshots I don’t remember why I took), but I cut hydrangeas from our yard recently, and whenever there are flowers in the house, I am compelled to photograph them (above left).

I’ve been hemming and hawing over our bedside lamps since we moved into our house two years ago. I want the warmth of a natural material, but with a little main character energy—and they have to jibe with our sage green walls. These Mitzi styles are on my short list. This month, Enthusiasts can shop with the code DOMINO20 for 20% off sitewide. —Lindsey Mather, digital director

More exclusive savings through August 31: 

• 15% off BedThreads sitewide with the code DOMINO15
• 15% of full-price Falcon enamelware with the code DOMINOxFALCON (excluding pint jugs and tumblers)
• 20% off Pom Pom at Home sitewide with the code DOMINO20

Portrait Photography by Emily Lyons-Wood

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