When most people think of wallpaper, images of old and dated florals from grandma's house may come to mind, but TGI would like to take this opportunity to defend wallpaper and introduce you to the new papers and styles of 2010! On a recent visit to the Duralee Showroom, we went through wings and wings of the latest papers from Thibaut Wallpapers and had to share with you some of our findings!

Full of color and texture, today's updated papers could easily serve as the inspiration for an entire room. We saw metallic and floral prints with large-scale patterns and subtle color palettes creating a more refined and sophisticated feel. These papers are fashionable and decorative without being over the top. We noticed famous designers like Candice Olson and Kelly Wearstler designing wallpaper lines in similar aesthetics as well. There now seems to be an understanding in the industry that wallpaper is coming back in a big, yet understated way.

Below are some of our favorite styles (click to enlarge):

These are the latest grasscloth papers that provide a warm texture in a modern way. In my opinion, textured wallcoverings like these bring so much more to a room than paint can offer.

When it comes to deciding which rooms to paper, I always recommend dressing up the showcase rooms in your home: the powder room and dining room. You can always get away with doing something a little different in these rooms, so select papers that amp up the style factor and have some fun!

Some other creative ways I love to see wallpaper are as a feature wall in a bedroom behind the bed or even on the ceiling! The wallpaper then becomes the focal point of the room and really makes a statement!

Here are some of the wallpaper samples we picked up from our latest showroom visit. My hands-down favorite is the champagne and oyster floral on the bottom right:

My hope is that this post helped to open some minds to the new possibilities in wallcoverings!

Enjoy the holiday weekend everyone :) TGIF!