While our subject is a reference to the 1973 movie of the same name, we’re observing that during the pandemic people are still chasing down toilet paper and paper towels. In a way it’s odd to think of this time as a chase at all. To us, it seems that time has really slowed down. What are we chasing? Perhaps it is a silver lining to be able to spend more time at home with our families. We will probably never have this amount of time at home again. Well, we hope not…or do we? We’d like to focus on two other papers in this issue of What Matters. Each of these papers reminds us of a previous time…before phones and screens and streaming when it seemed like we had more time. It is not lost on us that What Matters is a digital publication. We still live in a modern world!

Looks on the Write Side

Our mailboxes are filled with junk, bills, and solicitations. We all know what happened to the written note card or letter, but what an opportunity we have now to get in touch with friends and family in this [old fashioned] way.  Isn’t it a thrill to receive a letter? Isn’t it a thrill to write a letter instead of an email or text? It has a certain permanence. Prepare with some good stationery. Our favorite stationers are Sugar Paper, Smythson, Moo, and Haute Papier. And, what a great way to support the USPS stamp store! For more, here is a story called The Endangered Art of Letter-Writing, a NYT opinion piece You Should Start Writing Letters, and in case you don’t remember how to write a letter, let this be your guide. Happy writing and don’t forget to vote [by mail].

Are You Climbing the Walls?

If you’re climbing the walls during this pandemic then we hope that some of them are wallpapered! Wallpaper can be used sparingly to feature a single wall, for overall warmth and pattern, or for a more-is-more approach to introduce color and pattern even on the ceiling. There are modern murals, Hermes even has a line of wallpaper, and after scouring all of our resources for one recent client, we had a wallpaper custom made and it’s stunning (photo above).  Forget the wallpapers of the 70s and 80s. Wallpaper is now.

For additional ideas, check out this story on statement wallpapers and this one on 2020 trends.

On the Walls

We’ve renamed our “On the Boards” section for this month. This longtime client of ours was ready for a basement media room redo and part of this project includes a highly textured and patterned wallpaper with a gallery art installation. Here is a rendering of how it will look:

And this new client has engaged us on a fully remote project. He will be moving to Washington DC from Europe shortly, and this newly wallpapered wall will add color, an important layer, and an organic feel to his new living room. And don’t forget to paper your electrical plates to make them disappear.

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