Walls are giant blank canvases, waiting to be painted (or papered, or plastered) in whatever way one chooses. But with endless options available, making a decision can be daunting.
The Vine spoke with three interior designers — Sophia Brush of Vineyard Decorators, Tracey Stead of Studio Tracey Stead and Lauren Morgan of Morgan Studio — about what Vineyard clients are doing with their walls. They also offered tips on how to choose the right wall design for any room.
Among clients here on the Vineyard, there is one phenomenon upon which all three designers agree: Bold wall colors are in. Tracey said many clients are allowing themselves to stray from the coastal palettes and motifs associated with coastal vacation homes to lean into something more adventurous.
“The Vineyard has trends that never go out of style because we’re on an Island, [and] we have this coastal feel,” Tracey said. “But I’m feeling that before, clients wanted everything neutral and airy and beachy … and now I’m seeing that a lot of my clients are more into that maximalism.”
Designers named ochre, mauve, butter yellow, warm beige and red as colors having a moment.
“There’s definitely a shift away from grays and icy cool tones that lean sterile, especially in a new house,” Lauren said.
One trend designers are noticing is that clients are gravitating towards unusual paint applications that add texture or drama to a room.
“I think that our architecture on the Island really lends itself — especially our historic architecture — to applying paint colors in interesting ways,” Sophia said.
Particularly hot at the moment is color drenching, or painting the walls, ceiling and trim of a room all one color to envelop the whole space in a single shade.
Sophia said she loves to use color drenching in offices, libraries and dens, and that it’s best when it’s making a statement. She said it’s important to think about how color is used in the surrounding areas so it feels cohesive and intentional.
But if the idea of color drenching feels overwhelming, there are more subtle paint application styles that are still unexpected. Lauren, Tracey and Sophia all suggested choosing a bold color for trim and going soft with the wall color itself.
“It creates a little world and it transports you without feeling too busy,” Lauren said.
Tracey pointed out that going bold with trim, molding and wainscotting is nothing new and is characteristic of classic New England home design. But on the Vineyard, it’s something clients have leaned into more recently.
“It’s like all of a sudden people decided, oh, I can own a house on Martha’s Vineyard, and it doesn’t have to look completely like a Florida or California beach house,” she said.
Not interested in solid color? Reach for a wallpaper — you’ll be in good company.
“We’re definitely seeing a big resurgence in wallpaper,” Sophia said. “That’s something that’s been building over the years.”
Just as with paint, Island clients are not letting their wallpaper choices be governed by notions of what “belongs” in a coastal home. They’re reaching for botanicals, patterns reminiscent of silk scarves and even custom prints.
“If a [Vineyard] client wanted wall covering [in the past], that meant seagrass or woven,” Tracey said. “Now I’m seeing my clients wanting a ton of pattern, as well as texture.”
Deciding what to do with the walls in your home, especially if you don’t have the guidance of an interior designer, can be hard. For Sophia and Lauren, sampling paint is an important part of any strategy. They said it’s important to see how paint behaves when covering a large portion of a wall, and to watch how it changes at different times of day and in different weather. Many paints are metameric, meaning different lighting can completely change the way they appear.
“I think sometimes people are afraid to pick a color that they can’t name,” Lauren said. “I think that’s the beauty of it.”
While trends come and go, all of the designers agreed that it’s important to honor your own aesthetic by choosing a color, pattern or application that moves you.
“Color is so powerful in that it really does change your emotion. It changes your vibe,” Tracey said. “Choose colors that resonate with you, that you love, and then use them in a way that is meaningful.”
Emma Kilbride is a reporter for the Vineyard Gazette.