It's no secret that Tan France is a master of style. From his big name in fashion to his tasteful home interiors featured in his home cooking videos, he is an icon for chicness. In one of his latest Instagram posts, he elegantly poses in his bathroom and the glimpse into his tranquil but luxurious Salt Lake City home just confirmed every stylish belief we held in Tan's taste (as well as the growing popularity of mural-like wallpapers).
His beautiful white bathroom with a mix of tile walls and hardwood floors is truly breath-taking and sports a bathroom wallpaper idea that exudes fashionable charm. Floral wallpaper is not at all a new concept, but the large-scale, hand-painted paper shown in Tan's home tour is a fresh new take on the look that reads more as a garden mural than conventional wallpaper.
Tan admits in his Instagram caption that he doesn't have a favorite place in the house, but if he had to choose, it would definitely be the bathroom. Safe to say, we agree.
Harald Donoghue, Director of Special Projects at de Gournay, the wallpaper company that designed Tan's beautiful paper, shares that the wallpaper seen in Tan's bathroom is their "Wisteria' design" which he describes as "a triumphant expression of elegant simplicity".
What is unique about this wallpaper idea is that it energizes otherwise flat, botanic scenes in a way that makes them feel alive within the room. Instead of being a repeated pattern, the wisteria in the wall paper is hand-painted in a wash ink style to look like it is actually growing and hanging on the wall. "The twisting, calligraphic line of the boughs gracefully contrasts with the thicker pigments of the leaves and blossoms cascading from above," says Harald.
"This compositional technique typifies designs from our Japanese collection, which unlike the Chinoiserie scenes that rise up from the ground, often garland rooms from above," Harald continues. This hanging-vine look allows you to keep a crisp, clean atmosphere to the room, while still adding decorative touch that catches the eye.
"Tropical patterns have been everywhere in recent years, but recently we have seen them in a way that is more paired back, sophisticated and have much more colonial style to them," says James Mellan-Matulewicz, CEO and Creative Director at Bobbi Beck Wallpapers, a description perfectly describes this whimsical trend of vine and floral wallpaper.
Adding wallpaper to a room, is a great way to bring personality into a space. Wallpaper for powder rooms and bathrooms is often over looked because of the conventionally small size of the spaces, but large scale designs work brilliantly here. "one of the greatest misconceptions of mural-style wallpaper is that it is best suited to large, country houses with vast rooms," says Harald. "Some of the most successful installations are in the smallest spaces: powder rooms, downstairs loos, and hallways."
These larger scale wallpapers are adored by designers for their whimsical, transportative effects, too. "Bathroom areas are always where clients tend to go wild and do something bold, fun, and unexpected," says interior designer, Chelsea Lane. "Some of my favorite installations have been in bathrooms."
Tan's bathroom is an exemplary example of how to expertly add wallpaper to a small area. Mural designs add a sense of tranquillity while also acting as the main source of art in a space, and it's a brilliant way to dip your toes into the art of wallpaper. If you are new to the design style, then smaller spaces like powder rooms are seriously the perfect place to experiment. "It is an ideal motif for any setting, and especially bathrooms, because of its transportive sense of calm," says Harald.
Trends may come and go, but as James says "a style like Tan's shows that the desire to bring nature into the home will forever remain popular, even if the particular aesthetics change". So what are you waiting for? Why not bring a wall mural idea like Tan's into your bathroom.
