One of the defining features of our house -- and the reason we named this blog "The Papered House" -- is the variety of vintage wallpaper found throughout the home. I'm a bit of a wallpaper nerd, so perhaps it's unusual that I'm thrilled to live in rooms covered with old, dated wallpaper. Not all of the wallpaper is our taste, but I'm embracing it and learning as much about it as I can. Here is what we've discovered thus far about the wallpaper on our first floor.
Living and Dining Rooms (Originally the Double Parlor)
Our house is arranged as a side-hall with double-parlor, which seems to be a popular style for our area. The foyer and staircase are on the left side of the house. To the right of the entry hall, French doors lead to two rooms which are joined by pocket doors. When the house was built, these rooms most likely served as the home's front and rear parlors. The front parlor would have been the most formal room in the house, as it would have been used for entertaining visitors and important guests. The rear parlor would have been used as a less formal gathering space for family members. In other words, the front parlor was the equivalent of a modern living room and the rear parlor was the equivalent of the modern family room. The rooms would often have been decorated similarly, so that the decor would appear cohesive when the pocket doors were opened. In case it helps to see a floorplan, the first floor of our home looks remarkably similar to the layout of the
Gallier House in New Orleans.
But back to our house. Although these rooms would have been used as a front and rear parlor, we're using them as a living room and dining room, respectively. For reasons I'll explain in a future post, this just works better with our lifestyle and furniture. Currently, the wallpaper in both rooms is a scenic landscape with shades of brown, mustard yellow, and metallic gold.