Paper packs a punch

Wallpaper has come a long way since your grandma used it, says designer Jen Klein at O'Hara Interiors.

The big picture: Designers have been wrapping rooms in personality-packed paper this year — and the trend is here to stay for 2025.

• Taskrabbit saw a 70% increase in wallpapering bookings nationwide from January to May 2024 compared to the same period last year.

What they're saying: "With lots of neutrals dominating many furnishing choices, it's a chance to add a pop of personality to an otherwise blank palette," Klein tells Axios.

The latest: It's not just bedrooms and dining rooms. Nooks and crannies, closets, bookshelves and laundry rooms are all getting makeovers, too.

• These small spaces are a playground for bold colors and patterns that might be overwhelming in main living areas, experts say.

Fun fact: Some people are adorning their walls with hometown pride. Texas-based company Katie Kime sells dainty prints featuring Houston "icons" such as the Astrodome and even River Oaks Theatre. (A double roll of traditional wallpaper starts at $188.)

Case in point: Austin homeowner Jesse Stowell recently installed a patterned wallpaper described as "a love letter to the Lone Star state" — filled with taco trucks, rattlesnakes, famous restaurant signs and the H-E-B logo, among other very Texas things.

What's next: Look up. Klein expects more people to wallpaper their ceilings to add a dramatic flair, especially in homes with limited open wall space.

The bottom line: "They say everything eventually comes back into fashion," Texan Jorjanna Price, whose 1950s den ceiling came covered with velvet-looking wallpaper, tells Axios.

💭 Our thought bubble: We're all for themed wallpaper, but we couldn't help but chuckle at the Houston representation, like the Westheimer Road sign. Then again, maybe the toile is accurate, and it's just time we embrace it.

• Readers, what would you put on a Houston wallpaper?