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Congratulations, if you read past the headline and are considering wallpaper in your home, the treatment will place you in a stylish coterie. Papered walls have glamorized rooms throughout history, shifting a functional room into a descriptive art piece. It’s not a simple addition, permanently sealing a print to your room’s wall is a decision as weighty as converting a shed or leaving the animal shelter with a new pet. While trends evolve, wallpaper styles adjust to the times but they will always add to a room’s gushing with love factor.

Fabric is used as wallpaper above the fireplace. The pattern, texture and color creates a layered contemporary classic at London’s Ham Yard Hotel. Copyright by Horst P. Horst / Vogue / OTTO / Conde Nast

In Christiane Lemieux’s latest design book, The Finer Things, she devotes a section to wallpaper. Lemieux is a proponent of quality and personalized style, dressing a room in a sophisticated look like a Parisian wearing a hat.

The Gottwald bathroom in Richmond, Virginia, is not your typical bathing experience. The addition of wallpaper with blended pieces amps the luxury factor, creating a design more expected in the lobby of a lux hotel. Courtesy of Bunny Williams.

Lemieux Guidelines: What You Need to Know About Wallpaper:

1. History: Wallpaper descended from tapestries, which were used to warm up the interiors of those drafty old homes.
2. Why It Stuck: A more decorative, affordable option than weighty works of art.
3. Enduring Evolution: Still holds the same composite as papers dating back to the 17th century, just updated with the trends.
4. Composition: When selecting papers, research on how it was made–hand painted, wood block, silkscreen techniques–or current developments like digital printing.
5. Installation: Begin by priming the walls beforehand the way you would with paint, which allows the paper to adhere correctly. Though wallpapering a room is an intricate process that is more involved than coating a wall with paint, a project where considering an expert is a sensible expense.
6. How Much Is Needed: While square footage in relation to the amount in a roll will make you dust off your math skills, err on over buying. Wallpaper will be cut and tossed due to the complexities of a room’s layout from the doors, windows etc.

The size and simple quality of this rouge grass cloth print by Phillip Jeffries is a simple installation that brings in a unique element to the room via the tactile feel and shade. Copyright by Benjamin Benschneider / OTTO

The Finer Things. Copyright © 2016 by Christiane Lemieux. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Winter doldrums have hit. The sad, spindly trees. Wearing so many layers I will need a reintroduction to my toes come spring. A dog who refuses to go out. While the change of seasons has its allure, I’d rather visit winter over a long weekend in an alpine cabin with heated floors. A way to beat the cold is to bring in elements that remind us of warmer days. Cut Flower Garden accomplishes exactly that with the best of the forgiving seasons without having to spend on an airfare headed south. Erin Benzakein is the master floral designer and maverick in the farm-to-centerpiece movement, sharing insight and inspiration from her farm, Floret Flowers.

Erin Benzakein gathering her tools of the trade.

From designing a flower bed to bundling a bouquet for Mother’s Day, Erin’s easy-to-follow guides enlighten on gardening and styling. The book also provides detailed information on the most popular blooms like dahlias, peonies and roses.

Erin grows around 400 rose bushes in countless varieties.

If you are at a loss on how to mix flowers ideas abound. Other insider morsels include increasing your bloom’s vase life by cutting the stem’s ends and using cool, fresh water. Learn how to make market tied bouquets, floral crowns and, as this is a seasonal guide, holiday wreath.

Lilacs should be picked early in the morning or evening to minimize wilting.

From seed to stem, lush imagery alongside expert guidance elevate the book from coffee table darling to dependable resource guide.

Cut Flower Garden has that alluring combo in being both beautiful and smart.

Photography by Michele M. Waite for Chronicle Books, 2017.

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Art Deco meets futurism in the spaces designed by Tara Bernerd, as if Jay Gatsby time traveled to the early 2000s and decorated his modernist den. In her new book, Tara Bernerd: Place (Rizzoli), Bernerd guides enthusiasts through a visual journey with a striking representation of homes, hotels and luxury interiors across the globe.

Contemporary is far from minimal in this space within a yacht.

Bernerd has pedigree. She worked with Phillippe Starck, contoured her training into her own aesthetic, and struck out on her own by establishing a firm in London. Bernerd’s layered approach respects curated pieces, an attention to art, and a genius approach to lighting.

Melding texture and tone while an attention to art and lighting add intrigue.

She understands how to make a place both inviting yet sophisticated with a clever assemblage of accents and treatments to warm up a room.

In this Hong Kong penthouse, a rich mix of textures, materials and treatments coalesce.

Subdued color schemes with the occasional injection of a statement shade, parlayed with a variety of materials, keep the designs from looking hackneyed.

A bathroom deviates from expected marble and white with an exquisite blend of color, pattern and materials, as seen in this space’s balance of brass and black with classic marble.

The lobby of the Four Seasons in Fort Lauderdale has the right combination of dramatic and comfortable.

Customized built-ins, “book-matched” walnut, and such opulent texture as leather and velvet direct the focus in this Central Park West apartment.

A mix of comfort and luxury define Tara Bernerd’s places as memorable, livable and secure their placement as architectural gems.

Tara Bernerd: Place is a rich compendium of luxurious spaces you can live in.

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Our household is learning the importance of flexibility. While some prefer to build their wardrobe or undergo cosmetic makeovers, I am constantly tweaking the home. Even after I made deals with the family after the last remodel that we would not endure living with contractors for another couple of years I am treading back on my promise, learning that when it comes to the home we can always welcome updates.

Curved furniture, like this bed from Layla Grace, in a fashionable color updates and softens a room.

There is a clever balance between affordability, low maintenance upgrades, and design so the improvements will enhance your life with limited fanfare. Follow these seven additions that will dramatically impact the home and are well worth the investment:

1. Flooring: New floors are the foundation of a home. Either refurbish existing boards, paint over, or consider new hardwood. Light wood is still trending as it opens up the house and adds brightness.

Wood floors add instant appeal. There are also affordable options, such as this oak engineered plank from Overstock.

2. Paint: Whether it’s adding a bold color to a wall or refreshing existing rooms, fresh paint will instantly add sparkle to the environment.

Basic white or a dramatic paint color, like Retro Metro Green by Fine Paints of Europe, is a cosmetic touch with volumes of impact.

3. Lighting: Bring in light sources to create a mood and look. Go for illuminating pocket lights or statement pieces like chandeliers, pendant lights and lamps that anchor a room.

A row of colored pendant lamps by YLighting add whimsy to a dining area.

4. Tile: Innovative tiling will invigorate the kitchen, bath, bar area or even a mud room. Be bold with bright colors or choose a conservative choice in a lighter shade but current look.

Glass and natural stone mosaic tile, available at Wayfair, will direct a room’s design.

5. Furnishings: A curated selection of pieces will secure personal style. Think like a designer by doing the research, reading shelter publications, visiting design sites, and create folders of imagery with favored looks. Then source the companies that supply your themes. Add furniture in stages so you can have time  living with the pieces, are confident with your direction, and is less of a financial burden.

This sofa by Tobi Farley from Layla Grace represents fine detailing from the curved nailhead trim and clean lines.

6. Art: From over sized posters to a passed down portrait, art is the eye candy of the home. When choosing paintings, prints or wall art don’t jump into a purchase but make sure you have a “falling in love” reaction as this can be an everlasting relationship.

7. Appliances: It takes one va va va voom piece to command a room, where a star appliance can be all that’s needed to add drama. This dual result of image and the addition of a quality stove, refrigerator or electronic is all that is needed to energize a room.

A show-stopping appliance, like this cast iron stove by AGA, is the only addition needed to tell a design story. Photo credit: AGA Marvel, aga-ranges.com