Decorate with wallpaper

The explosion of stunning, often handmade, wallpapers over the past few years made us want to go wall-to-wall crazy, but—to our landlord’s delight—the thought of having to tear it down when we move out scared us away. However, we’ve seen a few friends’ and colleagues’ creative takes (visit timeoutchicago.com/home-living for a link to Time Out New York’s directions on plastering the front of your fridge) with wall coverings. So we asked two local experts, Rose Tejeda-Navarre and Jennifer Rossignuolo, owners of Ukrainian Village–based interior-design studio Urban Source (1432 W Chicago Ave, 312-455-0505, urbansourcechicago.com), how to incorporate wallpaper into the home with some extra flair. The ladies offer three clever ideas:

1 Come and knock on our door
Choose a door and cover the recessed panel. In addition to looking pretty, it will protect the edges.

2 By the books
Sure, your books look pretty on their own, but you can doll up their home by applying paper on the back of a closed bookshelf or on the wall behind an open case.

3 Bed head
If you don’t already have a headboard, create a faux version by applying a section of paper behind the bed. Dress it up with a wood trim.

On a technical note: You’ll need to treat the surface where you apply the paper with a primer, then use a paste—clear, heavy-weight clay or prepasted activator, depending on the type of paper—to adhere it. Remove with hot water or an enzyme solution, such as Dif.