A Peek Into Heimtextil: Behind the Scenes At the RoomMates Booth

Last month, several members of the RoomMates team went overseas with our parent company, York Wallcoverings, to attend the 2012 Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany. In this post, you’ll enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at our fun and ultra-colorful booth, and get the details on a special decorating project we undertook that you can do at home.

Although we spent a lot of time being inspired by the trends and products that were on display at Heimtextil, we had our own booth to attend to, and our own products to show off. We've taken our staff-created and Flower Stripe-inspired display to more than a few shows now, and it never fails to impress! This pretty canopy was constructed by hand with PVC piping, ribbon, paper, and a few other crafty supplies. I am always in awe of how creative our show displays are!

One of the coolest parts of our booth involved a long wall that connected the RoomMates and York Wallcoverings booths. Our creative team wanted to do something that could visually “connect” the wallpaper and wall decals together, and after some thought, they came up with the idea of framed decals applied to wallpaper. Although this isn't a brand new concept, their interpretation was visually stunning! Check it out:

The thing that makes this display really special is the choice in wall decals. Our team selected designs that were either silhouettes or dark metallics, knowing that pairing them with the bright, bold colors of the wallpaper would really make the image “pop”. They also combined some designs to create scenes that you may not have ever thought possible: the frame on the top left shows our new Scroll Branch wall decals extended out over a distant cityscape. And the bottom right combines our Painted Bamboo with a birdcage and some metallic gold butterflies. But the real focus of the display is the bright white paper in the center that sports our Riviera wall decals. The entire display is really very eyecatching, isn't it?

This project is actually one that you can do at home, too. It's a great way to repurpose an old frame while adding a pop of color and fun design to any space. Depending on the size of your frame, you'll need either a roll of your favorite wallpaper, or just a large sample. You'll also need wall decals of your choosing. You can select something that coordinates with your wallpaper, or a design that contrasts it—for example, the lime green wallpaper used for our Heimtextil display is contrasted nicely by the black and gray of the Cityscape design. Once you have your supplies gathered, you'll need to simply cut your wallpaper to size, apply wall decals, and insert into the frame. Voila—instant framed art!

What do you think of our booth at Heimtextil? Do you like the idea of framed wallpaper and wall decal art on your walls? Let us know what you think in the comments. Stop by against next week for one final post on the Heimtextil trade fair, where we'll review some of the up-and-coming color trends for 2012 and 2013, and take a look at some of my personal favorite products that follow these trends. See you then!