The English Maximalista

Mr Maximalista has been away on business for a few days, which means I am Home Alone.

And we all know that when I am Left To My Own Devices, there is no escaping the fact that some element of the decor in our house is going to get changed. Why? Because I cannot leave things alone.

My poor husband never knows what he’s going to be walking into, whenever he returns to the love shack, having been gone for more than an afternoon. Might be nothing. Might be a major overhaul. Who knows? It’s like Russian Roulette, except with a glue gun.

[Follow me for more marriage tips, ladies, on how to keep your relationship spicy!]

Anyway, this week, I FINALLY got around to lightening up our back hallway. The particular wall that got blinged-up today had previously been painted deep teal, simply because it was a quick and easy pop of colour during my Beige Elimination Tour of 2-years ago.

The teal paint was always only going to be a temporary salve, until I had the time to do what I really wanted… Which was *drum-roll, please* CHARTREUSE GREEN ZEBRA WALLPAPER!!!

Yes, you read that right: Chartreuse. Zebra. Wallpaper.

This was sourced by yours truly a while back, from my dear old friend-slash-nemesis, Mr E. Bay.

Side-bar: Mr Maximalista, if you are reading this, please skip over the next paragraph. Thank you.

In continuation of my eBay story, gentle reader: I purchased these two absolutely GORGEOUS rolls of vintage Brunschwig & Fils hand-printed wallpaper for $200. [Insert mental image here of English Maximalista doing cartwheels. Which I would have been doing if I wasn’t 51 years old and have a gammy hip. Probably caused by all those drunken cartwheels of my youth.]

Now, while $200 might seem like a rather spendthrifty amount to spend on two — admittedly splendid — rolls of vintage European wallpaper, I would hasten to remind those more frugal readers amongst you that one single roll of Brunschwig & Fils wallpaper generally retails for around $400-800.

So. Here you can plainly see that I am, yet again, saving Mr Maximalista LOTS of money, when I apply my trusty Girl Math to the equation. (You’re welcome, darling.)

And because I also installed it all by myself, I saved us even more money. Go, Girl Math!

One has to admit that this isn’t my finest wallpapering job, nevertheless I am super pleased with the transformation of what had previously been a dull little wall.

Let me know what you think of it!

Lots of love,

M xo