Are you thinking of decorating one or more walls of your home with a modern boiserie ? It is unquestionably a great idea! In fact, the boiserie represents a refined solution to complete the home furnishings with elegance, style and personality. The ideas range from real wood, which can be chosen in many essences (some of which are also very precious), to boiserie-effect wallpaper . Furthermore, this type of decoration dialogues with all furnishing styles and also combines well with other modern materials and coverings . So let’s see what there is to know about boiserie in order to choose it carefully and recreate a refined and elegant atmosphere at home.
What is boiserie and why choose it for your home
The boiserie was born in France in the seventeenth century : the word, in fact, derives from the French bois which literally means wood. The first boiseries were therefore paneling carved in wood (only more rarely, in ivory or hard stones) used to decorate the walls. Originally, their characteristic was that they were richly carved with refined details and designs, sometimes covered in gold or painted: the finer the ornamentation, the more luxurious the boiserie appeared. Therefore this decoration was reserved for palaces and palaces of the nobility.
In the past, boiserie had the precious function of enlivening rooms when there was no possibility of frescoing or wallpapering them: even today, those who choose to decorate the walls with modern boiserie have the same goal. In fact, one of the main advantages of this decoration is the ability to give the walls a three-dimensional feel and the room a warm and refined atmosphere, especially if you choose a material such as wood . Alternatively, the boiserie also exists in plaster or metal , for more classic or more contemporary styles. A further advantage of the boiserie is to cover the walls and protect them, contributing to the thermal and acoustic insulation of the rooms.
Modern boiserie: the different styles for the walls
The world of interior design has recently fallen in love with boiserie again: there are many architects and designers who have rediscovered this decoration in their projects. An example is the famous Antonio Di Maro studio which, in the renovation of a Neapolitan apartment in the Mergellina district, wanted to leave the original design of the boiserie reproducing entire parts where they were missing. Recently, therefore, designers have experimented with ideas that combine the timeless charm of boiserie with more contemporary styles and materials. Nowadays, in fact, there are different types of boiserie depending on needs and tastes: the watchword is to personalize and, to do so, the advice is always to choose tailor-made services .
For those who love classic or
vintage 60s atmospheres
,
wooden boiserie remains the first choice
. It is installed in the form of rigid panels, carved and decorated by a carpenter who can be inspired by the most commonly used shapes or follow an architect’s design: for example, for a Venetian apartment,
Andrea Marcante and Adelaide Testa
have chosen a “graphic” boiserie inspired to the 60s.
Another type of boiserie, lighter and more versatile, is plaster or, alternatively, stucco or polystyrene. Even this type of decoration is made to measure and is the most suitable choice for those who want to opt for color: in fact, once the panels are carved, they can be painted or covered with
modern wallpaper
. Finally, for those looking for an original idea, there is the metal boiserie: materials such as steel, brass or copper give the wall iridescent effects depending on how the light is reflected on it.
The most suitable colours for a wall with boiserie
Always talking about styles, wooden boiserie is the ideal choice for those who love natural essences : the most used are mahogany, chestnut, walnut and oak, available both matt and lacquered. Wood, with its ability to make a room immediately welcoming and warm, is the most popular choice among those who opt for wall paneling at home. Another choice suitable for residential use is the white boiserie , mostly in wood or plaster, which easily adapts to any room in the house, making it bright. On the contrary, the metal boiserie, in dark, golden or silver colours, is seen more and more often in waiting rooms or hotel lobbies where the industrial and minimal style continues to set the trend. Speaking of trends, the Wes Anderson aesthetic is now widespread in both residential and contract environments: between deco wallpapers and rigorous symmetries, the coloured boiserie in pastel shades such as antique pink or mint green is inevitable.
An original idea for the walls: boiserie-effect wallpaper
A different approach to boiserie walls, a modern idea to obtain the boiserie effect is to choose a wallpaper that recreates this effect on the wall . You can choose a print that imitates the timeless charm of the inlaid panels similar to those of the seventeenth-century French palaces where this technique was born. Or, again, opt for a romantic and mysterious “ aged effect “. Alternatively, the wallpaper for a boiserie effect on the wall can also be chosen in a minimalist Art Deco version, perhaps in soft colors to cover an entire room or just one wall.
However, it is important to remember that wallpaper cannot replace boiserie by decorating only a portion of the wall. Why? The answer is simple and lies precisely in the fact that wallpaper is a thin covering with no thickness. For this reason, the result of a “half” decorated wall will not be refined and absolutely comparable to a wall with boiserie.
Can wallpaper be combined with boiserie?
The answer to this question is: certainly yes! Just choose a wallpaper that matches the style and colour of the boiserie that covers the room. Any examples? If the boiserie is modern and somewhat oriental in style, as in a Japanese living room, you can choose wallpaper with a delicate design and neutral colours .
If, on the other hand, the boiserie is minimalist, a wallpaper with a strong design and bright colours is better : one idea is to cover the wall behind a bed with a wooden headboard. For the living room or for a room dedicated to relaxation, you can choose wallpaper in a soft colour like pink , a refined design choice to combine with modern boiserie.
