Our wallpaper isn't just for old houses. After all, good design is timeless.
But that's how our company began:  with an old house and a slightly crazy idea.

Stephanie, the owner of House Vernacular, had just spent an entire day ripping electric blue shag carpeting off the sitting room walls in her Queen Anne house. (Yes, we said "off the WALLS". But that's another story . . . ) Behind one section, she found something interesting. It was a fragment of wallpaper. "Hmmm", she thought, "I kind of like this!"

Since she had found one fragment, Stephanie decided to look for more. But this would require a bit of stealth. When purchasing the house, she had promised her husband that she wouldn't "start things". Her habit of bouncing from project to project drove her husband to the brink of insanity, and she would be in BIG TROUBLE if he came home to find little pieces of things pulled off all over the house.

So yes, she'd promised not to "start things".

But, she reasoned, looking for wallpaper wasn't really starting anything. Was it?

Still, she decided it would be best to avoid detection if possible. So she started "looking around". Peering under one of the mantles revealed a Victorian anaglyptic wallpaper in copper and pewter. The dining room was hiding an Art Nouveau olive green awning stripe pattern with a burgundy tulip, and a matching ceiling paper.  The downstairs bathroom concealed a coral and black deco pattern. In the upstairs closet was a sweet, old fashioned daisy design. The study sported a fox hunting scene in a classic 1940's style, and the kitchen’s original paper was a beautiful Victorian pattern of small green tiles.

At this point, Stephanie’s husband came home to find little bits of things pulled off all over the house, and she got in BIG TROUBLE. Let's skip the unpleasantness and fast forward a bit . . .

In her mind, Stephanie could imagine what the house would look like with these wallpapers. They would make the house look, well, RIGHT. This surprised Stephanie a bit, since she was usually opposed to wallpaper of any kind. "Fussy" she said, "overdone" and "bleck!". But, looking at the wallpapers she had just uncovered, Stephanie realized something. It was only modern wallpaper she hated, with it's bland design and lack of style. The old wallpapers she found in her house were completely different. They were bold, and fabulously designed, with fantastic colors. In other words, they were COOL – even after 100 years.

But could she have these patterns reproduced? After much research, she reluctantly concluded that she would have to sell her first born child to afford it. There were other companies offering stock historic wallpaper designs, but these companies mainly reproduced wallpapers from architecturally designed mansions.
While beautiful, these papers were a bit too much for her house.

So Stephanie decided to produce them herself. She immediately
called her family to tell them the good news.
"Guess what" she told her Mom.
"What?" said Mom (cautiously).
"I'm starting a business reproducing historic wallpaper".
"Don't you hate wallpaper?" asked Mom.
"Not this wallpaper" said Stephanie

This was not actually as crazy as it seems. Stephanie had almost 15 years of experience in advertising production and graphic design. So she began carefully collecting and reproducing samples. (The wallpapers found in her house are reproduced in the Warren House collection.) Her knowledge of computers and print production allowed the latest reproduction methods to be used, so that customizations, new designs and special requests could be accommodated. Plus, she has two degrees in Fine Art (an AAS in Painting and Illustration, and a BFA in Graphic Design) and serves as the Chair of the Mendon Historic Preservation Commission. This combination gave her not only knowledge of historic styles and their application, but also the technical ability to reproduce the wallpapers.

And so House Vernacular was born. Located in charming Honeoye Falls, NY, we believe that people should be able to find and afford the styles they want. We don't care if your house is old or new, good design is timeless, and we'll help you find whatever gives your heart joy – whether Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Deco or Eames.
We love a challenge – so whatever you want, we're up for it!