Sarah Jessica Parker’s Wallpaper Totally Revived My 100-Year-Old Bungalow—and It Comes in 15 Stunning Patterns

It’s no secret that the fashion in Sex and the City and And Just Like That is arguably the most quintessential part of the series. But as a home editor, I can’t help but be inspired by the sets. Each apartment in the iconic ’90s show and reboot boasts a lived-in, cozy-yet-sometimes-chaotic feel that’s as true to the characters as their wardrobes. So when Wallshoppe asked if I wanted to try some of the wallpaper Sarah Jessica Parker designed for Carrie Bradshaw, I knew I had to give it a go.

Choosing the Right Room

The room I chose to wallpaper serves many purposes. It’s my office, guest room, and (most importantly) my cat’s room. That means I’m trying to cram a whole lot of function into an 11-by-9-foot space. I have my desk, a lounge chair, and a trundle daybed for guests, plus my cat’s litter box in the closet and a few other pet things around the room. TL;DR: It’s a lot.

I had three goals when decorating this room:

1. Find a solution that meshes everything together. I have furniture that ranges in style and function, so I wanted to find something that seamlessly blends it all.
2. Make the room feel bigger and aired out. The room is a decent size, but with everything in there, it feels tight.
3. Call less attention to the “unsightly” parts—my desk, cat stuff, etc.

Luckily, I found something that accomplished all three of these goals. Enter: the wallpaper.

Adding SJP’s Wallpaper

When I saw this Scandi-inspired print, I immediately knew it was the one. Not only did I love the natural, organic pattern (I’m particular about my wallpaper repeats, people!) I also loved that it came in so many different colors. I chose the Linnea pattern in the color Rosé, and it just so happens to match the existing paint color, so there was hardly any additional work needed. Simply hang and go.

After I hung the wallpaper, I noticed a major difference. The bold, large print brings the eyes upward, making the room seem taller than it is. I didn’t think there would be such a striking change—in fact, I thought it might make the room seem smaller because there was so much going on—but it really does make the room feel more spacious and airy.

Using this pattern on just the one wall draws your eye to the bed instead of to my cluttered desk or cat supplies, effectively helping with the flow of the room. The floral design is playful yet leans traditional, which helps blend the modern and vintage elements of the room. It’s sweet without getting into cutesy territory and works with the rest of my decor, which I’d classify as eclectic Craftsman, throughout my 1917 bungalow.

How I Installed the Wallpaper

This was only my second time hanging traditional wallpaper, and this experience was much easier than my first. It’s thin yet sturdy, and cutting it was a breeze (something I struggled with during my initial go around). I used two of the 27-foot rolls on my 11-foot wall with eight-foot ceilings, cutting and lining up strips as I went across the wall from left to right. For the paste, I used Roman Pro-880 Wallcovering Adhesive and a standard paint roller brush.

Other than the gorgeous look and feel of the wallpaper, there are two components that I loved (read: nerded out about): The pattern overlaps by an inch on each end, and it has a straight repeat. That means if you’re papering an entire room, the start and end line up seamlessly. This was important for a novice paperer like myself. By overlapping and not having to trim the ends, I could ensure a clean seam. And because the paper isn’t too thick, the overlapping sections aren’t visible.

About the Wallpaper Line

This pattern (Linnea in Rosé) is from the third installment of Sarah Jessica Parker’s wallpaper collection with Wallshoppe. The line is a creative collaboration between SJP and her interior designer and friend, Eric Hughes, who also happens to be Wallshoppe’s co-creative director. The collection is inspired by Sweden and Scandinavian living and is appropriately named “mysa,” a Swedish word that’s all about getting cozy. The prints are featured in both Sarah Jessica Parker’s real and Carrie Bradshaw’s fictional apartments.

You can explore more than 15 patterns, each in a wide variety of colorways, in both peel-and-stick and traditional wallpaper and fabric. You can purchase it and browse the rest of the collection at Wallshoppe.