Opinions needed: wallpaper border or not?

I have been working on redecorating my kitchen for a long time now. For years I have been attracted to Victoriana. In fact, each year I buy a victoriana calendar. Often the pictures in the calendar are of old, victorian seed packet advertisements. So, I became interested in finding anything that I could use related to old floral seed packet advertisements to decorate my kitchen walls.

I found several framed photos of victorian floral seed packet ads as well as some tin signs. Here's an example of the kind of sign I have:

http://www.rickwolf.com/images/hendersons.jpg


I have bought a victorian looking ceiling fan something like this that I plan to hang:

http://www.ceilingfansontheweb.com/images/CeilingFan/21897.jpg


At the same time, I have been collecting for the past 20 years, various Coca-Cola trays. But, I just don't like any kind. I prefer the trays that depict advertisements from the early 1900's thru the 1920's.

Here's an example of the very first tray I found in an old junk shop. This one started my passion for Coca-Cola trays and years later, I noticed this very tray in one of the scenes in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life". It's in the scene where George Bailey as a boy is working as a soda jerk and he's dipping up ice cream for the girls. It's behind him.

I always loved this tray because the woman in it looks just like my grandmother, which is the main reason I bought it initially. This is not a very good photo of it. I found this photo on the internet, so it's not mine. The colors on the real tray are very vivid.

http://i9.ebayimg.com/01/i/03/69/7a/3a_1.JPG


Here's my dilemma... I had found the perfect wallpaper border to go with my floral seed packet theme:

http://images.andale.com/120/114/1625390/ferryseedsposters.jpg

I have been delaying finishing the decorating for over a year now because I can't decide whether to put up that border or not. I just don't know. Part of me thinks it will help pull together the original look I was going for with the seed packet theme, but part of me wonders how this will all look together with the coke tray theme. I need to decide before I begin placing tins and pics on the walls.

The thing is I have probably about 12 coke trays and just about as many tin signs to hang. That's in addition to the framed pictures of the seed packets. And the room is going to look very crowded. But, then again, that's kind of what I was going for in the beginning.

I'm just not sure how it will all fit together. So, what I'm looking for are opinions about whether I should hang the wallpaper border.

Any thoughts?

p.s. sorry I had to use links, but the IMG code is turned off in this forum.

Well now... I usually am a huge anti-wallpaper (even border kind) person. I simply hate the stuff. I almost always advise to simply paint your border... as then you don't have removal issues down the line.

HOWEVER, given the links you provided AND the plain fact that that particular border paper is nothing short of killer cool, I'm leaning towards GO FOR IT. :D

Seems that it will bring everything together, not detract.

I really like it, Kat.

~phosphorescent

Thanks. I really like it, too. I guess one reason I was a bit reluctant to put it up was because it had taken me weeks to strip off all that wallpaper I had up in the kitchen before.

Now, the color of the room is a very dark blue. Almost a midnight blue color. It's very dark, but contrasts well with my pale blue living room walls next to it. But, I loved the color but figured that with everything I have to put up on the walls (signs, pics, etc.) that I would have most of it covered. And, the color so appealed to me that I was thinking of not putting up the border as it would contribute to covering my beautiful dark blue walls.

So, probably that also had something to do with my reluctance. Not wanting to cover the walls any more than I already am, but also having to deal with that dreaded wallpaper.

Maybe once I finally get my entire kitchen done, I'll take a photo and post it here. I think it's going to be pretty. And I want to get it done as much as possible before Remi arrives, because I have a feeling he's going to hate it! :eek: ;)

edit: I just noticed -- the color of my kitchen walls is very close to the color of the blue bar at the bottom of the windows on ageless.

i love that coke tray!!!!

anyways... given what you said about just having stripped wallpaper, and that you think remi may dislike the kitchen... i think take it slow.
the blue walls sound beautiful! then again my favorite color! anyways, back to topic! post a picture of that darn kitchen! but i would think, make a wall of your coke trays, another of your prints. see if it needs more, you may find it may be enough without border, or just one area could use something more

I'm with Fos... it looks killer cool. That border is the bomb.

Borders aren't nearly as difficult to hang as huge long pieces of regular wallpaper, although it's a good idea to put some faint pencil marks along the wall as guidelines before you start, so that you hang it straight.

Why do you think Remi will hate it? Too "girly" for him?

Yeah, sort of girlie and old fashioned. He likes more modern styles, which is definitely not me. :p

Well, he might surprise you (and himself) by liking it.

If not, maybe let him design another room that's more to his own taste. And get him a gift certificate for Ikea or something. :p

Remi's pretty easy going, actually. He may say something about not liking it, but I doubt he'll really care that much. He's pretty laid back.

I am with the "hate wallpaper" brigade. I can paint faux marble or just about any other look you could get from wallpaper....plus, my one and only time I ever tried papering a room, it took me 3 rolls of paper to get 4 strips on the wall!
I love that border though Katrina, I'm just not sure that the coke trays will still go with the rest of the room and make it look too busy, is there anywhere else you could put them and stick to the seed packet theme for the kitchen?