… is what you should be calling the primary wallpaper producer in Soviet countries. Whomever introduced wallpaper to this culture was a genius, from a business point-of-view.

Wallpaper is everywhere. Closets, bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms, hallways, shelves, doors; We even have some on our hallway ceiling. Perhaps ceiling paper would be a more accurate term — and maybe we could market it that way .

Anyway, I thought I’d give you an idea of the wallpapering in our house.

The first picture is in our room. It’s actually the living room, which has been unofficially converted into our bedroom since we moved home. This paper is actually quite pleasant, and with its golden leaves, makes for a warm and palacial-like environment.

The second picture shows the hallway wallpaper. The First one shows what’s glued to the walls — some kinda funky tan, leafy, bizzaro, pseudo-marbley paper. It’s alright, I suppose. It definitely makes it difficult to notice scuff marks, bumps, and scratches that one would normally identify on a flat-painted wall. That being said, I’m not a huge fan of the color. Moreover, I’m not a fan of whomever applied it to the walls; the contractor (which was probably Dad and BIL) should have been fired.

….

Also, I don’t show a picture of it in our room, but as with most wallpapers I’ve seen here there is an extra “strip” of wallpaper (trim; sorta like moulding; bought at the same time, to match) that runs along the junction of the wall and ceiling (placed at the top of the wall, not on the ceiling, obviously — or not so obviously around here, actually). In the second picture you can see this feature, as well as the incredible new feature — ceiling paper. I didn’t take a close-up picture of the ceiling, but I think you can sorta see it; it’s a light brown, drab, uninteresting, overlapping (note the lines) and occasionally peeling inverted surface covering. It is a “speckly” golden splotchy-like design. What can I say? It seems to fit with the Russian’s grasp of “style,” which, IMHO, leaves much to be desired. You should have seen their New Year’s celebrations on TV – hysterical.

I haven’t taken pictures of the paper in the 3 other bedrooms of the house — but believe me… they are guaranteed to be of the highest quality.

The next image (left) is of the wallpaper that was put on the door that separates the kitchen and the connecting hallway with the bathroom (and loo). Yes, I said it was put on the DOOR! Maybe it should be called door-paper, no? In the center of the door is a large pane of glass. I guess the family wanted a bit more separation for the kitchen… or, more likely, whomever was in the kitchen didn’t want to exposed to (quite literally) people going to/fro the bathroom. Anyhow, the doorpaper design is bad — like a 70′s discotheque slathered in silver, gold, and gray. Curious lines with trippy diamonds and such. Furthermore, note the quality of the application! Geez… Again, they should be fired!
The last true “wall”paper image is from the kitchen (кухня). I suppose it’s alright if you like little brown mountains (arrowheads) with a blue stripe over the top, with a slightly splotchy off-white background. What more can I say? I think it’s horrible, and was probably on sale – big time.

Actually, I just found out that this is the only wallpaper in the house that is washable! Makes sense to have it in the kithen, I suppose. But that doesn’t solve the problem of having a blind person pick it out.

Another interesting functional aspect of wallpapering throughout the house (no picture), is that it is often used as conduit. Yep, it gets pasted right over unprotected wiring. I’m sure it’s up to code… yeah, right!. Actually, it may be — because I’m questioning whether or not there is any “building code” here. (fine, fine, that’s a slight exaggeration).

But seriously, if you ever need to do something to the wiring (which happens quite often around here), you are required to rip it out, right through the wallpaper. Yep, I had to do it!
Finally, the wallpaper is often used for shelf-paper. Sure, sure, I know it’s a fairly common practice elsewhere in world. I just thought I’d point it out. This image is from our kitchen, from the shelf where we keep our tea (чай). It’s too hard to describe the design… but it is colorful!

Incidentally, I just added Russian letters (cyrillic) to my keyboard — so I will try to point out some basic Russian words that I know — just for fun.
So, whomever introduced the concept of wallpaper to the Russians (Ukrainians, and others) has got to be absolutely filthy rich by now.

Our house is NOT UNIQUE. Virtually every residential space I’ve seen has been adorned by a wide variety of wallpapers. I find it particularly fascinating to be awestruck by the “surprising” change in patterns and styles from one room to the next. Really… sometime you should see it for yourself – it is quite stunning. If you are not prepared, you may want to bring a chair along with you wherever you go… because you may very well need to sit down – before you fall down.

Also, think for a moment, if you will, about a time and place… no wait. No, think about all of the wallpaper in all of these apartments!!!

I’m not sure why it’s sooo desirable to cover up walls with paper, and why a flat paint is so universally and culturally “unacceptable.” What’s even funnier is that Russians tend to hang things… like RUGS, on top of the wallpaper. In fact, in our bedroom there is a large rug covering the majority of the biggest wall. And… yes, it’s for decoration.

Ahhhh…. seeing how other cultures operate and live is both a wonderful and priceless experience. I feel that it’s helping to tear down the cultural wallpaper I have stuck to my own corneas — after all, I’m an American, and grew up as such, and have those tendencies built into my expectations of the world around me. But such attitudes and prefabricated judgments are changing in me, slowly.

Nevertheless, I find it amusing that wallpaper has truly penetrated the cultural identity of the Russians, and become a near-permanent fixture throughout their homes. After all, it adds “style,” ya know!