If you had to choose a space to have made over in your home for free, where would you select? This is exactly what Jill Craven had to decide when she won Susquehanna Style's March Spring Home Edition giveaway sponsored by York Wallcoverings Factory Store. In the grand prize, Craven was gifted $2,000 to be used for the purchase of wallpaper and its installation, along with design assistance from the professionals at York Wallcoverings Factory Store.
Craven, who also serves as the English chair at Millersville University, purchased a gorgeous, 1800-era home in the prestigious School Lane Hills neighborhood of Lancaster about two years ago. Since then, she and her teenage daughter have been working together to renovate the home and make it their own.
When they moved into the home, Craven said it was completely white. White walls, white kitchen, white everything. “That’s just not me, so I had to paint every room in the house,” she explains. From a mulberry dining room to a rich slate blue living room, Craven worked room by room to add color and life. The last walls to be painted, she decided, would be perfect candidates for her new wallpaper.
The kitchen was on the top of the list for renovation. Dated appliances needed to be replaced, but Craven was set on keeping the original white cabinets, complete with now-popular glass-paned doors, inset drawers, and glass knobs. In the breakfast nook, walls of wraparound windows met a wall with a charming arched cutout detail. White at the time, these walls would be ideal for a bold wallpaper that would contrast the white cabinetry. With the help of York Wallcoverings Factory Store experts, Craven chose BR6236, a gold-hued, metallic paper with spiral detail. The sheen of the paper reflects sunlight that beams in through the windows, making the whole room glow.
As the space Craven chose to make over was small, she was able to stretch her prize to include multiple rooms in her home. In a small powder room off the kitchen, Craven selected another metallic wallpaper to complement the kitchen’s gold spirals. This time, she selected DN3709 (Enchanted), a silver-toned paper with a gorgeous raised wildflower detail that, at first glance, looks hand-painted. “I just loved that paper,” Craven says. “I could have put it in any of the rooms.”
Heading upstairs, Craven selected HP0367 for her guestroom. The mottled light sage and yellow pattern provides a serene sense for this restful space, which will be much needed for her next houseguests: a family friend and her ill daughter, who will be spending several nights with the Cravens as they search for a cure at Johns Hopkins University.
By Hannah Wigton / Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
