Going on a Book Hunt

While researching for my post on Ian Falconer’s “Olivia Goes to Venice,” I came across this image from the now-defunct Cookie Magazine. The photo was preserved on a wonderful children’s book blog and store from Austrailia called We Heart Books.

I’m absolutely in smitten with these walls, papered with actual pages from the various Olivia books. The treatment is successful thanks to Falconer’s minimalist approach to illustration — large expanses of white space and simple charcoal drawings accented by small touches of colored paint. It gives the same effect as a pastoral toile wallpaper. On point with my earlier complaints, very few of the pages from “Olivia Goes to Venice” could have been incorporated on these walls.

This handmade wallpaper would be perfect in a small nursery or children’s room, setting the tone for an Olivia-inspired space. Where you go from there could vary as much as Olivia’s eclectic interests.