Indeed, wallpaper - which first became popular in the 15th century among decor-mad Europeans who couldn't afford tapestries - has experienced a hipster revolution in the last decade. Target and Anthropologie started trafficking in the stuff. Trad companies such as Graham & Brown partnered with cutting-edge designers including Marcel Wanders to roll out wild patterns such as dusty red Celtic knots; newer houses such as Denmark's Ferm Living produce witty, pretty papers including the black-and-white "Fashion," with its silhouettes of catwalk babes. "People take toiles and update them or do florals in unexpected ways," says Aimee Lagos of Ferm's U.S. Web site (Fermlivingshop.us).

The way interior pros and DIYers use wallpaper has changed, too. While it's still chic to cover a small space (e.g., a powder room) with wall-to-wall damask or stripes, just papering a smidge of real estate comes across as modern and surprising. "It's important to break up your wallpaper," says D.C. interior design Joseph Ireland. "Doing paper in two adjoining rooms would be a mistake."