The Birds and Thistle wallpaper by Brushwig & Fils where Fils is pronounced is FEE (you are welcome!) is another one of my favorite wallpaper to use in china cabinets.
I have used it many times, on many china cabinets, just like my favorite Schumacher Brighton paper. It’s an iconic paper that will probably not go out of style for at least for a couple of decades, in my opinion.
The goal is to sell things that are not going to go out of style, especially if you are asking the client to spend thousands of dollars.
Also, a client that is willing to spend a couple of thousand, will be willing to spend another thousand for a timeless piece.
Birds & Thistle Wallpaper + Breath of Fresh Air
There are certain combos I use over and over again because they just work. This paper and Ben Moore’s Breath of Fresh Air are my favorite together.
The color way that I have used the most is Blue. I am curious about the Aqua but I have not tried it yet. The Aqua color way has chartreuse birds in it.
The Blue color way has the perfect undertones for Breath of Fresh Air.
Choosing The Correct China Cabinet
When you are using an iconic wallpaper, the wallpaper is the star of the show. It’s the focal point, it’s the statement maker.
So, it’s important that you let it be. That’s my philosophy.
I think the paper looks great in a china cabinet with large glass panes like the one I have.
This one is actually even better because it has glass panes on the side which lets more light in.
The makeover
The was quite a makeover because I chose to get rid of a lot of the Asian elements that were original to this china cabinet.
I felt they were making the china cabinet too specific in style and limiting my options, hence I got rid of the fretwork and the Asian hardware that was too chunky for what I was going for.
I really wanted to replace the hinges but that’s a much harder task compared to replacing the hardware, so I chose Modern Matter’s Fretwork knob to bring in the fretwork element from the leg bracket.