When thinking about using wallpaper in a contemporary home, try not to let your taste travel too far back in time, when the 1970s made wrapping a living room in head-to-toe orange paisley seem like a normal thing to do. Instead, take a page from the book of designers Dan Bergeron and Meghann Landry of McMillin Interiors, whose expertise can prove how an old design favorite can be transformed into a chic and elegant touch for a modern home.

“In rooms where wall space is limited, a patterned wallpaper can be the solution to completing your design scheme,” says Bergeron. “It adds visual interest in an area where paint would otherwise fall flat, and it comes in a variety of different patterns, with many being timeless and classic.”

That doesn’t mean that the pattern has to be everywhere at once, though, says Landry.

“You can use wallpaper to create a focal point in your space with a bold and colorful pattern,” she says, “or you can use it to complement other elements of your space with a paper, such as the tone-on-tone geometric pattern pictured above.”

To learn more about Bergeron, Landry and McMillin Interiors, visit mcmillininteriors.com. And check out Bergeron’s flair for patterns both on walls and on fabrics in this recent inRegister article about the Balhoff family’s remodeled home.