Wallshoppe's New Barbie Wallpaper Is What Childhood Dreams Are Made Of
Thanks to a collaboration between popular wallpaper brand Wallshoppe and toy brand Mattel, your childhood dreams of living in Barbie's Dreamhouse are finally coming true. The line, available exclusively at Wallshoppe, features vintage designs inspired by the legacy of the iconic doll.
Consistent with the brand's belief that "a woman has choices," as Barbie creator Ruth Handler once said, the collection features a multitude of design options in both traditional and peel-and-stick wallpaper varieties. The line spans Barbie's long history, with prints ranging from 1960s Barbie to Athlete and Career Barbie. In addition to digitally printed Barbie wallpapers—all of which come in several pastel hues—you can also shop more subtle patterns. The Fashionistas motif mimics a vintage toile, while the Stardust pattern emanates the sort of whimsy quality you might find in a fairytale home (or more appropriately, Barbie's very own Dreamhouse).
The idea for the collection came from a familiar place. "We love non-conventional partnerships," says interior designer and Wallshoppe co-creative director Nathan Turner. The connecting thread? "We always look to people who have a similar use of fun color and prints as we do at Wallshoppe," he explains. When it came to the ideation of this collection, Turner says, "we thought we could do something fun and outside the box with Mattel."
Luckily, Mattel agreed. "We met with their CEO and he was totally into doing something that was outside of the realm of traditional children's wallpaper," says Turner. And thus, the collection was born.
To begin the process of designing the collection, the team at Wallshoppe (including Turner and co-creative director Eric Hughes) dove into the Mattel archives to drum up inspiration. "It was a dream," Turner says of working with such a historic part of the Barbie brand. "We were able to go all the way back to the very first blueprint of Barbie!" (which became a paper!).
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Turner excitedly says that working with the archives was "like going back in time." He explains, "Barbie has always gone along with what is happening culturally, so it was fun to see the progression of an iconic toy like that," a theme that's apparent in the collection.
But with so many iconic Barbie moments that span decades, how did the team choose what to put in the collection? It was tough, admits Turner. "Originally, it was supposed to only be 8 to 16 SKUs." He jokes, "it was more of 'how do I rein this in?' rather than 'how do I find inspiration?'" Nonetheless, the team was able to focus the collection on only the things that "popped off the page," Turner says.
Of those things, Barbie's accessories played a huge role. "We found so much inspiration outside of the actual doll," says Turner. Wallshoppe dove head first into Barbie's clothing and accessories, even pulling patterns from vintage Barbie outfits. "There are so many ancillary products and toys to pull ideas from," says Turner.
As Ruth Handler once said, "through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be," a sentiment you can now embody in your home thanks to Wallshoppe. "From the beginning to where we are now, the process was so fun and interesting and informative on so many different levels," says Turner.
Ready to embrace your inner child? Shop some of our favorite picks from the collection below:
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