Bored with the wallflower mentality of typical wallpaper? Nama Rococo specializes in hand-painted, hand-screened designs featuring interpretations of everything from a Funkadelic album cover to a Chinese scroll painting to the simple black-and-white pattern shown above. Harking back to a 19th-century European tradition, the line is sold by the sheet, with most designs priced at $126. Available at Urban Source, 1432 W. Chicago Ave., 312-455-0505. Meanwhile, Neisha Crosland, the British "princess of patterns," as she’s known across the pond, has brought her oversized florals and kimono-inspired prints stateside. Find them at Stark Carpet, 6-102 Merchandise Mart, 312-329-9043.

Photograph: K. Kennefick