Pattern! Pattern! Pattern! I really like this German wallpaper and wall decal distributor that Frau Mayer and Cat recently blogged, TapetenAgentur, for many reasons... It has an option to view the site in English (yay!) which is quite impressive. I also appreciate that they ship all over Europe, making their papers more accessible. I'm not sure if they ship abroad but you can certainly email them to inquire: info(at)TapetenAgentur.de.

These would be really great for kids or the young at heart. Sweet squirrels!

A little too busy for me, but in rooms that are spare, I can imagine using them.Especially the pattern over the blue sofa. That's so beautiful!

I love the pale gray paper shown above, it looks gorgeous as if it were stitched by hand. I can see this in many rooms, especially a living room or bedroom. I don't know if pink or blue are for me, but the gray...oh yes. Understated elegance with a touch of handmade.

I also appreciate their selection of papers, as you can see the diverse range is incredible and the photos on their site are just great. And did I mention that you can order samples that are large enough to frame or craft with in case you don't end up ordering the actual paper? (Alina did this which looks sweet in her apartment. Clever recycling.) Of course, they charge for them but only a few Euros per sample. What makes them different than a paper company in your home town is that they have access to some lines that you may not be able to find locally like Deborah Bowness, Pip Studio and Aimée Wilder.

All six of these patterns are personal favorites -- I would consider them for my own home. Above all, I think they'd be perfect for commercial spaces like shops and cafes.

Rosita is one of my favorite patterns (shown bottom left above white sofa with pink pillow) -- I really like it's strength -- it stands on its own! I actually want to order it for a local cafe/bakery that just opened. You should see it, it's in the most beautiful old building with soaring ceilings, old wooden floors, and massive windows with transoms that are rounded on top... oh it's amazing in there. But the huge problem is the decoration. It's so, so bad. Tacky doesn't even fit, it's not so much tacky as snooze fest boring. And I feel sad to even say anything negative about a new business but it's really true. And not just my opinion because what does one opinion matter? You see others have whispered about it too. And as a result, they are getting little business despite their perfect location (directly in front of a busy bus stop!) and lovely sweets.

I've been toying with the idea of approaching them and saying, "Look, I'll work for free just let me help you! With three simple changes you will see more traffic in this place". First, that pendant needs to be replaced with something huge and dramatic (I could find something reasonably priced at Habitat or IKEA), the Rosita wallpaper needs to be installed on the back wall as a focal point, and you must play great music in here because none at all is boring me to tears!

And okay, I may not stop there. I'd also suggest products to add because currently they have what everyone else is selling so they certainly do not stand out. They need to sell some things that are new to this area, so customers know that they are the cafe where such and such is sold. I'd suggest inexpensive IKEA shelves to install on the wall to place the products to give it more style. Teas from Paris come to mind and perhaps some Scandinavian ceramics and a few Dutch things as well. I want to help them save their budding bakery but their current presentation and products will most certainly sink them... it's so sterile and tacky with bad dark brown bookcases that are too short and too far from the walls and everything just screams 1985 in a very bad way. Would this be too bold? I don't speak German fluently, if I did I think I'd walk in and do it -- just lay out my plans on their counter and tell them "Do this, save your business!". he he.

What would you do? And remember I do not speak fluent German...

(images: tapentenagentur)