Wallpaper of the Week: White rooms, soft lighting

FROM JASON’S DESKTOP — Most days, I want a wallpaper that tells a story, or at least taps a pop reference like Batman or Cowboy Bebop. I’m not so much one for landscapes and still-lifes unless they are of a superior artistry or convey some deeper emotion or attachment.

Which is why I’m so surprised that I like the chan-famous white rooms motif. These wallpapers are all about chunky shapes, sharp corners, and blazing sunlight cutting slants and squares across walls and floorboards. They are about clean, open spaces and contrasting soft and sharp natural light. They’re about balance and proportion and symetry.

I do not have an eye for interior design; that’s my wife’s bailiwick. Left to me, our walls would not be laden with decorative wrought iron, candles, and deep-stained wooden shelves. There would be no hanging plants and pictures.

I like straight lines. I like clean slates. My walls would be tabula rasa. I’d be living in an empty studio with spartan furniture and bare pine planking.

And that’s why I love these wallpapers. They give my desktop a feeling of space and organization — of perspective and freedom.