Lindsay Nicol laughs when people call her the “wallpaper queen of Austin” but she doesn’t exactly deny it. The founder of The Wallpaper Concierge has built a niche helping people bring personality back into their homes. “We’re finally healing from sad beige,” she says. “People want spaces that feel uniquely like them again.”
For Nicol, wallpaper is less about trends and more about mood. She sees it as art, a way to set tone when you enter a room. “Nothing else creates an environment like wallpaper does,” she explains. “You can walk into a space and instantly feel different, hopefully in a good way.”
Before wallpaper, Nicol worked in tech. She calls herself a “tech refugee” who wants to connect with real people and build something tactile. The idea for the business came from her own frustrations: “I spent a fortune on samples, couldn’t see anything in person, didn’t know how to measure, and had no idea what type to order. I realized I couldn’t be the only one with this problem.”
Her process is intentionally hands-on: in-home visits, stacks of samples from over 35 different brands, and a lot of conversation about how clients want to feel in their homes. Friends describe her as bubbly and enthusiastic, the type of person who gets genuinely excited when a pattern lands. Clients notice it too; the way she lights up when someone finds a print they’re head over heels for.
This year, Nicol partnered with luxury real estate agent Chloe Chiang on her Canterbury home, affectionately known as “Chateau Chloe” featured on the Tribeza Interiors Tour and the Austin Modern Homes Tour. The collaboration gave Nicol a chance to showcase bold prints and playful storytelling. Nicol remembers Chiang texting her “I’m so excited about this wallpaper it feels like Christmas Eve 1996” which “I suppose that makes me Santa?” she laughs.
And for Nicol, that feeling is the whole point.
" I realized I couldn’t be the only one with this problem.”