Samantha Santana's sustainably made wallpapers and fabrics evoke a version of nature filled with bright colors and modern shapes. Her cheerful take caught the eye of many home editors, leading to features in various lifestyle magazines and on our own HGTV Handmade YouTube channel.

But her career hasn't been straightforward. Santana originally wanted to work in film and television, obtaining a degree in cinematic arts and fine arts, but design and home decor kept calling to her. She worked as a florist for a while before creating a few rugs and wallpaper prints, and in 2019, she began printing her wallpaper designs from her Valencia, California, home.

Santana's home is now, naturally, filled with wallpaper and fabric she designed. It also reflects her and her husband's love of nature. “I am also a homebody, so [I'm] always figuring out how to bring nature back into the home,” she said.

Open and Neutral Entryway

When she moved in, the home was a “big white box” with an open-concept floor plan, which required some work to create separate yet cohesive spaces.

“The first thing I want people to notice when they come into my home is the wallpaper and this shelf,” she said. Her husband built the shelving using poplar wood, and she designed the wallpaper. The very personal wallpaper features illustrations of wild animals they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic — a bobcat, a coyote that tried (unsuccessfully!) to eat their dog, a scrub jay they befriended and frogs she saw when visiting a pond with her daughter.

The wallpaper’s subdued color palette allows it to function as a neutral in the space while providing visual interest and texture through tone-on-tone color.

Pattern Play in the Living Areas

The main living area consists of a living room, dining room and kitchen, all of which needed Samantha’s design skills. In the living room, a floral ottoman she designed and a checkered floor pillow provide pops of color against the neutral wood furnishings and plants.

“I want patterns everywhere, but patterns can’t compete with each other so it's figuring out the balance between neutrals and natural tones with the pops of color. It’s wild, but we are a loud family,” she said.

There is also color in the living room via the removable stained glass film that Santana designed and printed.

Subtle Color in the Kitchen

When they moved in, the kitchen was white and sterile, so they added color and warmth. Green backsplash tile reads as neutral and contrasts with cabinets. To give some color to the kitchen island, Santana added plaid wallpaper inspired by Moroccan tiles.

The stained glass film pattern makes another appearance on Santana’s pantry door. “It went from white box to boom — color overload! Which is very me, and very fun and my family loves it, too,” she said.

Nature-Inspired Bedrooms

Upstairs, the color overload continues in Santana's daughter’s room. Her daughter, Juniper, loves the color red and owls, so Santana chose a rusty pink clay shade for the walls and linens, and painted an owl on the wall. “It feels like a little bit more sophisticated kid room,” she said.

The rug in Juniper’s room is also one of Santana’s designs inspired by Moroccan tiles with purple, yellow and orange contrasting against the rusty clay walls.

The home’s primary bedroom is still colorful, but it’s significantly toned-down with green wood paneling and wallpaper inspired by Vazquez Rocks Natural Area Park in northern Los Angeles County.

“There’s a lot of desert, [and] there’s a lot of juniper there,” she said.

Garage Turned Studio Space

Santana’s design and printing studio is in her garage. She can print wallpaper, window film, contact paper and labels for the orders on her large-format printer. “It does everything for me. It’s a beast. It has printed every job I’ve produced," she said.

Her designs are also available on Spoonflower in both permanent and removable wallpaper as well as fabric.

Santana hopes that her designs inspire creativity and positivity. “You can make your home you and it doesn’t have to look like anyone else's. And I think it’s really good for my daughter to see that there's different possibilities for work,” she said. “Being an artist can be a job. As long as you find something you enjoy, and you can support yourself, you can do whatever you want. If you follow your intuition, it kinda works out."