Q: I love wallpaper! It's congenital: In the house where I grew up, my mother had a different wallpaper in every room. Last fall, I bought myself a 1927 bungalow, just my size. I was all set to go wallpaper shopping, but now my best friend tells me she thinks wallpaper is "tacky," and that my rooms are too small to put a pattern on the walls. What do you think?

A: I think you should have the courage of your infatuations: If you love wallpaper, you should live surrounded by wallpaper, as colorful and lively as you wish.

Note: The operative word here is "you"! Your house is an expression of your taste and your personality. Let your best friend live in a world of beige, but don't doom yourself to an environment that is not your own natural habitat.

Let me introduce you to a couple of celebrated interior designers who practice what I've just preached with a vengeance — and to great applause: International Furnishings and Design Association just named John Loecke and Jason Oliver "Rising Stars" of 2013 at a gala event at the New York Design Center.

Their design firm, aptly named "Madcap Cottage," is all about how Oliver defines that "throwback" adjective: "Madcap and marvelous. Think fireworks! Whimsy! Wonder!" he exudes.

In design terms, this translates to "a respect for tradition, tempered with bold splashes of color and playful patterns," meaning, total immersion in wallpaper. As you can see in the photo we show here of their own Brooklyn dining room, the Madcap mix of patterns is based on the duo's credo: "Don't play it safe with patterns; push the envelope ... !"

But the basics of good design still apply. Loecke explains, "Pull one color from the anchor element (say, a fabric or rug) and let that hue run through the various patterns, and you can't go wrong!"

For example, notice how the Madcappers picked up the green in the pattern that runs rampant over their dining room and repeated it in the diamond pattern painted on the floor.

As Loecke summed up their design philosophy at the Rising Stars event, "Good taste should be expressive, not expensive."

See more work by these playful pros at madcapcottage.com.

Q: A silly question, but I'd rather ask you than Google: Why are pizza parlors always painted red inside?

A: A logical answer: to make you hungrier. The color red is known to have a powerful effect on the appetite.

But pizza parlors aren't the only ones that know how to harness the power of red. Highway engineers use red to signal danger. Marketers know red is also hot and sex. And this time of year, red is totally festive. Just think of holly berries, Santa's suit and Rudolph's nose!

Who'd believe in beige when a madcap mix of patterns can add so much fun! Photo: Courtesy Madcap Cottage.

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Manhattan Style" and six other books on interior design. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.