--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first thing she noticed when the…" description: "\"“The first thing she noticed when the light popped on was that the wallpaper had rows and rows of tiny lilacs on it, like scratch-and-sniff paper, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/sarah-addison-allen-810_bedroom_the-first-thing-she-noticed-when-the-lig_2585223.png" --- # The first thing she noticed when the light popped on was… ![“The first thing she noticed when the light popped on was that the wallpaper had rows and rows of tiny lilacs on it, like scratch-and-sniff paper, and the room actually smelled a little like lilacs. There was a four-poster bed against the wall, the torn, gauzy remnants of what had once been a…” quote by Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/sarah-addison-allen-810_bedroom_the-first-thing-she-noticed-when-the-lig_2585223.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/sarah-addison-allen-810_bedroom_the-first-thing-she-noticed-when-the-lig_2585223.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/sarah-addison-allen-810_bedroom_the-first-thing-she-noticed-when-the-lig_2585223.png) > ““The first thing she noticed when the light popped on was that the wallpaper had rows and rows of tiny lilacs on it, like scratch-and-sniff paper, and the room actually smelled a little like lilacs. There was a four-poster bed against the wall, the torn, gauzy remnants of what had once been a canopy now hanging off the posts like maypoles.”” [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The room’s lilac‑scented wallpaper and torn canopy evoke a nostalgic, sensory atmosphere that blends decay with beauty. **In simple terms:** The setting mixes decay and beauty through scent and texture. Key Takeaway Notice how details create mood and memory. Themes memory nostalgia beauty Mood melancholic evocative Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - interior design - creative writing - home staging - therapeutic spaces Key Concepts sensory description contrasting decay Questions to Reflect On - What emotions does the scent evoke? - How does decay enhance the scene’s charm? A Different Perspective Overly ornate details may distract from core narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bedroom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bedroom/) [Emily-benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emily-benedict-54737/) [Like Lilacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-lilacs-1813005/) [Lilacs Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lilacs-like-1813006/) [Noticed Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticed-light-1813008/) [Popped Wallpaper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popped-wallpaper-1813007/) [Smelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smelled/) [Wallpaper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wallpaper/) ## Related quotes > [“The butterfly wallpaper was now gone. It had been replaced by a moody, breathless wallpaper of silver, sprinkled with tiny white dots that looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/the-butterfly-wallpaper-was-now-gone-it-had-been-replaced-by-a-moody/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“I'm not a child, Grandpa Vance. Wallpaper doesn't change on its own." Instead of arguing, he asked, "What did it change to?" 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"This isn't barbecue,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/what-is-this-emily-asked-looking-in-the-largest-styrofoam-container/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“The air outside was tomato-sweet and hickory-smoked, all at once delicious and strange. It automatically made her touch her tongue to her lips.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/the-air-outside-was-tomato-sweet-and-hickory-smoked-all-at-once/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“She was willow-branch thin, had a cap of yellow hair, and a sad sort of vulnerability was wafting from her, making the night smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-was-willow-branch-thin-had-a-cap-of-yellow-hair-and-a-sad-sort-of/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Theres something about the look in your eyes, something I noticed when the light was just right. It reminded me twice that I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/1note/theres-something-about-the-look-in-your-eyes-something-i-noticed-when/) [1note](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/1note/) > [There's something about the look in your eyes. Something I noticed when the light was just right. It reminded me twice that I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-something-about-the-look-in-your-eyes-something-i-noticed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You asked what the wallpaper was in Mom's old room. It's lilacs." "Ah. It was always flowers, usually roses, when she was a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/you-asked-what-the-wallpaper-was-in-mom-s-old-room-it-s-lilacs-ah-it/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [The more dollars the studio producers put in, the less freedom we have. If the budget hits $100m, they get scared - they'll take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/the-more-dollars-the-studio-producers-put-in-the-less-freedom-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [“I rode up, walked past a few miles of wallpaper that was someone's revenge for life's disappointments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-laumer/i-rode-up-walked-past-a-few-miles-of-wallpaper-that-was-someone-s/) [Keith Laumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-laumer/) > [This wallpaper is dreadful, one of us will have to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/this-wallpaper-is-dreadful-one-of-us-will-have-to-go/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I'm like the wallpaper, there but barely noticed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-peter-hughes/i-m-like-the-wallpaper-there-but-barely-noticed/) [Mark Peter Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-peter-hughes/) > [“I only enjoy what I can see, because I don't feel anything. For example, your new wallpaper. I like it and it can stay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elfriede-jelinek/i-only-enjoy-what-i-can-see-because-i-don-t-feel-anything-for-example/) [Elfriede Jelinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elfriede-jelinek/) ## More by Sarah Addison Allen > [“It feels like he's taken your heart, doesn't it?…Like he's reached in and pulled it out from you. And I bet he smiles like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/it-feels-like-he-s-taken-your-heart-doesn-t-it-like-he-s-reached-in/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“Sitting at the old patio table she’d cleared of leaves, she smiled and leaned back. The stars looked twisted in the limbs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sitting-at-the-old-patio-table-she-d-cleared-of-leaves-she-smiled-and/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Nothing is really broke, so it's not like I can fix it. 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You can't live with them, you can't shoot them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/men-you-can-t-live-with-them-you-can-t-shoot-them/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“After awhile, all the men wanted his opinion, and all the girls were in love with him. He made certain of it. Because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/after-awhile-all-the-men-wanted-his-opinion-and-all-the-girls-were-in/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [People adapt. People change. You can grow where you're planted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/people-adapt-people-change-you-can-grow-where-you-re-planted/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“She wasn’t sure exactly when it happened when she had realized that she could only make one of them happy. 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She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-opened-her-eyes-slowly-and-saw-that-a-pale-lavender-moth-had-come/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [How could someone with a life this full feel this empty?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/how-could-someone-with-a-life-this-full-feel-this-empty/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“Her life was monotonous, but it kept her out of trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/her-life-was-monotonous-but-it-kept-her-out-of-trouble/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“She knew him in that way you can only know a person you remember as a child, like if you cracked away the adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-knew-him-in-that-way-you-can-only-know-a-person-you-remember-as-a/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) [Explore all 362 Sarah Addison Allen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) ## More Bedroom quotes > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. 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Mom and Dad sat us kids down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-the-best-thanksgiving-we-ever-had-was-one-where-we-didn-t/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Obviously, the state's responsibility should be to legislate rules for a well-ordered society. It has no right or duty to creep into the bedrooms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/obviously-the-state-s-responsibility-should-be-to-legislate-rules-for/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [Jared glared. Some people, Kami knew, had bedroom eyes. She was saddened to have to admit that Jared had filthy alleyway eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/jared-glared-some-people-kami-knew-had-bedroom-eyes-she-was-saddened/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [My boy always wants to play football, but I have to hide the balls. I lock them in a bedroom; otherwis,e he will just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-walker/my-boy-always-wants-to-play-football-but-i-have-to-hide-the-balls-i/) [Kyle Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-walker/) > [There was this one time in Vegas when I took four Victoria's Secret models and did one gram off each of their bodies within,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/there-was-this-one-time-in-vegas-when-i-took-four-victoria-s-secret/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [“You know," he said, "under normal circumstances, you inviting me to the bedroom would be the highlight of my day." I crossed my arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/you-know-he-said-under-normal-circumstances-you-inviting-me-to-the/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Miami Beach - that's where I grew up, in a middle-class Jewish family led by my maternal grandfather. 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I think we did a whole bunch of Blink-182 covers, and we were on the fringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-ruess/i-was-in-a-really-crummy-pop-punk-band-i-think-we-did-a-whole-bunch/) [Nate Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-ruess/) [Browse all 936 Bedroom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bedroom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The first thing she noticed when the light popped on was that the wallpaper had rows and rows of tiny lilacs on it, like scratch-and-sniff paper, and the room actually smelled a little like lilacs. 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