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#Inspiration

WALLPAPER IS BACK…FOR GOOD?

Don’t call it a comeback

See ya, paint! See ya, tile! Wallpaper is back, and it’s not your grandmother’s wallpaper. Obviously, we’ve got nothing against grandmothers, but the seventies were traumatic for our retinas. Fortunately, wallpaper is no longer about covering every surface, but rather about creating pertinent focal points or interesting accents in a room.

Don’t believe us? Several designers are making an absolute art and passion of wallpaper. Often using hands-on techniques and fastidious production processes, such artists have started a small revolution. What is perhaps most fascinating about these manufacturers is their scale (small) and their backgrounds (diverse). Many have recently switched to wallpaper design mid-career, demonstrating enormous passion for the art.

Case in point: Calico Wallpaper. Run by Rachel Mosler and Nick Cope, their fabrication process requires multiple steps, including a very traditional, manual process to create a small-scale piece of art that is then translated to a larger format using modern technology. Despite the technological intervention, the handcrafting means that no two patterns are the same.

Similar designers that have caught our eye include the narrative-inspired designs of Grow House Grow’s Katie Deedy and the lovely, eco-friendly prints of JUJU paper’s Avery Thatcher. Both women come from other artistic fields but turned to wallpaper creation, and both equally inject personal elements that make their designs particularly engaging.

In parallel with the return to craftsmanship, we have also witnessed a multiplication of new technologies that have made wallpaper easy to customize and print. New latex printers digitally print patterns in record time and at minimal cost. This and similar technology allows individuals to easily translate their artwork into wallpaper, increasing accessibility and personalization. In fact, companies like FlavorPaper let you design and digitally print your own patterns.

So there it is. We’ve laid our case before you. If you’re still not convinced, here are fifteen examples of new and improved wallpaper.

Too Much Stuff by Flat Vernacular

Details

  • Brooklyn, NY, USA
  • Rachel Mosler