Wallpaper and the Retro Look

Responding to an increased interest in the retro look of the nineteen fifties, sixties and seventies and a desire for simplicity and minimalism, the application of wallpaper in interior design has stated to make a welcome comeback. Rollered, sponge-effect and stippled painted walls are being replaced by interesting and quirky wallpaper designs from the past applied intelligently to the contemporary room using original papers wherever available. Spanning the spectrum of interiors, designers are looking to an age that has come full circle and is as much relevant today as in the past.

Often alcoves or single walls (such as those either side of the chimney breast) were appeared with remaining walls decorated in complimentary tones. This scheme is useful in the decoration of contemporary interiors and is useful when supply of a chosen wallpaper is in short supply. Walls picked out for paper decoration and the use of canvasses made from pert rolls is also popular at the moment.

Restrictions to design and manufacturing after the war were no longer effective in the nineteen fifties, and the masses with their new-found wealth wanted to brighten up their lives with the wallpapers displaying bright and bold colours, stripes, abstract and science related designs. Natural imagery such as foliage or bamboo was began to appear on the UK interior design scene. Metallic effect wallpapers and futuristic patterns were also popular with America applying stylised fruit images and cartoons to design, which was a reflection of television in the States at the time. The European market adopted the use of experimental geometric graphic design from Germany deploying such materials as vinyl. The German company of Rasch employed eminent designers such as Lucienne Day.