Sit down and take a deep breath because it’s true; textured wallpaper is making a comeback.
Galling when I think I painstakingly stripped off about nine layers of the stuff in my last house less than ten years ago but that was then. Now it’s back and before you realise you’ll all be at it.
Shall I tell you how we know this? Because firstly when the editor of Elle Decoration is tweeting pictures of her renovation and talking about her painted textured wallpaper (a sort of neon yellow since you ask) and secondly when uber cool interiors store Rockett St George starts stocking it then you might as well give in now. You know it’s coming.
The key is that this time it’s not painted magnolia but in the above mentioned neons, or moody blacks and charcoals or (tip for the next big colour) shades of navy. Or even sprayed in metallic tints like copper or silver.
Jane Rockett said: “We love this wallpaper and think Anaglypta is due a revival.”
Now that’s probably all she needs to say to make it happen, but she did expand a little: “It’s stunning paper and when painted it can bring subtle pattern, depth and warmth to a room.
“We were inspired by the BBC TV series ‘Peaky Blinders’, where we saw the pub walls adorned in gold painted anaglypta – It looked amazing. Since launching our edit of Anagylpta in November last year we have seen sales soar – the most popular is Alfred.
“As the paper comes in white you are able to personalise with your favourite paint colour, which makes it so popular with our customers. We would opt for a dark and sumptuous palettes with a matt finish to create drama; such as the Night Jewel Range from Dulux or try Stiffkey Blue by Farrow & Ball to add richness.”
Anaglypta is one of the best known and oldest wallpaper brands – now in its 126th year. It was traditionally used to reinforce walls and ceilings and crucially to disguise imperfections while allowing the walls to breathe.
It fell out of favour in recent years as I think it didn’t occur to people to paint it funky colours so it became associated with neglected houses that were in need of a refurbishment.
Andrew Simpson, the managing director of Anaglypta, said: “We are seeing a resurgence of interest in what I would loosely describe as traditional Anaglypta patterns, especially those we manufacture on traditional papers and textile reinforced papers – these products combine design heritage with integrity of material in terms of durability and sustainability.
“For years the paintable textured wallpaper market has been dominated by easy to use, generic textured ‘blown vinyl’, piled high and sold cheaply – but have little design merit or integrity in terms of durability or sustainability – products such as these are in decline.”
While we’re on the subject we might as well clear up the difference between Anaglypta and Lincrusta, both of which – to the untrained eye (mine) – seem to be the same thing. But Anaglypta is paper based, can be applied normally with paste but Lincrusta is made with flax you have to soak it before use.
The traditional application was to put Lincrusta below a dado rail – as it would get heavier abuse from hands, boots, furniture etc and Anaglypta above.
So there you have it. Anaglypta, who’d a thought it? What do you think? I love that navy blue in the image above.
I am looking to use anaglyptic wallpaper to cover a ceramic tile backsplash in our kitchen remodel. Any tips or tricks(especially regarding application of paper over ceramic and waterproofing) would be greatly appreciated.
Hi We have a 1915 house with a worse for wear anaglyota ceiling over lat and plaster .i am looking at sticking hits back up with wallpaper paste and the. Spraying it all with either a copper or a silver plasticky spray I’ve seen it in gold in a local bar and it is wow
Only thing is I don’t want to mess up and would like some advice if anyone has any experience
I personally feel that the grey will soon be yesterday’s colour
It’s a great idea but don’t use spray paint. Spraying paint is not easy especially overhead. It is dangerous to do without the proper Health & Safety equipment and if you are using rattle-cans you will not believe how many cans you would go through!!
You can buy fabulous metallic paints, Modern Masters does a great range. Paint the ceiling a dark colour first, metallic covers better over dark colours. Roll randomly so you don’t get lap lines. Personally, I would then do an antiquing glaze over the top but I am a Decorative Painter so that would be easy for me.
I also feel grey is yesterday’s colour!!
Hi could you help me I have magnolia walls on anaglypta wall papers and I want to give it a shine wot would you recommend
If you want a shine then you’ll need to use a gloss paint but actually anaglypta looks more modern in a flat non shine paint in a modern colour like grey.
I considered Anaglypta for my old bedroom a few years ago. Everyone said I was mad. How wrong were they????? I love it although some designs are dodgy and have a whiff of hideous wood chip – been there too!
I want to dress a photographic back drop with Anaglpta, and plan to create a (light grey) distressed look – do you think I can achieve this without spoiling “Alfred”.
I don’t see why not!
Anaglypta -difficult to strip? We don’t agree.
Anaglypta wallpaper is available on different substrates, to meet different requirements, but they are all paper based and should be no more challenging to strip than any other type of wallpaper, in fact Anaglypta Luxury Vinyl is peelable – leaving only a thin paper layer to strip and Anaglypta Armadillo Contract is ‘dry-strippable’. So, why is there a misconception that Anaglypta is hard to strip – one reason is that it is so durable that in some applications it ends up being painted 10 or more times which means when it comes to stripping, the surface will be resistant to steam, yet simply scoring the surface will overcome this problem. So when people say its hard to strip, they are forgetting how long it has lasted, which is a little bit unfair – its a bit like complaining that your Volvo has lasted 25 years and should have fallen to bits after 5.
That’s good to know, Cheryl, thank you so much for telling us.
Lincrusta is gorgeous, in a completely different league to Anaglypta. I have painted and glazed Anaglypta and it can look good. It’s great if you have damaged plaster but I’d always prefer to float out the walls and make them good. It’s all great until you have to strip it off!!!!!
Well this is proving as controversial as I expected! I love that it still gets such a strong reaction either for or against but there’s no middle ground.
no. No. Hell NO!
Wow, as you say, who’d a thought it?! Anaglypta is inextricably linked in my mind with that other wallpaper nightmare, wood chip, memories of my parents house with one or both in every room …. But I don’t remember these fabulous patterns, just random uninspiring swirls. So these are a very pleasant surprise, and I love Derby in that moody blue.
Soz ladies, but not a look I will be rocking anytime soon.
LOVE! Am about to do to this in my dining room/studio. Works so well with inky hues.
Love, love, love it!!! Those panels from Ganna Studio are so stunning and the embossed paper from Studio Brinsen looks amazing in the dark blue. I really need my own house… 🙂