In fact, wallpaper first hit the home décor scene around 4000BC when the Egyptians used papyrus on walls. Thousands of years later, wallpaper continues to evolve and when the colonialists arrived in New Zealand they brought the wallpapering trend with them. Back then, the well-heeled decorated their homes with papers imported from England, Europe and America.
Classic weatherboard villas have always been a big part of the wallpaper industry. At Howick Historical Village, the 1856 Maher-Gallagher cottage has an interesting example of kauri weatherboards covered with layers of canvas, newspaper and finally bold indigo-blue wallpaper. The insulation was a vain attempt to keep out unrelenting wind and draughts.
The Puhi Nui homestead built in 1861 has a small sample of original wallpaper, surrounded by replica William Morris “Acorn” paper in the corner of the office. Morris was an influential 19th-century British designer.
World War II delivered a stroke of good fortune for William Mason, a Napier-born teacher, when he received a war bursary to fund his study of art and textile printing in London. When he returned to New Zealand in 1960, Mason moved into design after winning first and second place in a wallpaper design competition.
Over a decade Mason achieved international success and Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, in 40 legends of New Zealand design, says: “Mason Wallpapers, with their spirited and highly individual sense of sense of colour and pattern, were like nothing else produced in New Zealand at the time.”
A rekindled desire for individualism is driving a renaissance of design that extends beyond interiors that could best be described as “tediously safe”. An abundance of chic Kiwi wallpaper designs makes it feasible to create contemporary interiors with home-grown creations, and there is no longer the need to look offshore for inspiration.
Anne Churton, of Wallpaper Call Company, has been in the industry for more than two decades. She has seen her fair share of geometric patterns, kitsch friezes and ornamental anaglypta, and has also witnessed the decline of wallpaper when painted walls became fashionable.
“Interior designers are now putting big feature walls in commercial settings, and many modern homes in the St Heliers and Long Drive area have feature walls in their entrance way and bathrooms,” says Anne.
“This is nearly the reverse of what we used to do. People used to wallpaper the whole house and paint the bathrooms but people are now using big patterns in bathrooms. When you go in you think ‘wow’.”
A high stud entrance also works well with bold patterns because of the increased light and spaciousness.
“Interior designers and colour consultants are the leaders and they are definitely using wallpapers. Even the Fletcher’s show homes at Stonefields in Mt Wellington have the toilets wallpapered.”
Bold colours, three-dimensional designs and textures all give interiors warmth complemented with style. Every colour imaginable is available, and at the moment chartreuse and aqua are top of the pops.
New flocks blended with foils beg to be touched and they are far more durable than the retro ’70s gems. Constantly falling in and out of fashion, flock wallpaper was originally produced to imitate cut-velvet hangings.
Early in the 17th century, flock was made with powdered wool, a waste product of the woollen cloth industry. The Victorians’ obsession with hygiene and scrubbing walls brought about the eventual demise of the fuzzy wall covering.
“People often touch wallpaper to see if it is wallpaper,” Anne explains. “Even though the paper has a slight texture, from a distance people often think it’s a painted wall.”
That being the case, why not just paint the wall? Anne says wallpaper can be wiped and even scrubbed without leaving unsightly marks. It also covers a multitude of sins, such as imperfections in gib stopping.
Dramatic wallpapers have become increasingly affordable and if people use a few rolls for a feature wall it inexpensively alters the décor. It can also be easily changed should it lose favour with those who live with it.
When it comes to hanging wallpaper, Anne says any do-it-yourself enthusiast can achieve a perfect finish, just don’t handle it too much. If the hanger pushes and pulls the paper, it will stretch and want to pull back as it dries and joins will show up.
“Papers now have woven backs and you paste the walls, not the paper,” she says. “It’s actually easier to put up and there isn’t meant to be any shrinkage. Slowly it is all going to go that way.”
If daring designs push homeowners too far out of their comfort zone, they can always opt for a wallpapered panel hung like a picture. Not stunning — but a soft option until one musters the courage to plunge into unequivocally wild wallpaper.
