Wallpapers to Match Your Antiques

There will always be a market for nostalgia as generations grow and reach back to learn about their pasts and where they came from. Antiques will always be prized for their history and stories and are a welcome part of many homes. You may be surprised that wallpaper is now being used again in many homes. Some of us may hear the word 'wallpaper' and think back to the flashy designs of the 60s and 70s and wince, but these days wallpaper has come a very long way, thanks partly to technology.

In many interior design spaces, wallpaper employing patterns, motifs, and nods to the past is growing. As an antique collector or someone designing their home around reproductions, if painting a wall doesn't sound as exciting as creating an ambiance of years gone by—wallpaper is here to help!
But you might be wondering, which options are available for different types of wallpaper? What works best for an antique space? Our experts at Laurel Crown will do our best to answer these questions and more so that you can make the right decision for you and your areas.

Different Types of Wallpaper

Vinyl
Vinyl wallpaper is an excellent choice for versatile and durable wallcoverings. It is easy to install and can be cleaned with a damp cloth or sponge. Created from PVC, it's a good choice for family playrooms, children's rooms, bathrooms, and even the kitchen.
When looking at vinyl wallcoverings, you'll discover they come in several forms. Pre-pasted, peel-and-stick, textured, and non-self-adhesive can be installed with a quality clear wallpaper adhesive after a wall has been prepped correctly.

Grasscloth
Grasscloth is the collective term for hand-woven fabric wall coverings created from natural plant fibers like sisal, seagrass, arrowroot, bamboo, and jute. The origin of this natural wallpaper has Asian roots, as using natural fibers, weaving them into rice paper, and applying them to walls have provided insulation and decoration for hundreds of years.

Grasscloth wallcoverings are best suited to spaces without moisture and dampness. Grasscloth is an ideal choice for those who adore natural textures and natural colors in their spaces

Paintable
Paintable wallpapers come with many different patterns, textures, and embossing but lack color. Paintable wallpapers are the perfect choice for someone who wants gorgeous wallpaper and has control over its color. You can install paintable wallpaper on every wall in the space and use it as an accent or a backsplash in the kitchen. It is commonly made from vinyl, so it's a beautiful visual touch for any room.

Flock or Embossed
Flock wallpaper, sometimes called embosses, is a more common type of textured paper. The term flock refers to left-over fibers from the woolen cloth industry, which were collected and used to imitate crushed velvet on surfaces. Today, the fibers are made from polyester, nylon, or rayon combined with an adhesive.

Flock wallcoverings require more care when installing since any glue or liquid on the surface can ruin the flocking. This also means that flocked wallcoverings aren't advised for kitchens, bathrooms, or any spaces within a home that may get damp.

Peel-and-Stick
As the name implies, perhaps one of the easiest wallcoverings to install is the peel-and-stick. Peel off the backing, line it up where you want, and smooth it onto the prepared wall surface. It's an excellent choice for those renting and wishing for a big change without the hassle of removing wallpaper. It is essential to clean and thoroughly dry walls and use a wallpaper primer on them to ensure you don't damage your walls.

Once the wall is prepped, peel-and-stick is also a fantastic choice for someone who likes to refresh a space frequently or wants a quick seasonal change.

The Perfect Wallpapers for an Antique Space

French Provincial, Country Cottage, or Farmhouse décor

Toile Wallpaper
One of the wallpaper styles you may wish to browse through is what is known as Toile style wallcoverings. Toile is a highly detailed decorative printed wallcovering that features repeating, often monochromatic (one-color) illustrations of pastoral scenes. Its design and ideas were taken from Chinese porcelain, which took its design cues from nature. You'll find that blue is a standard color for the details against white, off-white, or creamy white colored paper is the prevalent hue offered in Toile.

Country Cottage or Farmhouse

Roses, Botanicals, and Floral Wallpaper

The Country Cottage, Cottagecore, Farmhouse, or Farmcore interior design trend shares many beautiful overlapping themes. These trends center around rural lifestyles, rustic aesthetics, and looking back on simpler times. Another aspect of this interior design trend is incorporating reclaimed, recycled, homemade vintage, and antique items.

A wallpaper showcasing florals like patterned tulips and greenery, cabbage roses in soft pink and white, or a green wallpaper with beautiful magnolias may be the perfect fit for an antique farmhouse room.

Victorian Era Wall Coverings
The Victorian era was a mixture of many styles and revivals of styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, Rococo, and Neoclassic, with Gothic and Rococo being the most popular.

Consider a Damask Flock wallpaper in deep shades for an instantly beautiful Victorian and Gothic look. Additionally, there are ornate metallic wallpapers, Marsala wallpapers, Cameo wallcoverings, Floral Lattices, and Versace-inspired wallcoverings—to name a few. With Victorian-era antiques, your choice of wallpaper covers many eras, allowing you to experiment and choose a style that best fits your antiques.

American Colonial Wallpapers
The hallmark of the American Colonial furniture style was simple, massive, solid, and without unnecessary ornaments. American Colonial wallpapers, however, were often quite ornate with many patterns and colors.

For example, small figured patterns of simple geometry described as plain, but neat were installed in the library of Thomas Worthington's house. Harlequin patterns with far bold geometric frameworks ornamented with bees and stars were popular in France. They very quickly made their way over the Atlantic to the Americas. There were also wallcoverings in the Boston Floral Stripe and Chintz-inspired papers. A quick online search will also reveal several historical websites that offer images of American antique wallpapers and reproductions of past papers to match your Colonial antiques further.

Regarding all things antique reproduction, at Laurel Crown, we are passionate about everything we do, from embracing history's finest quality furniture replications made by hand to all décor aspects around antiques. We hope we've been able to assist you in choosing the perfect wallpaper for your antique spaces!