Articles

In-depth guides and practical articles on designer wallcoverings.

• The Memphis Group: how a Milanese collective ended up on suburban walls The 1981 movement behind the squiggle-and-terrazzo look, and how its ideas travelled from gallery furniture to catalogue pattern books.
• Foil, Mylar, and the shine that ran 80s dining rooms Why metallic-ground pattern was everywhere in the early 80s, how the rolls were actually made, and what changes in the modern reissues.
• The wallpaper border: the 80s decorating habit that refuses to die Chair-rail borders, ceiling borders, and coordinated 'total look' sets — the mix-and-match system that ran the American home from about 1983 into the mid-90s.
• Chintz, ruffles, and the English-country look of the Reagan-Thatcher years The other 80s: Laura Ashley sprigs, glazed floral chintz, and the coordinated cottage nostalgia that answered Memphis with its exact opposite.
• How to date and identify a vintage 80s roll Pattern numbers, run and batch codes, backing type, and trim marks — how collectors and restorers separate a genuine early-80s roll from a later reissue.