How to Use Historic Wallpapers in your Home
For relevant, inspiring interiors try using historic wallpaper designs in contemporary locations. Allow the pattern on the paper to be a guide rather than focussing on reflecting the era of the house itself. Large patterns like 19th Century French Damasks in bold colour ways are ideal for bringing intimacy to larger spaces whilst smaller florals like Carlisle Street work perfectly with lower ceilings and smaller rooms.
Use wallpaper as inspiration, focus on one or two colours within the paper’s design and use it on other walls in the room to create a complete scheme. The Little Greene Colours of England collection contains 128 historic colours that can be easily combined with our heritage papers.
Tailor Stripe - Bakerloo
A Twentieth Century stripe, each of these papers contains a judicious balance of six tightly packed colours, giving each an overall theme and several opportunities for picking out painted walls and trim. Inspired by the way designers would 'tag' colours together in referencing interior design schemes, and inherently close to the way colours were handled by fashion.
Shop Tailor Stripe - Bakerloo
Lavaliers - Atomic
Combine papers and paints from similar periods for an authentic look true to its historic references. Why not try using our ‘Lavalier’ paper in ‘Atomic’ teamed with authentic ‘Atomic red’ from the seventies?
Shop Lavaliers - Atomic
New Bond Street - Burnish
For a more contemporary look, pair historic designs with modern furnishings and paints from different periods. Update a 16th Century paper like New Bond Street, which is based on one of the oldest surviving documents in the archive with stark wooden furniture and contrasting Lamp Black walls to modernise the look.
Shop New Bond Street - Burnish
Pavona
Darker wallpapers, such as Pavona in the colourway Maeve, portray an elegant opulence that brings a luxurious depth to a room. Dark wallpapers are best displayed in lighter rooms to maximise room space and give an illusion of a larger space.
Browse Pavona - Maeve
Paint Spot
Stripes are an effortless way to combine a historic pattern with contemporary colourways. The Little Greene Painted Papers collection offers a comprehensive selection of striped wallpapers. All ten designs have been reworked from historic patterns and produced using traditional printing methods.
Shop Paint Spot - Custard Apple
Damask Wallpapers
Damask wallpapers are a classic design concept and there are many possibilities for incorporating them into a scheme.
Browse Damask Papers
Starflower - Original
Original colourways are an easy way to ensure historic authenticity. For a statement wall, Starflower in the Original colourway provides a true representation of a radical 1970’s floral pattern.
Shop Starflower - OriginalFor more ideas on how to use historic wallpapers in your home, browse wallpaper designs inspired by the 18th Century and the 19th Century.
Alternatively, discover our complete wallpaper collection.