Wallpaler Magazine No 3 EN by Boråstapeter AB

WallpaperMagazine

issue.03

4168 Haga

4172 Salängen

2060 Figs

2073 My Secret Garden

2092 Turgräs

CONTENTS IF WALLS COULD TALK9 ESSENS10 ÖSTERLEN’S GEMS14 BLOSSOMING TR ADITIONS20 NAKED CAKE 22 NOSTALGIA IS MAKING A COMEBACK 24 WALLPAPERISTA38 FEARLESS, AND WITH A FEEL FOR PAPER 48 TIMELESS TR ADITIONS52 REFLECTING ORIGINS IN THE WALLS58 DREAMY CHILDREN’S ROOMS 66 SWEDISH DESIGNERS70 IF WALLS COULD TALK 80

For t a w f o THE RIGHT TO NATURE’S

VISIT OUR FOYER EXHIBITION

PATTERNS · PAGE 10-13

Boråstapeter's Pattern Treasure at the Textile Museum in Borås. Ongoing until 4 September.

NOSTALGIA IS MAKING A COMEBACK · SID 24-37

WALLPAPERISTA · PAGE 38-47

e v o l e th r e p a p l l a w IF WALLS COULD TALK – WHAT WOULD THEY SAY?

Every layer of wallpaper has a story to tell, sometimes from an entirely different time with different style ideals. As when early patterns were influenced by light and nature or eras whose aesthetics were informed by old country mansions and manor houses, only to become inspired by Asian motifs, graphic shapes or stylised patterns. Do you share our delight in looking back to our old style epochs and our interest in building conservation? Flip forward to pages 24 and read about our new Alla Tiders Hus collection. Get tips on how to match your house type with contemporaneous wallpapers and find retro patterns that will stand the test of time. Wallpaper can come in all shapes and sizes, and not just on walls. In this edition, we’ve given designer Bea Szenfeld the freedom to create wallpaper arts and crafts. You can find the results on page 38, and in addition to the magnificent, astounding fashion creations, you can learn about the ideas behind them.

Surely no one has missed the trend in which our forests constitute our new spiritual space? Nature as a place for recuperation is more important than ever in our lives. It’s where we go to find peace, repose and balance. Skåne’s Österlen landscape was the inspiration for the new Essens wallpaper collection, and page 14 will guide you to the various places that have left their stamp on the patterns. The Timeless Traditions collection also has nature as its primary theme, but from earlier centuries and in the beloved pastoral style. Turn to page 52 to learn how historical pattern traditions have been re-created in a contemporary expression for modern homes.

Our wallpapers also speak to us from walls beyond Sweden’s borders. In a dreamy castle in the southern French countryside, an Australian interior design stylist has decorated the bedrooms with Swedish floral wallpapers. Curious? Take a peek inside Sara Silm’s home, Chateau Montfort, on page 58. Can’t get enough Swedish design? Meet designers Petra Börner, Hanna Werning and Linnea Andersson who have worked with us to create world-class wallpaper designs. These confident personalities leave the door to their personal stories ajar – the stories behind every pattern – on page 70. Follow along on the creative journey from idea to finished wallpaper. We hope you enjoy this inspiring read!

Åse Peterson Brand & Product Director Boråstapeter

THE RIGHT TO NATURE’S PATTERNS Nature is associated with many powerful emotions; it fills us with energy, but also provides much-needed calm. The new wallpaper collection, Essens, is inspired by the nature of Österlen in the Swedish county of Skåne – from quiet forests to open fields and gardens in full bloom. PHOTO Patrik Hagborg STYLING Anna Furbacken ART DIRECTOR Anna Söderberg DESIGN Madeleine Sidemo TEXT Anna Zethraeus-Falkirk

hether it’s the forest, meadows in bloom, hills, beaches or rocky cliffs, everyone has a relationship to nature. Our relationship to the landscape around us has become increasingly important in our daily lives. So it is no surprise that nature is the theme of Boråstapeter’s new collection, Essens. Madeleine Sidemo, Senior Designer, is behind the palette of patterns. – Nature has always been an important part of our DNA at Boråstapeter, it also felt really right for the times, she says. Madeleine grew up on the west coast of Sweden, but has spent many summers in Skåne and is very familiar with the environment. That’s why she decided to explore the beautiful natural scenery of the area of Österlen in her search for this collection’s pattern designs. – It’s so easy to see the beauty of Österlen’s landscape. The forests, open fields, hills and blossoming fruit orchards. To make the mood board that would be the basis of the wallpaper collection, Madeleine took a field trip for inspiration to Österlen’s most beautiful sites. Her trip took her through the hills of Brösarp, Haväng, Kivik and Vik. But first, she hiked through the linden forest near Brösarp on the Skåneleden trail. – The enormous trees there are majestic! It’s amazing to stand in the shade of the woods, with the pale green, softly whispering tree canopies high above you. It creates an ethereal, poetic feeling. She continued on through the hills of Brösarp, down to Haväng and Kivik. – First comes all of those undulating hills, then the fields of rapeseed, and down towards the water, these beautiful blossoming meadows spread out before you. As you start to approach Kivik, the apple orchards take over, and when they’re in full bloom, it’s like a sea of pink. That felt like a clear theme. The next stop was the little community of Vik, which Madeleine has visited often over the years. – The houses are built close together here, with charming little gardens with tall hollyhocks growing in front of ivy-covered stone walls. It’s an incredible kingdom of flowers.

It also includes an important democratic mindset. Madeleine wanted to build the collection around a natural theme inspired by Österlen, but where the viewer could also refer to their own home region. – The wallpaper patterns should inspire a sense of familiarity. It’s important not to exclude anyone. Everyone has their own forest, their own meadows, fields and farms around them. I want people to find something of their own, to see themselves in our patterns. That way, we can give everyone the right to nature. When a wallpaper is available in several different colourways, the same pattern can appeal to more people. – The Mira wallpaper with meadow blossoms comes in several colours. For example, red, where you might see poppies, while the yellow may evoke a field of buttercups. HARMONY AND BALANCE IN NATURE

Magical forests, blossoming fruit orchards and dazzling gardens provide an enormous wealth of patterns. Even more important is cohesion, so that nothing stands out one way or the other, according to Madeleine. – In some collections, we can work with spectacular patterns to create effects. With Essens, we wanted to create a harmonious sense of calm. You don’t go out in nature to be entertained; you’re looking for rest and balance. It isn’t just about painting beautiful natural designs, so much more work goes into creating a wallpaper, according to Madeleine. – It has to be something that will dress up your walls at home, that will create a feeling that surrounds you, where the viewer can experience the depth of the pattern. Once the patterns are ready, it is time for the colours. In Boråstapeter’s production process, the colours are all mixed by hand and each shade is checked carefully. – We’re often more restrained with a rich floral wallpaper, you want to balance the look with the colours. We didn’t want Essens to be overly cheerful, rather, we wanted a more toned down, restful look. You can often sense that a pattern may become a classic wallpaper. A whole history lies behind all of the collections; each pattern contains extensive craftsmanship – every single petal is placed with patience and precision. – The entire process is about meticulous balance. You continuously go back and ask yourself: is this the feeling we wanted to convey? For the people who will put the wallpaper on their walls at home, that’s how we create love for a pattern.

RECOGNISABLE PATTERNS

The Essens collection was born and it was split into three different pattern areas: nature, where the theme is represented by the numerous greens of linden forests, landscape, influenced by hills, wild meadows in bloom and open fields, and gardens, with pink apple blossoms and spectacular flowerbeds in focus. 10

• HAVÄNG 3960. Stylised undulating hills in a peaceful pattern reminiscent of an open landscape.

• ÄNG 3969. A densely blossoming

pattern design, like marvellous flowers surrounding a gravel path through a garden.

"You don’t go out in nature to be entertained, you’re looking for rest and balance.”

• MIRA 3965. Small flowers with the elegant feel of wild meadows in bloom.

• ALMA 3953. A slightly more restrained

floral pattern for modern homes.

• GABRIELLA 3973. A wild pattern of gerberas held together by a monochrome colour palette.

”The wallpaper patterns should inspire a sense of familiarity, everyone has their own forest, their own meadows, fields and farms around them”

ÖSTERLEN’S GEMS TEXT Anna Zethraeus-Falkirk

The loveliest corner of Skåne has inspired all kinds of creative expression, from songs to paintings and wallpaper patterns. Here are ten beautiful sites in Österlen that are well worth a visit.

HAVÄNG

This nature reserve has unusual sand steppe vegetation, together with open heaths and pastures by Ravlunda and dry meadows up to Vitemölla Strandbackar.

NATURE

Exotic, changing, dramatic and fascinating. SANDHAMMAREN

A chalk-white sandy beach that stretches for miles to the Löderup swimming beach, with Backåkra on the inland side. With its rolling sand dunes, the beach feels exotic, as if you were further south on the European continent. HALL AMÖLL A

If you follow the Verkaån river from Alunbruk by Andarum, you will reach Skåne’s tallest waterfall: Hallamölla. You can hike the Backaleden trail all the way to the mouth of the river in Hanöbukten by Haväng. DR AKMÖLL AN

A very hilly landscape with heaths and beautiful beech forests, the leaves filtering the sun onto the shadows of the trees.

E XPERIENCES IN NATURE ON FOOT

A slow hike gives you the opportunity to discover your own gems in nature. Walk through pale green deciduous woods, across hills and plains and shimmering pink heather-covered heath, along white sand dunes and sloping rocky landscapes accompanied by a gentle sea breeze. There are many beautiful hiking trails. Most ambitious of all is the 93-kilometre Österlenleden trail, from Nybrostrand to Andrarum, split into day-long stretches for a week. For a more moderate daytrip, try the Blåvingeleden trail, about 10 kilometres through the Maglehem Nature Reserve.

THE LANDSCAPE The Provence of Sweden has some of the oldest fauna in the country. HILLS OF BRÖSARP

Also known as the gateway to Österlen, this magical and undulating landscape has mile-wide views of the Verkaån river valley. The northern hills are bigger and mightier, with sandy heaths and dramatic steppes. The southern hills are picnic-friendly in spring, and covered with cowslip, pasqueflower and meadow saxifrage. STENSHUVUD

The lookout point at the slope of Linderödsåsen provides views of all of Hanöbukten. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Bornholm. The nearby national park has a lovely beech forest where the earth is covered in wood anemones in April and orchids in May, when you can also hear nightingales sing.

DID YOU KNOW …

… Österlen has no official boundaries delineating the region. But many say it begins near Ystad and ends just before Åhus.

ALE STENAR

A famous and beautiful ancient monument by the village of Kåseberga. But for the loveliest experience, hike from Hammar’s hills across Kåsebergaåsen, along blossoming poppy fields and the open sea.

GARDENS A mild climate without biting winds has created conditions for uniquely magnificent flowers. KIVIKS APPLE ORCHARDS

The harvest in autumn is fantastic, to be sure, but a rare experience awaits in spring. The apple blossoms usually emerge here in the third week of May, when the orchards around Kiviks Musteri are transformed into an elegant pink paradise, as beautiful as cherry blossoms. MANDELMANNS GARDENS

Between Kivik and Simrishamn, by the hills of Rörum, the Mandelmann couple have a cosy organic garden. Don’t miss Ensamma Trädet – the Lone Tree – on neighbouring Skallahögbjer. In a completely open landscape, a solitary tree stands on a hill – the perfection of nature’s balance. THE ENGLISH GARDEN

A dreamy, romantic garden awaits by Svabesholms Kungsgård in the village of Svinaberga. Discover three thousand square metres of magnificent floral splendour influenced by English gardens. 18

SUSTAINABLE, BY NATURE. All our production is conducted in our facilities in Viared outside Borås, from design to finished products.

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Blossoming

TRADITIONS Summer flowers! Not only are they beautiful out in the wild; they also bring a sensual element to our decor. Unite nature’s magnificent flowers with floral wallpaper patterns, wrap a bouquet in wallpaper scraps, and serve cake on a wallpaper tablecloth. PHOTO Alice Johansson

Remember!

Cut the stems in the middle of the bouquet slightly shorter to make it more stable in the vase. Preferably, you should be able to place the bouquet on a table and it will balance on its own.

STEPS TO

a beautiful bouquet!

1. CUT THE FLOWERS TO SIZE. Cut off any leaves from the base of the stem. Remove any offshoots – save them to decorate your table.

2. CREATE THE EYE-CATCHING CENTRE. Use the three prettiest flowers for the base of your bouquet and hold them in your hand, stems crossing.

3. BUILD UP VOLUME. Fill in from the sides, one flower at a time.

Alternate stem lengths for a wilder, more natural look.

4.CUT AND BIND. Cut the stem ends at an angle, refine the shape of

the bouquet, and bind it all together with string or ribbon.

5. MAKE A FLOWER WRAP. Frame your flowers with a personal touch – wrap the bouquet in a beautiful piece of wallpaper. It’s a great way to use old scraps with your favourite wallpaper patterns.

NAKED CAKE with Swedish flavours

Table setting tips!

Table setting tips! Use a leftover length of wallpaper on your table as a runner, placed on top of a white tablecloth. Or why not cover the entire table with wallpaper and use the pattern design to create a festive atmosphere?

Naked cake is ultra-trendy in the cake world right now. This dressed-down cake is scraped all around to expose the sides and filling, and the look is elevated with flowers and berries as decoration on top. In this variation on naked cake, the outside has a thin coat of frosting. The gently shifting palette of this cake is perfect for floral patterns! CAKE: 4 eggs 2,5 dl suger 1,5 dl flour 1,5 dl potato flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla sugar 2 tsp lemon juice + butter and flour for the pans Grease and flour two identical small round cake pans with tall sides. Beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar, mix into the batter, add the lemon and stir gently. Evenly divide the batter

between the pans and bake in the lower part of the oven at 175 degrees for about 30 minutes. Let cool, then split each cake into three layers with a sharp knife. FILLING: Alternate the cake layers with summery flavours in contrasting colours. For example, try: A dense, silky vanilla cream. Lemon curd with grated lime zest. Fresh strawberries mashed with sugar. FROSTING: Beat the butter until creamy with an electric mixer, add the icing sugar and increase the speed until the frosting comes together. Mix in a few spoonfuls of whipping cream, flavour with vanilla sugar and beat until airy. Spread the frosting on the assembled cake with a spatula and thin it by scraping along the sides as you turn the cake. Decoration: Fresh berries with a few beautiful flower buds and green leaves.

Change it up!

• Replace the lemon curd with a creamy berry filling made of equal parts cream cheese and strawberry jam flavoured with lemon juice and vanilla sugar. • Add melted white chocolate to the frosting. • Bake the cakes with dark cocoa and finely chopped almonds; fill with apricot jam and cover with frosting flavoured with melted Valrhona chocolate.

NOSTALGIA

IS MAKING A COMEBACK PHOTOPatrik Hagborg och Lina Östling ART DIRECTOR Frida Hagman STYLING Anna Strarrén DESIGN Jenny Hahne Gadd och Noomi Spange ILLUSTRATIONS Laila Reppen TEXTAnna Zethraeus-Falkirk

Swedish houses have looked so different over the years! Shifting styles, architecture and contemporary design ideals have left their mark on wallpaper motifs and colour palettes. This spring, Alla Tiders Hus will release a new collection of wallpaper patterns based on old, original wallpapers. Join us on our nostalgic wallpaper trip.

very epoch has its aesthetic ideal. Influences from the contemporary age, fluctuations in the economy and trends come together to form their own expression and creative style – a style we often return to over the years, where our nostalgia lets the past inspire us. Such reminiscences are the focus of the new Alla Tiders Hus collection, in which old, original wallpapers set the tone. In this inspirational wallpaper journey through Swedish homes from the late 1800s right up to the 2020s, our most fashionable period styles are represented in six different types of houses with wallpapers characteristic of their times. These carefully chosen patterns were hand picked from among our very best original wallpapers over the years, up to today’s latest styles. Some have a classic, timeless feel while others display a more eccentric character. But all the patterns play their own part in the history of our Swedish homes. We had to delve deeply into the interior design aesthetics of former times to make the right wallpaper choices for the collection. Boråstapeter’s pattern designer Jenny Hahne Gadd and her colleague Noomi Spange searched and sorted through hundreds of wallpapers.

– We found inspiration everywhere, not just in our own pattern archives, but also in various house catalogues for former housing projects, says Jenny. They also discovered wallpapers in old, unrenovated homes. – Indeed, we found some in old houses right here around Borås. Two of the patterns included in the collection – 1920s Trädgårdsstaden and Ängby in the ‘people’s homeland’ style – were from the same house, where two layers of wallpaper sat one atop the other, says Jenny. All of the wallpapers bear the names of residential areas in Sweden that are typical of their times. The graphic 1950s wallpaper Ängby is named after the Stockholm suburbs Södra and Norra Ängby, with both ‘funkis’ and detached house styles. Charming, fin de siècle, Klädesholmen gets its name from the picturesque neighbourhoods of Tjörn in Bohuslän County. – And the 1970s Kryddhyllan is named after an area in Sparsör outside Borås, where houses jostle like little spice jars high up on the hill, explains Jenny. The Alla Tiders Hus collection is just as much a tribute to Swedish wallpaper design through the ages as it is a source of inspiration for everyone who wants to borrow the style – for wallpaper and furniture alike. 25

THE-TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY HOUSE

The period between 1890 and 1910 includes a large group of house types, from the smallest croft to the grandest merchant mansion. What unites them is their fancy fretwork, ornamental carvings and decorative, multi-pane windows. While industrialisation had given wooden buildings a boost, it had also made the production of wallpaper cheaper. – This was an age when wallpaper could be found in virtually everybody’s homes. Suddenly, ordinary folk could create cosy interiors, and people happily repapered their rooms. It’s why we find so many layers of paper on top of each other in The turn-ofthe-century houses, says Jenny. On the other hand, Swedish pattern design had not yet begun and the offering consisted of imported patterns, mainly French, British and German. – There were so many different motifs that the style is a little difficult to summarise, but flower patterns and medallion wallpaper variations were popular. Klädesholmen is a typical stencil wallpaper with a trellis pattern that was common at the end of the nineteenth century. Trellis is a stylistic term for interwoven diagonal stripes and lines. It is a pattern we still see a lot of today. – This pattern is often printed directly on brown-beige paper, and this particular paper-coloured background has been preserved in Klädesholmen. At the turn of the century, wallpapers were designed to go with the functions of various rooms, and people happily chose gold features for the drawing room, and small flowers for the bedrooms. – Aratorp with its dense foliage is typical for the early 1900s. The profusion of flowers almost obscures the background with their dark, deep colours. This type of pattern really adds to a room, it surrounds you. These lush, colourful flower motifs have made a comeback and once again we see strong patterns in today’s wallpaper trends. – The trendsetting turn-of-the-century feel was ‘more is more’. People were not afraid of clashing patterns, lots of colour and understated hues. Which is precisely why light and airy Klädesholmen and rich Aratorp go so well together. THE ART NOVEAU HOME

Jugend is a naturally inspired style epoch that embodies great expression. The term comes from the German word for youth, but south of Germany the same style is known as Art Nouveau – an entirely new artistic idiom with a softer flow of lines, airy style, big roofs and daylight openings. External walls rendered in bright colours and organic forms impart an air of the manor house. – A passion for nature is central to Jugend style, and in Sweden we had a more restrained variant influenced by Nordic nature with its somewhat milder colours and softer patterns, says Jenny. Näckrosen, with its mystical aura and eccentric expression, is a pattern typical of its times. – While Jugend style is new in so many ways, it’s also distinct and the epoch is the easiest to recognise. Even though the two wallpapers Haga and Villastan are so different, they are also clearly related. Everything had its place during this period, and Jenny points out that we can also see how patterns have liberated themselves. – Haga shows how everything gets bigger; the foliage flows and coils at the same time as air is allowed into the patterns. It creates pleasant spaces and restful pauses. The motifs take on a more restrained look later in the style epoch. – Villastan is an example of a later influence known as WienerJugend. Here, patterns have a stricter form that is more stylised, almost graphic. This style was also known as kontrajugend, and included many geometric patterns. – Inspired by the original wallpapers, their green and pale, dirty pink tones create an airy impression but also have a strong feel.

4172 Salängen xxxx Namn

The wallpaper Salängen have a small floral pattern with geometrical shapes and Cubist lines. The colours are characteristic of the epoch with a restrained beige background and features in dirty pink and green.

THE TURN-OF-THECENTURY HOUSE BLOSSOMING FRETWORK

STYLE & WALLPAPERS

The outside boasts ornamental features, glazed verandas, multi-pane windows and a gable roof. Inside are hardwood floors, high skirting boards and beaded, tongue-and-groove panelling in the kitchen. The hearth was the heart of the home. Wallpapers were characterised by many patterns, dense foliage and imaginary flowers with quiet background colours and elements of ochre, brown umber, English red or chrome oxide green. Later, colours became somewhat paler, often with an off-white background and ornate gold features. • KLÄDESHOLMEN

Late 1890s stencil pattern with diagonal trellis lines with a light, country feel. A great wallpaper for creating bridges between rooms with different patterns. • ARATORP

A wallpaper from the early 1900s; the pattern’s abundant foliage and dense flowers in deep colours create a warm, cosy space.

e h t f o n r u t -house The century 28

The art e m o h u a e v o n

STYLE & WALLPAPERS

The houses often have smooth, plaster exteriors in bright colours, but the style also includes national romantic wooden detached houses. Common architectural features include bay windows, rounded balconies, wroughtiron railings and hipped roofs or mansard roofs characterised by four sides with two pitches per side. Windows with two tall panes with smaller multiple windows above. Wallpapers show greenery in an eccentric style, often in rising motion and with space for air. • HAGA

A typical Jugend pattern with bold, coiling, elegantly mystical flower patterns. The spaces create a light and airy feel and give a restful impression. • VILLASTAN

A much more stylistically pure, graphic wallpaper but still with an exciting pattern. Mild, pale colours that have more punch than is immediately apparent.

THE ART NOVEAU HOME FLOWING FORMS AND STRONG EXPRESSION

Meadow flowers with features in gold, pink, blue and green on a beige background. A multi-coloured wallpaper that is functional, as many colours can be repeated in the furniture, making it easy to match.

4179 Flora

1920s HOUSE

Classic 1920s style has a cleaner, simpler expression centred around symmetrical shapes. Classical antiquity was the original inspiration, influences that recur during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but which now appear in a more restrained style. In Sweden, houses from the 1920s are sparingly decorated and have fewer extensions, and the light feel is reinforced by windows that look out in several directions. – The many brown and sand-coloured wallpapers contradict the epoch’s light and airy style. We need to remember that back then, these colours weren’t considered drab in the way they are today, says Jenny. What’s more, the furnishings would have been lighter and more airy. Because homes were not so over-furnished, the wallpaper styles imparted a warmer feel to the somewhat austere architecture. – Salängen is a wallpaper that typifies a 1920s trendsetting style: a symmetrical pattern where the motif is presented broken into geometric shapes that add a touch of Cubism. At the same time, we were also inspired by a new type of Asian motif, often depicting our own takes on cherry blossoms. – Trädgårdsstaden represents a wallpaper style with Eastern influences that were big back then. A slightly bolder exoticism with a dark brown background, Asian-inspired flowers and bright colours. THE MID-CENTURY HOUSE

The 1930s trend towards austere functionalism was followed in the 1940s by a more accessible, ‘people’s home’ style. It was a softer follow-on from functionalism’s ideal that also continued into the 1950s. Houses were now built in the domestic vernacular with careful, small-scale simplicity in places that had room for neighbourliness and greenery. Small-format, box-shaped detached houses had warmer colours and more modest choices of materials. The midcentury house was intended for everyone. – The people’s home aesthetics of the 1940s grew permissive with added features and more colours. A soft scale in pale green, pale yellow and dull blue, Jenny tells us. In fashion and furnishings, earlier retro 1950s trends were inspired by American style – black-and-white tiled floors, mint green and pink features in rounded, puffy shapes. – When choosing the colours for this collection, we stayed with a Swedish 1950s palette, which is more restrained and has a milder impact – dirty pink, milky blue and green nuances towards shades of brown. Typical floor plans with clearly demarcated rooms led to wallpapers with a lot of pattern. Often, one room would have one style, and the next room something completely different with a closed door in between. – With its Swedish meadow flowers, Flora is a wallpaper with a great deal of soul and a pattern repeat that is so balanced that no single part disturbs or overwhelms. A glorious pattern that is easy to like, which has become a bestseller over the years. In earlier style epochs, wallpaper was the star of the show, but now was a time when wallpaper could also function as a neutral background with textiles, art and furniture as accents. – Ängby, named after the classic Stockholm suburbs, is one such background wallpaper. A pale grey background with simple lines in white with just one or two accent colours was the norm in the mid-century house.

STYLE & WALLPAPERS

Houses with straight lines and clean façades in a symmetrical style. Tall entrances were typical in large, detached houses, as were columns and pillars. All of the windows in the house were identical, with panes of equal size. Gable roofs were most common, covered with clay tiles or painted sheet metal. Wallpapers were in tones of beige, brown and sand and often had small floral patterns with features from the Far East, and sometimes also geometrical shapes.

• SALÄNGEN

A small floral pattern with geometrical shapes and Cubist lines. The colours are characteristic of the epoch with a restrained beige background and features in dirty pink and green. • TRÄDGÅRDSSTADEN

An Asian-inspired wallpaper with a muted brown background and a floral pattern with features in bright blue and red.

THE 1920s HOUSE CLASSIC SYMMETRY, CLEAN LINES

e s u o h s 0 2 9 1 The 32

A KINDER KIND OF FUNKIS

STYLE & WALLPAPERS

Now residential areas were being built for everyone, with a focus on neighbourhoods, parks and social spaces. Homes were characterised by a more simple, ordinary architecture where box shapes and flat roofs were common. While wallpapers in some cases had bold patterns with specific designs for children’s rooms, they also often gave a neutral background impression in a role subordinate to the furnishings. • FLORA

A background wallpaper, typical of its era, with a warm grey base together with oat yellow and a subdued, dirty green. Also available in a colourway with dark blue, grey green and white.

The mid-century house

THE MID-CENTURY HOUSE

THE BRICK HOME

A new type of house emerged in the 1960s and 1970s – the single-storey brick home. Even though there were some wood and plaster façades, brick was most common and calcareous sandstone – marketed as Mexi Brick – became the signature style of the epoch. Houses were now planned differently, such as L-shaped single-storey detached homes and split-level homes with a half story built into a sloping lot. Floor plans were opened up and living space was maximised such that the basement was also used, giving us the immensely popular basement recreation room. – My first thought is of the strong, drab colours back then – like that typical 1970s combo, brown and orange. But at the same time, there was also a major trend towards pale, natural materials like canvas and greens from the plant kingdom, says Jenny. Floral patterns were a central theme throughout the period, often with a playful feel. – Kryddhyllan’s 1970s pattern with its ornate foliage captures the typical spirit of the times in an Arts & Crafts interpretation that is spot on. Enthusiasm for Arts & Crafts-movement aesthetics was great at the time, inspired by late-nineteenth-century masters Morris and Voysey. Jenny also points out how Kryddhyllan is an ideal example of how we always look to history for inspiration. – And I can picture it in front of me in tons of different types of homes with every possible colourway. Indeed, we’ve joked about being able to create a collection based solely on Kryddhyllan, laughs Jenny. Textured wallpaper was also popular as people sought a cosier feel in the home. – Imitation texture was the most common type of pattern during this period. Anyone who’s removed wallpaper from a 1960s or 1970s home is bound to have come across it. The Vivalla wallpaper was included in a catalogue for Million Programme homes, so it was fun to have it in the collection. THE NEW-BUILT HOUSE

Naturally, there are many building styles today, but here the focus is on the spacious feel of the 2020s. Houses with vertical wood cladding, simple roofs, large windows and glass doors that let in generous amounts of light. There are often multiple entrances, making the wooden deck a continuation of the living room floor where the open floor plan continues outdoors. – Because many people see homes with open floor plans as an obstacle to patterned wallpaper, we sought to create wallpapers that can match in the same room. Not only can they work together, but also with walls in a single colour, explains Jenny. The patterns were specifically chosen to provide many different combinations in open interiors. – Wallpaper can be an excellent way to delineate space in open floor plans and create rooms within rooms. When the kitchen, dining room and living room all flow into one, a wallpapered background can be a great setting for the dining table. The choice of materials is important in modern homes, and the different surfaces are what determine the style of furnishing. – The trend towards nature is a central theme today, as is our feel for material. We have limestone furnishings and our facades are treated with iron sulphate. So we need walls that match – a look that’s picked up by the wallpaper Sjöhagen. While we still prefer mild, natural tones, the range of colours has become warmer in recent years. The earlier grey tones now lean more towards beige and green. – I got my inspiration for Skogsparken’s pattern during the autumn when I was picking walnuts from a tree weighed down with nuts. I wanted to capture the feel of the beautiful shadow play beneath the tree as sunlight trickled down through the foliage, Jenny tells us. 34

4185 Kryddhyllan

A 1970s floral pattern in the Arts & Crafts style with foliage in warm beige on a putty-coloured background.

STYLE & WALLPAPERS

Low-rise brick homes usually had a single storey and a flat or single pitch roof. The garden was incorporated into the building, a feature reinforced by low, single-pane windows and wood furnishings in teak and pine. Seagrass wallpaper made its breakthrough, together with woven fabrics and cork, and a plethora of imitations. But there were also large floral patterns, naive motifs and medallion wallpapers in colours such as yellow, orange and brown with some green and beige. • KRYDDHYLLAN

A 1970s floral pattern in the Arts & Crafts style with foliage in warm beige on a putty-coloured background. There are also other colourways with pale foliage in beige on an olive green or muted blue background, as well as mild pink and pale green. • VIVALLA

A tribute to texture imitations in a retro wallpaper that makes a room feel upholstered and cosy. Available in three colourways: grey beige with warm notes; a muted green; and shades of blue.

THE BRICK HOUSE SINGLE-STORY, DRAB PATTERNS

The brick house 36

e s u o h t l i u b The new -

THE NEW-BUILT HOUSE CONTEMPORARY INTERPLAY WITH NATURE

STYLE & WALLPAPERS

Natural materials are centre stage in today’s modern 2020s housing. Vertical wood cladding and asymmetrical shapes in both buildings and roofs are typical of our times. Windows have a prominent place, with plenty of space, and they often run all the way from floor to ceiling. Multiple entrances tie the open floor plan to the wooden deck and the outdoors. The view is also more important than ever. • SJÖHAGEN

Stylewise, the wallpaper is based on our increasing feel for material and our choice of natural textures throughout the home. It goes together well with wood and natural stone. • SKOGSPARKEN

A pattern that clearly lives and breathes the 2020s, without any retro allusions. Its natural inspiration comes from the walnut tree’s beautiful autumn shadow play. Here in a muted dark green colourway.

WALLPAPER GOCKEN JOBS ROS AND LILJA, NO. 1964 Roses and lilies in Cubist frames. Gocken, a classic floral pattern wallpaper with a deep black background, was born again through an avant-garde fashion composition.

a t s i r e p Wallpa

Wallpaper like you’ve never seen it before! Beloved patterns in new guises and off the wall – as innovative creations worn on the body. Designer and wallpaper artist Bea Szenfeld was given free rein to create her own functional installations based on Boråstapeter’s pattern archives. Using scissors and creative origami she transformed the Jobs sisters’ wallpapers into masterful fashion handicrafts. DESIGN Bea Szenfeld PHOTO Joel Rhodin ART DIRECTOR Frida Hagman MUA Kristina Kullenberg MODEL Deirdre Maas

WALLPAPER AURORA, NO. 1790 An ingenious ensemble of the 1950s wallpaper, Aurora. Beautiful greenery with cow parsley and meadow flowers can be seen in sophisticated folds.

FEARLESS, AND WITH A FEEL FOR PAPER She dressed Lady Gaga and Björk, made garments from fan belts, pasta and Venetian blinds and has folded A4 sheets into Haute Papier for the catwalk. Designer Bea Szenfeld really knows how to push the envelope. Her creations always stay close to the material, no matter what it is. She’s especially close to the Jobs sisters’ patterns, and she’s created a wearable collection of wallpapers for Boråstapeter. PHOTO Joel Rhodin MUA Kristina Kullenberg TEXT Anna Zethraeus-Falkirk

FACTS ABOUT BEA SZENFELD

Age: 49. Lives in: Stockholm. Job: Designer and craftswoman. Right now: Represented in an exhibition about the Nobel Banquet’s creations at the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm.

"It’s easy to feel like some crazy hermit when I’m alone in my studio. A pat on the back does the trick and helps me go on. Trust me, when you make swimsuits out of paper, you doubt yourself every second.”

old. That would be one way to sum up designer Bea Szenfeld. Because she takes on things that seem impossible and gets results that look like child’s play. She creates fashion from things that other people consider trash, makes extravagant stage outfits in odd materials for music industry icons, she’s dressed trees in national costumes, received fashion prizes from Elle and H&M, and has collaborated on many a celebrated creation. Among other things. But she also dares to step outside the box, to go beyond the fashion industry and apply her design skills to paper. Most recently in the Station 5 exhibition at Liljevalchs+ where her sculptures in recycled paper were lightweight, but appeared heavy. She stays close to the material in her handicraft no matter what her creations use. This has its roots in pottery, where she began her creative career. – Pottery is all about seeing things from every possible angle, you have to stay close to the material. It fosters fearlessness about going big. Pottery was pure chance. She got to try it out in an aesthetics programme in Lidköping, caught the bug and went on to train as a potter.

Culture Alice Bah Kuhnke wore one of Bea’s paper gowns to the Nobel Banquet. The artistes Björk, Lady Gaga, Loreen and Ola Salo have also been seen in Bea’s experimental garments. Do you ever dream about a future creation for some other celebrity? – Well, having someone I want to create something for choose me is like a next-to-impossible Tinder match. But yes, Beyoncé would be fun! She’s no newcomer to the game, works entirely conceptually and would understand if it took four trucks to ship a single stage costume. Your previous paper creations have been purely white; what’s so different about wallpaper? – Lots. So many new things to think about. Especially since it’s rolled-up paper, which makes the work character-building. When I fold a sheet of A4, it stays put. When I fold wallpaper and then leave to make tea, well, it’s not in the same place when I come back.

” When I fold a sheet of A4, it stays put. When I fold wallpaper and then leave to make tea, well, it’s not in the same place when I come back.”

WITH GRANDMA IN THE STUDIO

Later she went on to the Academy of Tailors and Cutters, Beckmans College of Design and trained at Stella McCartney in an internship she won in an international design competition. But the many years Bea Szenfeld devoted to textile fashion were not by chance. Her maternal grandma was a tailor and seamstress back home in Poland where Bea was born and raised, and life largely revolved around their dressmaker’s studio. – I tinkered with material a great deal as a child; it was how we played. Everyday life was more limited in Poland, what with rationing and power cuts. So hanging out with grandma and her seamstresses in the studio is how I amused myself back then. These are childhood experiences she is grateful for today. When she came to Sweden as a ten-year-old, everything was so very different. Her friends of the same age sat in their rooms listening to ABBA, food was pre-packaged, wrapped in plastic and had no smell; and fashion boutiques had the very latest clothes – on plastic hangers. – I didn’t even know there was such a thing. In Poland, we had proper wooden hangers that would last 100 years, and clothes were all tailored to last. So Bea has a natural relationship with vintage clothes, and loves finding old, well-tailored garments. She remembers when the second-hand craze took hold here in the 1990s. – The trend then was all about achieving a unique look, the green thinking came much later. Personal style was the gateway. In Poland, style was more like… hand-me-downs.

Bea tells us that her earlier paper-folding cockiness has diminished somewhat as she’s been forced to find new techniques for folding wallpaper. – It’s all about sleight-of-hand and creating an easy feel in the final impression – not too sharp, things should appear simple once the wallpaper garment is finished. Switching from white to multicoloured is also demanding. The motif has to present itself in a new way, as there’s a big difference from papering a wall. – When worn, a folded garment appears anything but flat. And the garment must be visually interesting and above all good-looking, modern and a bit avant-garde! THE LOVE FOR THE JOBS SISTERS

Another aspect for consideration is how much of the patterned side will show. – It’s really important to show both the front and back of the wallpaper, otherwise there gets to be far too much front. The plane, glue side is just as important. As with pattern repeats, where the spaces are as important as the motifs.” Bea tells us it takes time to discover how wallpaper behaves. “Folding a pattern changes it, and its character shifts. Wallpapers have their own lives, their own agendas. But paper has other advantages – it’s tougher and has an almost woollen textile feel. And I also get to choose the pattern. When Bea found out that Gocken Jobs’ wallpaper was available at Boråstapeter, the choice was easy. – I’ve always loved the Jobs sisters’ patterns, their range of colours, the way they arrange their patterns and, well everything. And it’s also about the way they’ve worked over the years and blazed a trail for future craftswomen. – This isn’t just about beautiful things; it’s also a great part of women’s history. Thank God for the Jobs sisters! Which is precisely why Bea is eager for her results to feel respectful. It’s almost as if she did not just work with wallpapers, but in them. – Getting so close to their patterns in my handicraft is a magical feeling. I can almost hear the colours rustle when I’m working with their wallpapers. And it’s all so beautiful with flowers against a deep black background. They seem to leap out! Will the garment have a name, just like the wallpapers do? – Yes, indeed. But it will have to be a clever word that compliments the name of the wallpaper, so I can keep the Jobs sisters’ name alive in it. That would be respectful.

FROM TEXTILE TO PAPER

Bea spent several years in the fashion industry before she grew tired of the way the focus of every collection was on marketing, sales and profitability. She was fed up with garments that had to be bought, washed and hung up again. Instead, she began experimenting with designs in other materials. Everything from dried pasta to Venetian blinds. – But then I tried making clothes from paper, and it was almost too good to be true. Since then, I’ve focused on paper as a material in sculpture and artistic expression. – This has been appreciated, popular and well received. It has also given me more attention than textile fashion. There have been many fine prizes and awards over the years, something Bea values greatly. – So gratifying. And so very important! I think there should be many more medals and grants. It’s easy to feel like some crazy hermit when I’m alone in my studio. A pat on the back does the trick and helps me go on. Trust me, when you make swimsuits out of paper, you doubt yourself every second. But many others do not doubt her at all. Erstwhile Swedish Minister of

PASTORAL TRADITIONS WITH CONTEMPORARY STYLE PHOTO Patrik Hagborg STYLING Anna Furbacken ART DIRECTOR Anna Söderberg DESIGN Ulrica Hurtig

3261 Folklore 1775 Vertigo

Swedish cultural heritage contains a wealth of patterns. Our design history is filled with statement-making motifs and details. It also includes the heart of the pastoral style that we never stop loving. These older styles have been redesigned with subtle changes to form a new wallpaper collection. Preserving traditions with rustic charm – adapted for modern homes.

imeless Traditions is a new collection that captures the traditional design of bygone centuries. It recreates historic styles, emphasising the much-loved pastoral look. With great care, we have used patterns from the past, preserving their delicacy and exquisite details – but adapting them to suit today’s homes. These wallpapers have nostalgic charm balanced with a contemporary feel and are equally well-suited to city homes. To find the essence of the Swedish countryside, we needed to look back in time and explore the ideal aesthetics of the past. We chose timeless motifs from older wallpapers in our pattern archives, and the legacy of Swedish handicraft culture inspired the traditional expressions. They include delicate floral ornamentation from porcelain, beautiful woven, traditional stripes; and vibrantly colourful, folklore-inspired patterns. This wealth of traditions merged to create a contemporary, yet

classic style in the Timeless Traditions collection. The decorative harmony of these patterns also offers ethereal elegance, lovely lines and shimmering golden details. Wallpaper with a relaxed pastoral feel and laced with luxury. To make the wallpapers easier to combine and bring cohesion to your home, this collection has been divided into four colour themes. Flourishing pastels: a heartfelt colour palette for a romantic atmosphere. Nature’s palette: plant-inspired greens meet earth tones for a harmonious balance. Classic blue and white: inspired by fine porcelain’s misty shades of blue, for a soft and gentle look. White versions and soft neutrals: from feather grey to almond beige for a vivid, yet peaceful home. Naturally, the patterns and colours can be combined to create your own unique style. Most important of all is to choose wallpaper with your heart – to create new memories for your home. 53

3281 Fredrik

3268 Skogsblomst

3572 Laura`s Cottage

3289 Saga

3294 Blomsterfröjd

REFLECTING ORIGINS IN THE WALLS PHOTO Sara Silm TEXT Anna Zethraeus-Falkirk

A versatile creator with a lust for travel who grew up on the beaches of Australia, then lived in South Africa, the Middle East and Russia before settling in a French chateau, which she is decorating with Swedish wallpaper. Curious? Peek inside Chateau Montfort and meet interior designer Sara Silm, who has a passion for floral patterns and Swedish colour palettes.

ara Silm has just returned to her French castle, Chateau Montfort in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, after a business trip to London for the launch of her book “How to French Country”. – Oh, it’s so nice to be home again, to wake up to the light and hear all of the sounds of the countryside, she says, bright with energy for the day ahead. Sara Silm, her husband Jason and their three children ended up in the French countryside purely by coincidence with a special meaning – in the same spirit that her life has always played out, all across the globe. She describes her childhood on the beaches of Australia as idyllic, with the ocean a natural part of life. Travels to far-off places became just as important, and already at 11 years old she joined her father on a hiking trip to Mount Everest. – We hiked through Nepal and travelled to India and visited tea houses in Darjeeling. Dad was a big adventurer and thanks to him, my curiosity about other cultures was awakened, says Sara. Sara later joined a work project in the small eastern state of Bahrain on the Persian Gulf, and ran a game lodge in South Africa. She and her family lived in Russia and Kazakhstan, but she ultimately began to want to give her kids more security and a fixed point. – But after living in complicated settings for a long time, I felt that I wanted to give my kids a place where we could celebrate Christmas and summer holiday. Somewhere to gather our memories under one roof together. THE SUMMER HOUSE BECAME A HOME

A friend’s tip about an area in the south of France that is still relatively unknown to tourists led Sara to Chateau Montfort. Even though the chateau had been vacant for twenty years, the interior was fully intact, the furniture draped with protective sheets. – Everything was still there! The silverware was in the drawers, the desk had stationery with a personal seal, the beds were made with linens. It was like someone just walked out to do the shopping, explains Sara, delighted. What was originally intended as a summer house became a home for life instead – as well as a project. The electricity was out of date; the sewer needed replacing; the roof needed repairs. Sara did most of the renovations herself. 58

Sara’s interior design tips:

• EMBRACE YOUR BACKGROUND

“Bring in items with history. Heirlooms, furniture from your childhood home, mismatched odds and ends – together they’ll create a natural blend, where everything fits.” • THINK ABOUT TEXTURES

“Focus on a rustic feel and use natural materials. Natural stone floors provide a warm, cosy feeling and are forgiving for daily life with kids and dogs.”

• ALLOW FOR IMPERFECTION

“There’s so much pressure on people today to have a perfect home – don’t let that stress you out.”

– The wallpaper in the old chateau was completely peeling off from moisture and hanging away from the walls, in several layers in some of the rooms. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to save any of it, but there was a colour palette and a clear feeling to use as a jumping-off point, she says. This is where Swedish wallpaper patterns enter the picture. Swedish traditions have a clear connection to French ones, especially in Gustavian style – influences that date to a time when the Swedish king visited the palace of Versailles. But in the Swedish interpretation, the style is more modest, cosier, not quite as grandiose. – The Swedish palette is lighter, less saturated, and contains more greys. Soft pink, toned-down green and misty sky blue. I’m very drawn to Swedish colours and patterns, says Sara. And so, it is no surprise that she chose to wallpaper one of the bedrooms with Paradise Birds 1903 from Boråstapeter. This pattern design is well suited to the angled walls towards the dark ceiling beams, but also matches the grey shimmer of the surrounding French countryside. And it is infused with a sense of calm. – I want harmony in my home. Paradise Birds has exactly that feeling, the colours and designs intermingle like good friends, never disturbing one another. Flowers have such a special charge for me, just like birds; they’ve always fascinated me. SARAS SWEDISH ROOTS

The decor shouldn’t be too pretentious or draw too much attention. Instead, Sara gladly picks up a colour from the wallpaper and repeats it on the ceiling. – The ceiling colour provides a beautiful, natural look. I love combining patterns and colours; it expresses my personality perfectly! Her personality also incorporates cultural influences from around the world, including a Swedish relative: Sara recently discovered Swedish roots in her family tree. – My grandfather’s grandfather on my dad’s side lived in Sweden and apparently I have a third cousin there. I’m excited to look deeper into my Swedish heritage, says Sara enthusiastically. Her current home project is to give the kids’ bedroom a more grown-up style. – My son sighed recently, ‘Mum, you have to stop decorating with flowers for me.’ But no, I’m decorating for his future girlfriends! They’re going to thank me! She says confidently. After all these years as a stylist, she notices immediately if a home has been designed without roots. An empty atmosphere makes things feel anonymous. Sara encourages us to find style inspiration in our own backgrounds, rather than in short-lived trends. – Your home should be a mirror of who you are, your thoughts and your history. Figure out what’s meaningful to you and go from there in your decor to create a greater sense of vitality. Plus, in a time when the pandemic has us abstaining from travel and staying home – it’s even more important for your home to reflect who you truly are! 60

SAR A SILM

Family: Husband Jason, kids Hugo, Annabelle and Toby, who are all studying in another town and live at home on breaks, and dogs Adelaide and Stanley, a black poodle and a wire-haired dachshund. Lives in: Chateau Montfort in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. Profession: Stylist, writer and photographer. Right now: Recently published the interior design book “How to French Country”, which she wrote and which includes her photography.

1178 Hip Rose

2008 Alicia

1903 Paradise Birds

Sara’s wallpaper tips:

“Let the wallpaper be the background and base of the room, because it’s perfectly balanced in terms of the colours and pattern scale. All of the colours and designs intermingle like good friends, with nothing clashing or throwing things off in your home. And if you dare, choose a colour from the wallpaper and use it on the ceiling. Trust me, nothing can go wrong if you start from the wallpaper!”

A HERITAGE TO DYE FOR The inks we use for printing are completely water-based. We save leftover ink and reuse it for new colours. – All our production is conducted in our facilities in Viared outside Borås, from design to finished products.

BORASTAPETER.COM @BORASTAPETER

DREAMY CHILDREN’S ROOMS FOR FUN AND SLEEP

Transform the children’s room into a playful, cosy oasis with the aid of beautiful colours, patterned wallpaper, timeless furniture and soft textiles. Interior stylist Anna Starrén provides great advice on how to create fabulous children’s rooms where everyone feels at home. PHOTO Patrik Hagborg ART DIRECTOR Frida Hagman STYLING Anna Strarrén TEXT Therese Ahlström

FOTO Patrik Hagborg ART DIRECTOR Frida Hagman A hook rack is ideal storage forNewbie both clothes DESIGN & Boråstapeters Designstudio STYLING Anna Starrén and toys. Remember to place the rack at a suitable height for the child. The wall is decorated with Minou wallpaper.

Create a cosy den with the aid of some curtains or a bed canopy.

“Let the colours in the wallpaper reflect those of the furniture, textiles and furnishings to create a great, coherent feel.”

The stylist’s best tricks How to create cosy yet practical children’s room settings. • MAKE THE BEST USE OF SURFACES

Invest in good storage to make tidying toys, clothes and bits and pieces easy. Be sure to use all surfaces including walls and the ceiling. This will free up more space for play on the floor. • CHOOSE A COLOUR

Base your choice on a colour theme; it creates a great sense of consistency in the room and makes the furniture seem more coherent.

• RAISE THE COSINESS FACTOR

We’ve seen bed canopies in every shape, size and colour and they are truly fantastic for conjuring up magic in the children’s room. A big, glorious carpet also imparts a warm, cosy feel to the entire room – perfect for play and cosiness.

Create a coherent feel by letting colours from the wallpaper recur in the furniture. Here, things like bed textiles, lamps and the bulletin board are inspired by the wallpaper’s range of colours. Wallpaper Minou 7483.

is to invest in timeless furniture and keep it over the years even when you replace the wallpaper. This way you avoid replacing all of the children’s room furniture as the child grows. – You can find loads of high-quality furniture at flea markets. Paint and a little bit of creativity go a long way, says Anna Starrén. If it’s a small room, give some extra thought to storage space. Make the utmost use of walls and the ceiling to free up as much play space as possible on the floor. As the child gets older (and taller), shelving that reaches all the way to the ceiling can be a good idea. By investing in closed storage, multiple baskets and drawers, you can also easily create a room with a tidy, well ordered impression.

veryone has seen how more people are daring to express their own personality and go all the way in interior design. All the beautiful colours of the rainbow have moved in, and plain white walls have very quickly become things of the past. We’ve also begun to decorate every room in the home, including ceilings, with wallpaper patterns and unique motifs. Maybe it all began in the children’s room, for if there’s any place where creativity has free reign, then it’s without a doubt here. In the children’s room, we gladly mix floral wallpaper with equally floral bedding, and allow nature-inspired wallpaper to share the room with beautifully coloured furniture influenced by animal motifs that lead our thoughts to the land of fairytales. Stepping into a universe of wallpapers is like opening a creative treasure chest – one with endless possibilities for creating a fantasy world.

BASED ON THE CHILDS INTERESTS

Another key ingredient, according to Anna Starrén, is a coherent feel. This is where colour plays an important part. – Let the colours in the wallpaper reflect those of the furniture, textiles and other furnishings to create a great, coherent feel. Painted shelves, chests and upholstered furniture also add to the essential cosy factor. Another way of creating a central theme is to let a particular fabric recur often in the furnishings. Or choose a theme based on the child’s interests. Maybe they’re interested in space or animals – don’t be afraid to let the furniture reflect that. So what’s the most important thing to bear in mind for a really cosy children’s room? For Anna Starrén, the answer is simple: – Warm tones, cosy lighting and textiles of various kinds. And clever solutions with space for creativity and plenty of storage.

LET YOUR PERSONAL TASTE GUIDE YOU

How do we make the right choice and find a wallpaper that will stand the test of time? One thing to bear in mind is that the children’s room is not just a place for play, but also one for essential rest and recuperation. Tone-on-tone patterns and calming colours such as blue, green and muted pastels are usually better suited than loud colours and motifs. But most importantly, your own personal taste should guide your choice, according to interior stylist Anna Starrén. – I feel we shouldn’t overthink things when it comes to choosing wallpaper, just go with the flow! Choose a wallpaper that looks lovely and feels playful. One of the biggest challenges is how quickly children’s tastes change as they grow. No matter how timeless a wallpaper we choose, it may need changing after a couple of years. A good tip for decorating more sustainably

”Go with the flow, choose a wallpaper that looks lovely and feels playful!”

Find a wallpaper with the right feel by using samples in different patterns and colours. Here we see Forest Friends wallpaper.

Don’t be afraid to involve the child in the choice of wallpaper. Choose the initial samples yourself and allow the child to choose between them.

”To decorate more sustainably, invest in timeless furniture to keep over the years even when you replace the wallpaper.”

Diy tips! Save wallpaper scraps for artwork. You and your child can use them and old wallpaper samples to create artsy features. • COVER OLD SHOEBOXES or other boxes of various sizes to get good-looking, matching storage. • FRAME SCRAPS in various mismatched

frames. A fun way to transform old wallpaper scraps into beautiful pattern art.

• MAKE YOUR OWN PENNANTS in various sizes from old wallpaper scraps. A string of pennants enlivens and creates a playful feel in the children’s room. • MAKE CHILDREN’S BOOK COVERS

from wallpaper. The book covers will make a great eyecatcher and give the room a more uniform feel.

Shelving in similar tones to the wallpaper creates a lovely, coherent feel in the children’s room. Good-looking boxes with lids in different colours and patterns help achieve a creative, playful feel while also making it easy to keep the room tidy. The wallpaper is Forest Friends 7487.

• RENEW A CHEST by wallpapering the front or the inside of the drawers.

FUTURE CLASSICS WITH PERSONAL HISTORY PHOTO Patrik Hagborg, Lina Östling ART DIRECTOR Frida Hagman STYLING Anna Strarrén TEXT Jill Windahl DESIGN Hanna Werning, Linnea Andersson, Petra Börner

Daring and playful organic shapes with a unique, colourful style. For the Swedish Designers collection, designers Hanna Werning, Linnea Andersson and Petra Börner got to create wallpaper based on their personal histories. Meet the makers who discuss the process behind their patterns – made with both realism and whimsy.

A FLOURISHING FLOW

Magnificent foliage with lovely figs adorns the Figs wallpaper, whose sensual feel brings vibrant energy to the room. Designer Petra Börner created the original in multiple layers of paper, carving out the pattern with a scalpel. • 2060 FIGS. Dark green leaves and

deep blue figs on a black background lend a wonderful weightiness to the pattern. Available in four different colourways.

EXTRAORDINARY FAUNA

Vibrantly colourful exotic plants intermingle with flowers from a Swedish meadow in the Friviva wallpaper. This dynamic pattern with a rare mystique was designed by Hanna Werning, who is known for her magical botanical designs. • 2079 FRIVIVA. A warm palette of

pink, purple, blue, green and white on a subdued orange background. Available in four different colourways.

REFINED RHYTHM

In the graphic My Secret Garden wallpaper, stylised foliage is bolstered by a rhythmic design aesthetic. Artist Linnea Andersson lets the pattern flow in a balanced dance, maybe because she designed this wallpaper while listening to Depeche Mode? • 2073 MY SECRET GARDEN

A creamy white background and foliage in greenish-grey, printed with a variegated finish that softens the graphic style. Available in five different colourways.

HANNA WERNING

INTERWOVEN HISTORIES FRIVIVA, KVACKSTEPP, TURGRÄS, PANGSURR, ZINGKORRE

An exotic floral kingdom infused with fairytale enchantment. Designer Hanna Werning creates patterns with a rare mystique. In the Kvackstepp wallpaper, she draws us into dense vegetation with unusual amphibians, and in the floral Friviva pattern, she unites species from near and far.

tepping inside Hanna Werning’s studio on Malmgårdsvägen in Södermalm, Stockholm, is almost like entering an aquarium of inspiring shapes, colours and patterns. Before we even have a chance to introduce ourselves to one another, we are engaged in an enthusiastic discussion about imaginary worlds. Hanna describes her fascination with creative invention, and explains how it all began. – I grew up among ordinary row houses, so you really had to look around for things that made an impression. It began with playing with colours, and my mum’s drawers of comic books with silly titles, I think there was more magic in the things we saw then. As much as the brilliant world of fantasy inspires pattern ideas, exciting encounters provide inspiration as well. Encounters with the unexpected. – I don’t think I’ve ever had any directly unattainable dreams, instead, I try to see the magic in the mundane. I feel compelled to try new things, find new places and see things in new ways.

with a big do of ingenuity, her patterns are born. The names Hanna gives her wallpapers often contain a clue about her mindset during the design process. – The pattern names are composed of two words that freely reference the design, joined to form a single word that doesn’t already exist. The idea is that the name should be enough to explain the pattern. At the same time, it can be an entry point to look at the designs more closely, for the observer to come up with their own interpretation. THINGS IN CHANGE

Hanna is inspired by plant life – things that sprout and grow – but also by things that change. – It might be a movement, like when the wind blows or an animal creeps out. I like designs that you can return to and discover new details every time. I also like contrasts and opposites, and large and small elements at once, the true scale isn’t important to me. The things that nature creates fascinate me, and so do the things that people make within nature. As a child, I dreamt of writing stories, but now I draw them instead. During the course of the work, the creative process serves as mental haven of sorts. Hanna says that much of what is found in her patterns comes from pure intuition. It occurs then and there, while the process is underway. – The flat surface disappears; instead, this depth comes out to be dressed up in a fantasy. The content of a pattern doesn’t always come from a particular thought, it emerges like newly planted seeds in springtime. Then I weave together different flowers that I’ve created at different times and shape them into something completely new. A great example of how that can look in a finished wallpaper is the floral pattern Friviva.

LIKE A PUZZLE

At the heart of her 15 square-metre studio is the desk she made herself, an upcycled flea market find. She explains that the table was made the same way as her patterns. – I make a collage, that’s how I work. It isn’t clear from the beginning what a pattern will look like. I make a flower here and another there; it’s kind of like putting a puzzle together, she says, tracing her pen over her iPad to show the work process. Hanna is fascinated by physical places, she uses nature as a source of inspiration and is influenced by how flowers have been portrayed over time. She is equally fascinated by exciting encounters. From this, along 74

“I like large and small elements at once, the true scale isn’t important to me.”

HANNA WERNING Profession: Graphic designer. Age: 47. Lives in: Södermalm, Stockholm. Right now: Five new wallpaper patterns:

Friviva, Kvackstepp, Turgräs, Pangsurr and Zingkorre in the Swedish Designers collection.

LINNEA ANDERSSON Profession: Artist. Age: 32. Lives in: Gothenburg. Right now: Two new wallpaper patterns:

My Secret Garden and My Secret Garden Grand, in the Swedish Designers collection.

“You can tell if I overthink it, it doesn’t look natural.”

LINNEA ANDERSSON

ORGANIC FLOW MY SECRET GARDEN, MY SECRET GARDEN GRAND

Artist Linnea Andersson is known for her elegant foliage, which appears in her new wallpaper, My Secret Garden. In her studio in Gothenburg, she discusses the lines, the shape of the intermediate space, and the importance of always continuing to experiment.

ajorna is a Gothenburg neighbourhood situated beautifully between Slottsskogen Park and the Göta Älv river. The area has gone from a classic workers’ neighbourhood to a cultural hub with loads of restaurants. It is also home to Linnea Andersson’s studio, where she creates her patterns through experimentation. – I like this part of Majorna for the very reason that it’s so ugly. And the space is lovel, it’s not in tiptop shape but it has plenty of room, says Linnea Andersson, inviting us inside of her studio. Half concealed in the building, it may not look like much to the world from outside – but once you step in, it is something else entirely. Light streams in through big windows in a space that hosts several artists, each with their own corner for creativity. We understand just how much space there is upon seeing one of Linnea’s canvases with the familiar leaf shape. It is so big that it nearly takes up an entire wall of her work corner. Linnea emanates a simultaneous sense of calm and creativity, and she carefully considers each word. Demonstrating with her pastels, she explains that her creative process is an exploration. – I start with the line, and then see which way it wants to go. That’s the entire point to me: to see what happens, she says, her hand gliding expertly across the sketchpad. Linnea describes her work process as almost meditative. – I think it’s sort of the same feeling as going for a run. Your feet are working without thinking about it, you just do it. You can tell if I overthink it, it doesn’t look natural.

wallpaper pattern. It’s a mellow electronic album from 1982, cool but confident, which is something I see reflected in my patterns. It took several years before Linnea found her own style and felt secure with it. – I lived in Stockholm for a while; I did a graphic design internship, but I started to feel pretty over the work. At the same time, I felt kind of lost and went around thinking things like, ‘What am I going to be when I grow up, she explains. STARTED TO EXPERIMENT

After her internship, Linnea moved back to Gothenburg and took a little break from everything. – I started taking an art class where we got to make whatever we wanted, and we also had some guidance. That’s when I started to experiment and make what I thought was fun, sketch after sketch. I found something in the lines at that point, and I quickly realised that tension in the lines is important to me. And the space between is almost as important. That class is when her personal style was finally born, in addition to the leaf shape. With the My Secret Garden pattern, Linnea wanted to present a secret part of her own garden – a tucked-away place for recovery in the flourishing shade. My Secret Garden Grand contains an even greater desire to dare to take up space, both upwards and outwards. – My artistry revolves a lot around finding the courage to demand space – on a wall, in a context. I try to keep the form playful and fun, while it emerges elegantly like a snake with an agenda. Linnea rarely sketches, instead, the shapes emerge organically. She explains that the drawing process is like a fascinating study, like working in a laboratory. – I like to experiment all the time. It’s much more important for drawing to be exciting than for the final product to be beautiful. I work on intuition alone while creating, and that definition is fundamental.

MUSIC REFLECTED IN THE PATTERNS

She continues drawing the leaves silently, maximising the area of her sketchpad. – I’m often inspired by the music I’m listening to while drawing. I listened to Depeche Mode’s A Broken Frame constantly while I was working on this 77

PETRA BÖRNER

THE ATTRACTION OF CONTRASTS FIGS, FLORAL DREAM, HYPNOTIC SAFARI, MYRTLE

The interplay of opposites, delicate sensitivity facing off against a mighty energy. Petra Börner loves patterns with opposites that create an exciting sense of attraction. And that is precisely what plays out in her sensual wallpaper, Figs.

difficult to say. I hope the art can communicate that. Petra likes to work quickly and prefers working on lots of projects instead of a single thing for a long time. – I feel like there’s so much left unexplored that I want to develop. That makes the work fun, because it’s the actual process, not the result, that drives me. And you can always clear away what doesn’t feel right later.

he travel ban of the pandemic prevented an in-person meeting with artist Petra Börner, so we had a fascinating conversation on the phone instead. But it would have been exciting to visit her studio in her home city of London, where patterns intermingle with various art projects. Petra works in a wide array of materials, like ceramics and cut paper, even though painting is her great passion. Contrasts are also an important component of her patterns, and she explains that her Figs wallpaper is based largely on the interaction of opposites. The fruit of the fig tree symbolises diversity and innovative energy, while the leaf veils something sensual and uncomfortable. Working to develop new designs and colour palettes is enjoyable, but Petra never tries to analyse trends or think about what works best right now. – I don’t really know what’s popular. Instead, I go where my work takes me; it’s like I’m on my own island and I usually feel secure doing that. Petra almost always works on her own, from her own head, and has no idea what actually inspires her. – Honestly, it doesn’t work like that for me, I’m not someone who ‘finds inspiration’. Rather, it’s about an internal dialogue that I filter, breathe in my surroundings and work with the images that bubble up inside of me.

NEW CONTEXTS

Petra appreciates open collaboration and describes the Swedish Designers for Boråstapeter assignment as dynamic and fun. – It’s so exciting to see my patterns take shape in this new context, that they get to take up space in a new scale. Working on the collection was also rewarding during the practical production process. – A lot of new challenges arise when you’re working with handmade originals, placing them in pattern repeats with colours and colourways, but the goal is to retain the original feel. It’s been incredible to work with such a skilled team and to be able to trust the high quality that is sought throughout the process, in every wallpaper. Petra was born in Kalmar, but grew up in Skåne and has lived in London since the 90s, where she studied fashion and design, even though as a teenager she didn’t think you could make a living as an artist. – I ran a fashion company for years, but it was just tons of work without any creativity. I really missed art. Fashion just wasn’t my passion at all, even if I have always liked clothes and design. I always preferred drawing the garments over creating the collections, she says with a laugh. The more Petra worked, the better she understood what she really wanted to do. – I’ve always wanted to be an artist. And I’m happiest when I’m working on my own little island. The dream is to continue making my ceramics and to be able to sell my art.

NATURE AND THE BODY

The Hypnotic Safari pattern has psychedelic undertones in abstract form, where the eyes navigate a tropical landscape. Petra says the image marks the beginning of a new series of collages focused on the strength of cyclicality, what pushes our ecosystem. She often returns to bodies and nature, as in the wallpaper Floral Dream. In this design, the face is camouflaged by plant life and people are integrated into nature. – I’ve always been interested in drawing faces expressing things that are 78

PETRA BÖRNER Profession: Artist. Age: 47. Lives in: London. Right now: She has four new wallpaper patterns:

Figs, Floral Dream, Hypnotic Safari and Myrtle, in the Swedish Designers collection.

“It’s so exciting to see my patterns in new contexts, that they get to take shape and space in a new scale.”

Because this is where life happens. Amid the everyday chaos, And the quiet spaces to breathe. And if you listen very carefully, You might just hear me.

If walls could talk.

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