When self-building, one of the first casualties of an over-stretched budget is often the decor. Jo and Shaun's wallpaper is a case in point. Originally, Jo had planned to use hand printed Victorian style wallpaper, but at £370 per roll it was sacrificed once finances became stretched.
Hand printed wallpaper is created in layers, so you get more depth and more colour than on standard wallpaper. Very few designers are still printing wallpaper by hand. Amongst the ones who are, some are using traditional, old-fashioned techniques to create cutting edge designs. But why use these seemingly outdated methods?
'The colours can be so much stronger and so much more solid; I can also incorporate different surfaces so I can add metallic foils, I can have flock put into it and it can really build up to have a much stronger life to it, rather than a digital print when it can look quite flat', explains wallpaper design purist Linda Florence. Her passion for authenticity and depth is confirmed when she reveals how time-intensive the process is.
'It'll take me at least a day to set up just the screens, plus the time to make each screen and then at a push I could print a couple of rolls in a day.' With prices starting at just £200 per roll, it's never going to make Linda a millionaire, but she loves producing art simply for art's sake.
That's how you should think of hand-printed wallpaper: consider it a work of art because that's what it is. It'll also help you to justify the price tag to disbelieving partners and family members!
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