Most Download Wallpapers
Mozell Rhule
We have top wallpaper designs to suit every type of room, from living rooms to home offices. The diverse range of patterns and colours in this collection gives you an idea of the quality of our top wallpaper designs. Our collection of popular wallpapers lend themselves to the most contemporary and most traditional of homes, with something for everyone included in the extensive collection. Whether you prefer a luxurious marble effect or modern geometric shapes, filter your search by theme or colour to find a best-seller wallpaper design that matches your taste. Our wallpapers are easy to paste to the wall for quick application.
Originating in the 16th century, the earliest wallpapers were used to decorate the insides of cupboards and smaller rooms in merchants' houses rather than the grand houses of the aristocracy. But by the beginning of the 20th century, it was being used everywhere, in hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms as well as reception rooms, and was popular in both the wealthiest and poorest homes. Yet, it was this very popularity that led to wallpaper being regarded as the poor relation of the decorative arts.
Technical improvements in the block-printing process meant that by the middle of the 18th century patterns could be printed in many colours and styles and the wallpaper industry in Britain flourished. As a result, it attracted the attention of the Excise Office who saw in wallpaper a potentially rich new source of revenue. A tax of 1d (0.75p) per yard was levied in 1712, rising to 1.5d (1p) in 1714 and 1.75d (1.25p) in 1777. These taxes inevitably led to increased prices and encouraged manufacturers to focus on more expensive wallpapers. Despite this, demand remained high and elegantly coloured patterns were sold by fashionable upholsterers like Thomas Chippendale.
The period was also particularly rich and inventive in terms of design. Floral patterns containing finely-coloured roses and carnations were most popular but architectural and landscape scenes were also admired. A paper from Doddington Hall contains framed figures and landscapes interspersed with flowers and insects, and the bright blues and pinks remind us that 18th-century interiors were often decorated in vivid colours. The idea of a wallpaper incorporating pictures within frames was inspired by the fashion for rooms decorated with prints cut out and pasted directly on to the wall, known as Print Rooms, that were pioneered by collectors such as Horace Walpole.
Most flock patterns were copied from textiles and imitated the appearance of cut velvets and silk damasks. Flock wallpapers were made with powdered wool, a waste product of the woollen industry, which was shaken over a fabric prepared with a design printed in varnish or size (a substance similar to glue). The powdered wool formed a rich pile that stuck to those areas covered by the design. At first, flock was applied to canvas or linen, but in 1634 Jerome Lanier, a Huguenot refugee working in London, patented a method by which the coloured wools could be applied to painted paper, and by the end of the 17th century flock wallpapers, as we know them, had appeared. They quickly became extremely fashionable. Their ability to accurately imitate textiles, at a time when it was customary to cover walls with fabric, was greatly admired, as was their cheaper price. Flock papers also had the added advantage of repelling moths due to turpentine used in the adhesive. A particularly magnificent example, featuring a large damask design of crimson flock on a deep pink background, was hung in the Privy Council offices, Whitehall, around 1735, and in the Queen's Drawing Room in Hampton Court Palace. By the third quarter of the 18th century there was hardly a country house in England that did not have at least one room decorated in a similar fashion.
An even more expensive decoration were the wallpapers made in China that first appeared in London in the late 17th century as part of a larger trade in Chinese lacquer, porcelain and silks. They rapidly came to dominate the market for luxury wall coverings for the next hundred years. Unlike European wallpapers, Chinese papers were painted, not printed, and featured large-scale, non-repeating pictorial scenes. Every set of papers was individually composed but the designs tended to fall into two groups. The first depicted the occupations and activities of Chinese life, while the second represented an assortment of exotic plants and birds, elegantly balanced in a landscape of shrubs and trees, that covered the walls of an entire room. Ironically, the Chinese did not use wallpapers themselves and their products were made exclusively for export. The accuracy and sophistication of their colours, and the naturalism and detail of their designs set new standards of excellence in wallpaper manufacture and established it as a luxury decoration much sought after. However, such was their reputation that before long European manufacturers were producing printed and hand-coloured imitations.
The 1920s and 1930s were boom years for the wallpaper industry in Britain and production rose from 50 million rolls in 1900 to nearly 100 million rolls in 1939, with most of the activity concentrated at the cheaper end of the market. While traditional stylised leaf and flower patterns continued to be widespread, patterns influenced by modern art and popular culture also appeared. Brightly-coloured, zig-zag, jazz designs vied with Cubist-style motifs in more design-conscious homes while Oriental subjects proved popular with customers seeking novelty. Arabian themes were inspired by the success of films like The Sheik (1922); Chinese patterns were indebted to books like Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu series; and the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922 led to a brief craze for Egyptian motifs. Cut-out borders and decorative panels, featuring geometric or floral patterns were combined with lightly embossed, plain or semi-plain backgrounds. The 'Good Design' movement of the 1950s favoured less fussy effects. It encouraged the use of flat, linear patterns and abstract geometric motifs, only to see them replaced by an explosion of bright colour and hallucinogenic Op and Pop designs in the 1960s. New products and new processes coincided with the growth of do-it-yourself (DIY) and in 1961 the first pre-trimmed and ready-pasted papers appeared, quickly followed by laminated papers, metallic finishes, and then tough, scrubbable vinyl wallpapers.
The botanical garden theme brings together the most beautiful indigenous and foreign plant species. Rare and very old varieties can also feature. These types of wallpaper motifs are very suitable for romantic green looks.
Lush palm trees in a plethora of shades of green, in gold or black-and-white adorn many stunning botanical wallpapers. Palm fronds are also often found in symmetrical or freely associated arrangements, which add a beautiful exoticism to the room.
Certain tropical plant and palm species are characterised by gigantic leaves, which as a botanical wallpaper pattern motif represent a lush green abundance. Anthurium, monstera, oleander, and philodendron are just a few beautiful examples of these mostly large-scale elements.
An instantly recognisable characteristic of tropical jungle plants is their wild and (practically interlocking) growth. All plants are almost interlinked, so that they form paths and bridges as well as providing camouflage for the animals and creatures of the jungle. In terms of botanical wallpaper, climbing lianas, mangroves, carnivorous plants or bromeliads are all present.
Tropical plants and leaves are perfect for large-scale motifs as this reflects their true size in nature. Fern fronds in extravagant colours such as copper, silver or gold-rosé are also shown to their best advantage in larger sizes. Tree details can be depicted almost true to scale.
If you think that green might be the most obvious choice for botanical wallpaper, you are of course right. But black-and-white, gold, blue, black and grey are also fabulous colours for private, commercial and public spaces.
Green is the symbolic (and real) colour of nature and stands for growth and new beginnings. In Botany wallpapers, green shades from light to dark are a main feature. Dark green, yellow-green and blue-green are the most popular hues for botanical wallpaper.
When The Ecology Center last did a study of the 11 leading wallpaper brands, they found that almost all of them contained PVC, and half of them contained other major chemicals of concern, including metals and toxic flame retardants.
Personally, I would stick to light to medium-weight paper-backed wallpaper that is not coated with vinyl. These wallpapers are breathable, less toxic than other options, and can be hung with a simple non-toxic paste below. Just check with the company to be sure. Many non-woven wallpapers can also be applied with the basic paste.
If buying a house that already has most walls covered in wallpaper and many floors are carpeted, how many years since they were originally installed would it normally take to be considered out-gassed? Thank you!
Superior Installation: Most knowledgeable and experienced installers prefer to trim their own selvage edges. It provides them with more control when matching the wallpaper seams. Are you working with an installer who does not like to work with untrimmed wallpapers? This likely means that they lack experience with untrimmed wallpapers. Check in with the WIA, your designer, or Thatcher, to find an installer with experience with untrimmed wallpapers.
Damage Prevention: The most common way a roll of wallpaper is damaged prior to installation is by being dropped on its end. When a roll of wallpaper is dropped on its end, the paper gets smashed and it can ruin the roll. This risk is significantly reduced with an untrimmed roll, since a damaged end is simply trimmed and discarded.
Table Trimming: This is the process of laying out the wallpaper along a horizontal flat work surface (such as a table) and trimming the selvage edges off using a sharp razor prior to hanging. We recommend this method for most installations, because it is considered less risky.
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