The Washerwoman

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Vintage wallpaper. Another passion of mine...



 All these images have one thing in common. They may look like pictures or prints, but are in fact all wallpaper designs. The first 2 images are from a Crown design of the 1950's. It was a time when travel to Europe was becoming popular, so what better way to remember your holiday to Italy, Spain or France than to have wallpaper as a constant reminder!


 These next two images are called Illana, and are made in England by Shand Kydd Ltd. I love the soft colours in this one, and it is in wonderful condition considering it is over 50 years old.




 These cowboys and Indians were the bedroom wallpaper of one of my customers. I am not sure how we got around to chatting about wallpapers, but he kindly sent me these images when I said that I would like to do a blog post on wallpapers....



 Boats seem to be a common theme around this time, and I have used some of this design to decorate the front of a painted cupboard in our bathroom. This roll is made by Crown, but doesn't have a design name. It is also apparently washable and "steam resistant", so might be from the 60's rather than the 50's.

18 comments:

Vintage Tea Time said...

They're very evocative! I see now where Cath Kidston got her inspiration for cowboy prints! When we moved here, we stripped several rooms back - lovely to see all the layers of old wallpaper! Have a good week. Abby x

ted and bunny said...

when I was having my website built I was chatting to the young (actually I think he was only a child!) designer about vintage textiles and wallpaper.

It wasn't til afterwards that he told me he had no idea what a "textile" was, and only knew that wallpaper was the backing for a webpage.
He did however say that he knew VINTAGE meant the 1980s...!!
Hmmmmmmmmm...

xx

Marigold Jam said...

What a trip down memory lane and how the name Shand Kidd evoked times past! Lovely designs although not perhaps for more than one wall!

Sal said...

They are all lovely! I wonder if they did matching fabrics? ;-) x

Used-to-Bees said...

Fantastic wallpapers- so detailed. The wallpaper manufacturers should do some re-issues - they'd be sure to be popular!

karen vallerius said...

Lovely wallpapers, make me think of Cath Kidston designs!

Hesta Nesta said...

What fantastic vintage wallpaper, I particularly love the second one, Illana.
Jo xx

Deborah said...

I really enjoy your blog. And I LOVE the wallpaper. I can see why it is a passion. Miss Luella (ostiebug@yahoo.com)

The Vintage Knitter said...

Some lovely wallpapers, but I especially like the boats; you can see where Cath Kidston gets her influences from. As for me, I have a particular affection for vintage bathroom wallpaper with flamingoes on!

Trixie@ the vintage bothy said...

another thing we have in common Lizzie, I love the one that looks like it is on "Frenchmans Creek".
T x

BusyLizzie said...

Thank you for all your great comments.. apart from ted & Bunny as you are really scaring me!!!!

BusyLizzie said...

Hi Deborah, thank you for your comment. So pleased to hear that you enjoy my blog. Best wishes, Lizzie

RDA Pony Tales said...

The sailing boats wallpaper is indeed from the 60's as it was the very wallpaper I looked at while having a bath when I was little.
My father sailed international 14 boats which is why my mother bought the wallpaper but sadly he died when I was still young.
Mixed emotions seeing the wallpaper again but I am still glad to have seen it...
so thank you! Abby x

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

Ditto.. love vintage wallpaper.. The colours and artwork was superb. My late uncle had a hardware shop in the 50's & 60's.and would give us rolls of the stuff.. I particularly remember The Beatles rolls of paper. Oh what ever happened to those!?
Lino is another thing to love.. some of those old 40's designs were fab.
Michele x

BusyLizzie said...

thank you Michele.. ah yes, lino.. i have a small collection of that too! I can feel another blog post coming on! xx

Niki Fretwell said...

Hi Liz,
Aren't the old wallpapers completely bonkers? If you haven't lived through those eras, I'm not sure anyone could comprehend having a whole room done out in one, given that we are far more sophisticated these days and only go for a 'feature wall'!
I remember my 70's bedroom being wall-to-wall jungle! What a theme to wake up to every morning :)
(My bro had football players kicking footballs all over his walls!)

Loved Elaine's comment - so funny.

Have a great weekend,
Niki x

Kitsch and Curious said...

Don't know how I missed this post. Fab, fab wallpapers. I love them too. I'm a bit freaked out by realising that remembering this sort of thing makes me officially old....

Kylie said...

I absolutely love these wallpapers...thank you so very much for sharing them...I've just discovered your lovely blog, think I'd better follow it too.