8 April 2025
When Was Wallpaper First Introduced and How It Has Changed Through The Centuries
Wallpaper kicked off way back in China. Around 200 BCE, during the Qin dynasty, people there stuck rice paper on walls. They painted it with cool designs- simple but neat. Europe didn’t hear about it for ages. Not until the 12th century, when paper-making sneaked west via the Silk Road.
The Chinese swapped rice for linen fibers later - smoother stuff for painting. By the 1400s, rich Europeans caught on. Fancy hand-painted sheets started popping up in big houses. Oscar Wilde, though, hated his wallpaper in a cheap Paris hotel room - he called it a “duel to the death.” No one saved that ugly thing after he died in 1900; it’s gone forever.
Printing
Makes It Big
Then the printing press shook things
up. Around 1509, Hugo Goes in York made the oldest surviving European
wallpaper - pomegranates in a damask style, block-printed. That’s when it started
getting cheaper. France jumped in by 1599 with “dominotiers” - wallpaper makers
for poor folks’ huts. Still, the rich kept their fancy tapestries.
The 1600s brought bolder vibes.
England copied French looks but added flair - think flowers or velvet bits.
Chinoiserie hit too—Chinese bird-and-flower designs that posh English homes
like Ightham Mote loved by 1752. The manufacturing was slow, all done by hand.
The
1700s: Fancy Gets Fancier
By the 18th century, wallpaper went
nuts. France ruled with Jean-Baptiste Réveillon’s wild designs—swans, fruits,
framed panels. Machines in 1785 sped it up—cheaper rolls for more people.
England taxed it in 1712, though - forging stamps could get you hanged by 1806!
Chinoiserie stayed hot - bright export
papers from China wowed Europe. Flocked wallpaper showed up too - wool bits on
glue, mimicking velvet since 1680. Walls turned into art—forests, battles,
whatever. Only the rich could splurge, though.
1800s:
Steam and Speed
Industrial Revolution time! Steam
machines in the mid-1800s cranked out paper fast. Middle-class homes got in on
it - Victorians loved dark, busy looks. William Morris pushed back, though—his
Arts & Crafts flowers and birds fought “vulgar” factory stuff. The trouble
was, his green dyes had arsenic—linked to child deaths in the 1860s.
Everyone
could afford wallpaper now - not just elites. Colors popped with new dyes—reds,
blues, crazy mixes. What about the peel and stick safari wallpaper? Nope, glue was the only way back
then. Designs got jungly - birds, vines, chaos.
Early
1900s: Simpler Vibes
The 20th century chilled things out.
Victorian clutter? People were over it. Art Nouveau brought curvy nature vibes,
and then the 1920s went geometrically and jazzily. Wars slowed production—and money
got tight. Post-war? Boom! Mid-century modern hit—funky shapes, bright hues.
Regular homes everywhere had it now.
No more “rich only” rule. Designs slimmed down—less wild, and sleeker. Still,
some kept the old floral game going.
Late
1900s: Wild and Free
The 1970s exploded - think orange,
green, psychedelic overload. Wallpaper went everywhere—kitchens, even
bathrooms. The ‘80s loved country stuff—roosters, plaid. By the ‘90s, paint
took over—wallpaper faded a bit.
Modernism liked bare walls - less
fuss. But it hung on, just quieter. People still slapped it up—just not as
loud.
Today:
Back and Better
Now, wallpaper’s back, big time.
Digital printing means anything goes - custom looks, fast. Self-adhesive stuff
like these laundry room wallpaper ideas makes it easy - stripes or dots, no
mess. Luxury brands - Hermes, and Versace - jumped in too.
Old meets new = vintage florals or
slick lines. Textures rock—fake brick, metallic shines. Zuber’s panoramas, like
a £24,000 American Independence one, scream fancy. Eco-friendly papers? Yes,
green’s in.
How
It’s Changed Forever
Wallpaper’s trip is wild. From
China’s rice sheets to today’s techy rolls, it’s flipped tons. It started
elite = handmade, pricey. Then machines made it for all. Styles swung—simple,
crazy, back to chill.
What’s next? Maybe glow-in-the-dark walls! It keeps evolving—never stuck. Walls today are way cooler than paint, thanks to the wallpaper’s long, twisty story.
