In our last blog post we introduced you to Alcro, a Swedish paint manufacturer who we believe make the longest lasting and most eco-friendly exterior paint on the market.

In this blog post we’d like to tell you about their Bestå façade system which you can use on sheds, beach huts, fences, in fact most exterior wood as well as wooden house facades (which they have a lot of Sweden).

Alcro Bestå is a three coat system designed to withstand the Swedish weather for up to 15 years. Which is an extremely long time bearing in mind the sort of weather they get in Sweden.

Here’s how it works.

Step 1

Firstly we need to apply a coat of Bestå Grundolja which is water borne alkyd oil that deeply penetrates the wood and helps repel water and protects against decay, fungus, mildew and blue stain. Once you’ve applied that – leave it 30 minutes and go on to step 2

Step 2

Now we open our tin of Bestå Grundfärg or what we call primer. Again this is a water based alkyd paint that also penetrates the wood and provides an excellent protective surface for the top coat to adhere to. This is going to take several hours to dry so have your tea and a good night’s sleep and the next day you’ll be ready for step 3, the final step.

Step 3

Bestå Täckfärg. This is the final coat in a range of colours. This paint is a special acrylic that provides complete moisture protection and excellent colour and gloss retention. It also has an elasticity which allows it to withstand wood movement as well as changes in humidity and temperature.

Now that is the job done. You can enjoy your shed, fence or whatever without stressing about what damage the weather is going to do to it. Well for 15 years anyway.

Alcro is a Swedish brand of paint makers. You’ve probably never heard of them but they are big over there.

So let’s start with a couple of facts about them. They started making paint over 100 years ago and they have more eco labelled products than any other paint manufacturer. Great, but lots of paints are eco-friendly and a lot of manufacturers have been around longer than that.

So why do we think Alcro is so special?

To understand that we need to take a look at the climate in Sweden. You may think that Britain’s weather is pretty variable but it’s not in the same league as Sweden’s.

In July you might get a nice 17 degrees centigrade but in Winter you’ll be putting on about 8 layers of clothes because its minus 30 outside. In the North snow covers the ground from October to April and in Winter most of the country is icebound.

So why the interest in the Sweden’s weather? Simple.

To protect exterior wood from that sort of climate – the paint you use has got to be a bit special. And Alcro have developed a range of exterior paints that protect all types of wood for up to 15 years. And that’s based on the Swedish climate not ours.

That’s why we recommend Alcro for exterior wood. The colours are great too.

Take a look at the complete range of Alcro products here.

Alcro Exterior Paint Colour Range

Fired Earth - Paint Collection

There are lots of design companies who multi task; most of the fabric houses also do wallpaper and then perhaps branch out into furniture and/or accessories. Fired Earth is no exception. Well known on the high street for their tile range and kitchens, they also offer several paint collections.

Their National Trust palette, Kevin McCloud’s Colour and Mid Century ranges have been on the market some time and are well advertised. This season though, they have another palette to add: The Paint Collection.  It is a range of 36 shades, statement and accent colours which they say are inspired by their trips around the world.

As befits most ‘designer’ products they have eclectic names which don’t necessarily tell you anything

about the colour, – ‘First Date’ and ‘Cleopatras Nose’ being some of them – but the description tells you

Fired Earth - First Date

a lovely story behind each name (First Date represents the light blush of a teen on a first date…) Incidentally, this is the only paint collection I know of with a paint colour to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee. A lovely, rich shade of blue aptly named ‘Jubilee’.

I think this is a really user friendly collection. It comes in the standard wall, wood and exterior finishes which means you can also continue your design theme out into the garden. The Super Eggshell is ok for exterior wood work if it has been suitably primed. The

shades are varied and have more colour than some other paint companies, with only 3 or 4 variations on white!  However, the shades which build up into the strong colours are beautiful, such as ‘Pier Point’, ‘Modernist White’ & ‘Key Chain’. These are perfect for adding depth to a room – you can do walls, woodwork, shelving, furniture etc all in a different complimentary shade which can look fabulous.

Fired Earth - Jubilee Blue

With only 36 colours (and ‘colour’ being the operative word) you might struggle to find the right shade, but by mixing and matching with shades in their other collections,you’d be hard pushed to not find something that works for you.

Personally, I find it refreshing to see a new collection which is a bit different, and whilst it is unusual to see actual colours, they  are subtle in tone and very usable. Plus, it is bang on trend at the moment to use a pop of colour to freshen up a room. I love ‘Hustle at 5pm’ and ‘Mrs Booth’.

All in all, ‘The Paint Collection’ is exactly that – a collection of paint which will enhance any home for years to come.

See you all soon!

Fired Earth - Mrs Booth

Holly Pagani,

Interior Designer and Owner of Salt Interiors, Norwich.

Don’t forget you can follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

For our latest blog post we return to Edd Bullinger, the former Fine Art Student at the Norwich University College of the Arts (NUCA) who now is eking out a career actually designing bespoke wallpaper for individual clients.

We found his last blog post so interesting we asked him to explain the whole ‘production’ process. Production may be

Edd Bullinger Wall Paper Border - Hand Printed

too harder word for it because the printing of the design onto the paper is all done by hand.

Let’s take a wallpaper border by way of an example.

Edd will first agree the designs with the client following a meeting or several meetings with the client. Edd will sketch up the design and once this has been agreed Edd finalises the design ready for a stencil maker.

The client has to be happy with the fact that as the border will be handmade, there will be some ‘natural’ variation and in many ways this is the charm of bespoke wallpaper designs and what makes them so very unique.

Once the stencils are cut they are returned to Edd for the actual printing process. Many stencils may be needed to produce the final design.

Each colour has to be applied individually and allowed to dry before the next design is overlayed. There is considerable skill required to ensure that there is no or minimal blurring. The final product needs to be as precise and crisp as possible.

By using stencils any colour scheme can be applied, what we call these days ‘colour ways’.

Wallpaper makers of 300 years ago would have followed exactly the same process.

The example seen above is an elegant neoclassical design of Edd’s that we featured last time.

But the same process would have been applied to the likes of Morris and Co’s Merton wallpaper or Trellis with colours being overlayed using the stencil’s until the finished article is produced.

Another example would be their very intricate but single coloured Brer Rabbit or even Farrow and Ball’s Lotus range.

Cole and Son are very proud of their history of handmade wallpaper, dating back to 1875.

Their website tells us that they now have an archive boasting around 1,800 bloc print designs, 350 screen print designs and a vast array of original drawings and wallpapers using styles from the last three centuries.  Including designs that now adorn the walls of Buckingham Palace and the White House.

With such care and craftsmanship going into each square inch of these and Edd’s designs – you really don’t want to be hanging it the wrong way up!

You can get in touch with Edd by emailing him at edwardbullinger@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks from everyone at Paint and Paper. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

So Spring is here (or just around the corner) and the great outdoors is calling….

If you love flowers but are not green fingered then the new Sanderson Wallpaper collection is for you. It is called Colour for Living and showcases some gorgeous prints and colours. There is something for everyone – bold bright poppies, vintage bell flowers and simple, modern cow parsley as well as a couple of landscapes.

‘Poppies’ and ‘Imari’ are big, blousy prints which come in a wide range of colours from soft pastels to primary brights. Both ends of the spectrum are beautifully represented without hard lines or being overpowering. Either of these papers would look fabulous in a bedroom or sunny living room.  The large scale of these patterns means even the smallest wall or chimney breast will make a statement.

Sanderson Wallpaper - Bellflower

‘Bellflower’ is an abstract, stencilled pattern with multi colours in each one. It has much more of a retro feel than any of the others in this collection. With 5 colour shades in each colorway there is no problem matching paints and fabrics, although this is such a strong and large design, keeping everything else simple would be advisable.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is ‘Anise’ which is a gorgeous line drawing of Cow Parsley in beautifully muted, powdery palettes. This would be so pretty in a dark hallway or guest bedroom and Summer would always feel close. Cow Parsley is instantly recognisable and one of the few flowers everyone knows which will make this a classic print. Cole & Son also do a Cow Parsley print which is much bigger in scale, but the colours are great – hot pink & charcoal, sunshine yellow & white and monochrome. It’s one of my favourites and always creates a stir of interest.

If scenery is what you are after then ‘Aspen’ or ‘St Ives’ will be for you. The former is a sketch style drawing of woodland in 4 colourways with a vaguely 30’s feel. Three are soft pretty pastels and one is a very dramatic black & metallic, which is not for the fainthearted.

Sanderson Wallpaper - St Ives

St Ives is a very clever street landscape of St Ives – not architecturally accurate I don’t think, but lovely all the same. This would be great in a small loo or cloakroom or somewhere where you don’t want anything too serious. I can imagine using this at the top of a staircase or even on one wall in a kitchen. If you’ve ever been to Cornwall or love the British seaside, then this will definitely appeal.  If you prefer a hotter climate, Cole & Son’s ‘Mediterranea’ is in the same style but the houses have a distinctly Greek feel.

Any of these wallpaper will keep Spring & Summer in the house all year round.

See you all soon!

Holly Pagani,

Interior Designer and Owner of Salt Interiors, Norwich.

Don’t forget you can follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

Edd Bullinger Wall Paper Border - Hand Printed

Our latest blog post spot lights Edd Bullinger. Edd is a former Fine Art student and graduated from the Norwich University College of the Arts  (NUCA) in 2011. It was during his time at University that he first gained an interest in wallpaper design.

With so many designs available on the market today you would think that it would be easy to find something suitable for virtually any room, in any house. But there is still a market for bespoke, tailor made wall coverings. Just as there was hundreds of years ago when the owners of stately homes would commission the likes of William Morris to design original and bespoke wall coverings for them.

This is what Edd has been doing and we feature one of his designs here. This particular design is loosely based on a classic Gothic style and uses a variety of interlocking colours to match those around it.  The rooms walls that comprise Edd’s distinctively designed wallpaper are situated in a Georgian-style house in the middle of the North Norfolk countryside; an environment that Edd has managed to blend his composition into seamlessly.

Edd always designs from scratch using his design skills, imagination and the brief from the client. The results can range from the very simple to the very complicated and flamboyant. Either way, the design is absolutely unique and a complete one off.

Once the design is agreed, the next step is to get the design actually manufactured. To do this Edd will send off the designs to a stencil company to have the design produced into workable template that he can paint on. It is then hand printed. Having wallpaper designed solely for yourself is an expensive business. But the end results can be stunning: as you can see from these pictures.

Alternatively, many premium wallpaper manufacturers like Cole and Son, Morris and Co and Farrow and Ball are using

Farrow and Ball Wallpaper - Ranelagh

the designs from the past, the designs you see on the walls of stately homes and reproducing them for more general usage.

Take a look at Farrow and Ball’s Ranalagh range which is a adaption of an elegant neoclassical design. Or Cole’s Banbury collection. Here Cole and Son have revisited their archive (which dates back more than 300 years by the way) to create a collection that encompasses elements of classical design such as trellises and flowers. Cole have then used contemporary colours to give a modern, fresh feel.

So there you have it – many of the wallpapers we stock are borne out of the past. So you can put a little bit of history on your walls. Or create your own history with Edd.

You can get in touch with Edd by emailing him at edwardbullinger@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks from everyone at Paint and Paper. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Cole and Son Wallpaper - Riflesso

I said last time that ‘Home is where the Heart is’, but with Valentine’s Day in mind, Home isn’t always where the love starts…

Restaurants, Bars, Hotels &, B&B’s are often the places where people go to escape the humdrum of their daily life. More often than not (and especially this month) we go out to find a new love or re- light an old one. Whatever the reason, on the whole we expect to find something better than at home.  We want something fabulous or even extraordinary maybe. Comfortable, definitely.  We’re looking for something special.

A show piece wallpaper is always a talking point. Cole & Son, in my opinion, provide some of the very best.  I have used several from their collection for a local Boutique B& B, 38 St Giles, and they always get a fantastic response. If you want to see one without checking in, take a peek into their exterior entrance hall from the pavement on St Giles Street, and you will see ‘Riflesso’ from their Fornasetti Collection looking spectacular. It’s a little teaser for what’s inside. Some of the The Fornasetti Collection wallpapers are now discontinued but have a look at their Archive and Frontier collections. They are amazing.

Cole and Son Wallpaper - Woods

If any of you have been upstairs at the Mad Moose you will have seen another gorgeous print from Cole & Son in the shape of ‘Woods’. I used the cream one and also the splendid metallic one which is particularly effective at night. Both of these are on quite a big wall, but they don’t have to be. They are also in the loos and look just as fabulous. In fact, I would suggest that small loos and guest bedrooms are the perfect place to be a little bit over the top with the decor. Trying to re-create the same feeling at home isn’t always a good thing – something which looks fabulous after a bottle of vino and lit by candles won’t always look so great first thing in the morning. Also, the point of being a bit ‘wow’ in a hotel or bar is that it is appreciated for a few hours, not all day, every day.  Besides which, if your home was like a hotel you’d never go away!

Having said that, don’t be afraid of using big, bold show stopping wallpapers or fabrics. As I said Cole & Son do some excellent wallpapers, but so do Osborne & Little, Farrow & Ball and Nina Campbell to name a few. It’s actually just good fun to browse through some of the wallpapers. The designs are amazing.

Just think carefully where you will put them.  And how often you will be prepared to re-decorate…

Holly, Salt Interior Design, Norwich

Farrow and Ball colour card

Over the last 18 months, interior design hasn’t really been a priority for many people – it can be considered a bit of a luxury item.

Whilst the economy has been struggling people have taken a different approach and rather than chuck everything out and re-do entire rooms, they have tried to improve what they already have and added new bits here and there.

This ‘make do & mend’ mentality has filtered through to the paper and textile designers and we are starting to see a mixture of old school colours mixed with bold flashes of pattern & colour here and there.  Farrow & Ball’s predictions for colour trends in 2012 reference nostalgic, subdued tones like Pigeon, Brassica and Railings but with pops of colour like the vibrant yellow Babouche and the warm red tones of Incarnadine .

This suggests that whilst we are yearning for the comfort, safety and the nostalgia of our childhoods, there is also a hint of positivity & fun, a light at the end of the tunnel. The interior design equivalent of comfort food.

Osborne & Little released a new collection at the end of last year called Kinloch, which is a group of warm cosy wools in tartans and stripes in all the soft gentle shades that Farrow & Ball talk about. Imagine a really cosy log cabin with roaring log fire and this collection works a treat. In contrast, they also released Komodo wallpapers which, although retaining the slightly subdued palette also has glamour and glitz with sparkling lizards and holographic patterns. It’s definitely a bit tongue in cheek. Just one small wall in any of these would cheer up any space. Likewise, one or two cushions or a small roman blind in the wool would feel like a warm hug just when you need it.

Sanderson wall paper, inspired by Bloomsbury

Sanderson have also followed this new trend with Bloomsbury Prints – a throwback to the 80’s with bright flashes of colour, large patterns and a general ‘up’ feeling throughout. If you wanted to use these, then only the brave hearted would try and match the paint colours. I would strongly suggest sticking to a neutral paint palette and letting the fabric do the talking. Paint & Paper Library have wonderful soft shades in Sand, Stone, Leather and Clay which all make rooms feel bright and warm without being obvious. If you really can’t resist, then maybe just a small wall, a fireplace or nook in one of the new shades would look fabulous and then enhance it with cushions, pictures (or even framed wallpaper) and throws. Or one or two walls  (a whole room maybe?) in one of their wallpapers, and some low key plain fabrics everywhere else.

Ultimately, home is where the heart is, and regardless of your budget try and show who you are. Your home reflects your personality and won’t (and shouldn’t) be something that never changes. Have a look around you and dig out those paint brushes.

As for me, I’m looking to find something that I can paint in Babouche – summer is coming early.

Holly.

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