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INSPIRATION

The Eco Credentials of Our Wallpaper

Whatever your scheme, go green 

In our House, we don’t play by the rules. We challenge convention and incite positive change. And we’re not just talking about our irreverent prints - but the very way our wallpaper is made.

Each roll is crafted at a little factory at the forefront of sustainability. One that sources its wood pulp from young trees, not ancient ones, grown purposefully in a forest managed to the FSC’s standards. One that prints our PVC-free creations in small, made to order batches to avoid unnecessary waste, before ingeniously powering its machinery with recycled energy generated from the off-cuts. The result is some of the most eco-friendly wallpaper produced in the world.

And to keep the kindness rolling; for each roll sold, House of Hackney purchase and protect 35 square metres of forest, thanks to our partnership with the World Land Trust, the international conservation charity that safeguards our most vital natural ecosystems and threatened habitats, acre by acre.

Just as we’re always looking for innovative ways of saving the planet, the imaginative ways of wallpapering your world really are endless. Got leftover wallpaper scraps? Try lining your drawers to introduce an extra pop of print into your home. Or why not save it for a special occasion? Transform your cut-offs into wrapping paper and coordinate your gifts with your interior.

Are the edges of your floor coverings whipped or bound?

The edges of our rugs are not whipped. Your professional carpet fitter will be able to whip the edges of your chosen carpet if necessary. The sides of our runners do not require finishing (in fact, our runners are designed so as to be more aesthetically pleasing without whipped edges), but we can provide runners with finished ends at the top and bottom – this would only be necessary if the runner is not going to be fitted, i.e. it is to be used as a hallway rug.

Do your floor coverings come with a gurantee or warrantee?

Each design is guaranteed to last for up to 25 years, thanks to that aforementioned combination of expert craftsmanship and the finest British wool. For all its beauty and superbly soft texture, wool is also incredibly durable and hardwearing. The fibre’s crimped structure gives it an inherent spring and elasticity – meaning that wool floor coverings can resist indentations left by furniture and retain their beauty for years to come.

Printed in England by family-run factories in areas where the textile trade goes back generations, our fabrics are made using environmentally friendly methods and materials. And, by recovering the furniture you already own, you too can play a part in protecting the environment – saving timeworn pieces from winding up in landfill, where 627,000 tonnes of discarded designs (the equivalent of 4.2 million sofas) find themselves each year.

Read on to discover more about reupholstering (a task for which we always recommend a skilled professional, unless you’re a dab hand at DIY – our Customer Services team will be able to point you in the right direction).

Spotted another window of opportunity for your favourite House of Hackney fabric? Our online made-to-measure service makes it incredibly easy to create your dream curtains or blinds: simply enter a few details and our expert craftsmen will get to work, whipping up wondrous window coverings especially for you.

What if the walls are old or slightly curved?

We recommend a technique called “wallpaper stitching” to ensure a perfect finish.

Simply follow our step-by-step guide as usual, ensuring the room is cool and well-aired to prevent the wallpaper from shrinking.

Next, reach for some low-tack painter’s masking tape (we recommend FrogTape Yellow for delicate surfaces – just avoid using masking tape as this could damage the protective finish of your wallpaper).

Apply approx. 15cm of the tape across the seams (every 30 – 40cm) to keep them held together. Wait 24 hours for the adhesive paste applied behind your wallpaper to air-dry, then use a hairdryer or a sponge/soft cloth with a little hot water to gently go over the tape – this makes its glue dissolve, so the tape can then peel off more easily. 

By keeping the seams tightly together, this technique prevents them from opening up when the paper dries. As well as old walls with uneven, bumpy surfaces, “wallpaper stitching” works well on dark wallpaper and the designs in our ‘Climbing Walls’ collection – preventing any white edges of the wallpaper from showing between the solid block-colour backdrops.

How do I wallpaper the corners of a room?

For internal corners, start by pasting the wall into the corner and a little way around. Match up the left edge of the wallpaper and brush it into the corner and around it. It may be that the corner is not perfectly vertical – you’ll only need to go around the corner with the paper by approx. 2-3cm or until the wall is vertical again.

As per our step-by-step guide, the first sheet of wallpaper should have been hung 40cm out from the corner, so do the same here (or match up to that line) and overlap the paper. It’s perfectly fine for the paper in the corner to overlap and, though it could be left to dry, for a professional finish you should take a very sharp or fresh blade, along with a steel straight-edge, to cut the papers where they overlap. Remove the excess off the top paper, then peel the top paper back and remove the excess of the bottom paper.

Next, push the top paper down: it should match and meet perfectly with the bottom paper and join like two seams of wallpaper. (This is why it’s a good idea to overlap in a corner, so any potential mismatches don’t show!)

As for external corners? When you hang the paper to the wall, wrap it around the corner. Again, the wall may not be “true”, so some overlapping may be required – in which case, follow our instructions above to ensure that the overlap in not in sight, but around the corner instead.

 

How do I tackle plug sockets and fittings?

Start by unscrewing and removing the outer casing of the socket or switch. Apply the sheet of wallpaper as normal and let it hang over the socket area. Next, use a knife to slice a cross-shaped opening, diagonally from corner to corner across the socket area, then cut away the excess. Smooth the paper down with a brush or sponge before reattaching the front cover of the socket.

Which rooms are House of Hackney wallpapers designed for?

Our wallpaper is designed for each and every room in the home: we see it as an opportunity to completely transform any space, imbuing it with beauty and personality. Even if you just wallpaper a small box room or an under-stairs cupboard, you’ll find yourself immersed in a magical world of print and colour.

 

How do I know which print will work in a certain room?

Two of the biggest misconceptions are that you should paint your walls white to make your home feel more spacious, and that wallpaper everywhere will only make rooms feel smaller – if anything, it opens them up and creates depth by drawing you in. So, don’t worry about the size of a room and instead focus on the mood you wish to convey: while bold, psychedelic designs work well in the living room, prints that are a little more serene – think nature-inspired motifs in tranquil colour palettes – are best for the bedroom and bathroom.

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A mantelpiece, if you’re lucky enough to have one, is even more worthy.

The last few pieces of the puzzle are the myriad layers and textures that make a space so inviting. Think a coffee table stacked with books and tactile cushions in an intriguing mix of shapes, sizes and patterns – all things which are easy to move around until you find a combination that appeals to you. A mantelpiece, if you’re lucky enough to have one, is even more swoon-worthy with the addition of eye-catching candelabras, hand-painted porcelain candle pots and treasured keepsakes you’ll have picked up on your travels.

The last few pieces of the puzzle are the myriad layers and textures that make a space so inviting. Think a coffee table stacked with books and tactile cushions in an intriguing mix of shapes, sizes and patterns – all things which are easy to move around until you find a combination that appeals to you. A mantelpiece, if you’re lucky enough to have one, is even more swoon-worthy with the addition of eye-catching candelabras.

A mantelpiece, if you’re lucky enough to have one, is even more worthy.

The last few pieces of the puzzle are the myriad layers and textures that make a space so inviting. Think a coffee table stacked with books and tactile cushions in an intriguing mix of shapes, sizes and patterns – all things which are easy to move around until you find a combination that appeals to you. A mantelpiece, if you’re lucky enough to have one, is even more swoon-worthy with the addition of eye-catching candelabras.

Is living in a white-painted box driving you up the wall?

Made from wood pulp sourced from FSC-certified trees, complete with added textile fabrics for strength and stability, our wallpaper is PVC-free and produced using the eco-friendliest methods available.

 

“We will never stop fighting for this planet, for ourselves, our future and for the future of our children and grandchildren.”

- Greta Thunberg, Environmental Activist

INTERIOR & PHOTOGRAPHY: SARAH DEAN

If your existing seats are well-loved, but perhaps a little too well-worn, be it a sumptuous printed velvet or a smooth cotton-linen – can be enough to make you want to snuggle up on them all over again.

When it comes to furniture (which can also be a scene stealer in its own right), your choice will likely be dictated by the number of family members and friends who will regularly be hanging out here: will a cosy two-seater sofa be enough, or will you also need a chaise longue and a few ‘bottomans’ for your visitors to park their, um, bottoms on? If your existing seats are well-loved, but perhaps a little too well-worn, recovering them in a new fabric – be it a sumptuous printed velvet or a smooth cotton-linen – can be enough to make you want to snuggle up on them all over again.

A mantelpiece, if you’re lucky enough to have one, is even more worthy.

When it comes to furniture (which can also be a scene stealer in its own right), your choice will likely be dictated by the number of family members and friends who will regularly be hanging out here: will a cosy two-seater sofa be enough, or will you also need a chaise longue and a few ‘bottomans’ for your visitors to park their, um, bottoms on? If your existing seats are well-loved, but perhaps a little too well-worn, recovering them in a new fabric – be it a sumptuous printed velvet or a smooth cotton-linen – can be enough to make you want to snuggle up on them all over again.

FAMILIAR FRIENDS: THE CAT & DOG BOOKENDS
INTO THE WILD: THE FLOWERS OF AVALON