Feeling good: Lincrusta has customisation covered

Lincrusta began its life on the walls of stately buildings around the world, and in more recent times has found its niche in hospitality venues, where sculptural Georgian panelling and embossed patterns bring a sense of history and grandeur to venues. But the appeal has started to broaden with the new yearning for both pattern and tactility wherever we seek to shelter.

Reports from the latest design shows seem to bolster the new trend for texture – a trend that like so many recent interior evolutions may have been happening anyway, but has been expedited by the sensorial deprivations and increased demand for comfort and cosseting during lockdowns. ‘It is very evident that after two years of not being allowed to touch anything, the world is after tactility and warmth,’ says Amy Heffernan, Creative Consultant at StudioHeff. ‘In Paris, texture was everywhere – walls and surfaces were decorated with patterned relief, shaggy textiles and grasscloths. There were 3D tiles and jumbo cord and bouclé upholstery – even needlepoint.’

In 2018, Lincrusta had already started to anticipate renewed interest in sculptural surfaces when it introduced the looser, less-structured, deep-texture pattern Tropical Leaf along with Palm, a delicate multi-layered pattern inspired by the leaves in Kew’s tropical glasshouses. These designs interpreted the growing urge for biophilia – the materials and patterns of nature – in our interiors. They now also meet the need for modern tactility, along with the more graphic, modernist patterns such as Chequers, Caprice, Neo and Cordage.

Combining texture with another thoroughly modern fashion – that of customisation – brings Lincrusta bang up to date. The brand’s own show at the recent Paris Design Week demonstrated, with the help of multimedia artist Jan Erika, how even vintage embossed patterns can become fresh with original painted treatments. Erika created a mural using colourful paints and gold leaf on a mix of Lincrusta coverings, bringing a unique dimension to the walls of the pop-up venue.

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