Panespol® textiles and textures in historical perspective.
It was a brand, spanking new idea when Panespol® founder José Juan Leva Candela first made wall coverings from the strong, practical, and clean material, polyurethane.
And among the many natural surfaces we have successfully imitated, the Panespol® catalogue has two sections of highly sophisticated products that mimic the aesthetics of TEXTILES while setting trends with a range of daring TEXTURES ideas.
It was the Victorians, however, who widely popularised the design trend of putting textile imitations – some in full bas-relief – upon their walls. And they generally used paper to recreate the look of the tapestries and painted cloths, often damask and velvet, that had been hung on walls for centuries.
The trend lasted throughout the 20th century in different locations.
In France, for example, where the practice is still popular, you will still find plenty of walls with cloth coverings – and the problem of cleaning and maintaining surfaces that gather mildew and dirt underlines even more the practicality of using a polyurethane material that looks just like the real thing.
London’s amazing Victoria and Albert Museum has even earlier evidence of wallpaper made to match textiles: advertising from companies claiming to make perfect paper imitations of the styles and patterns of fabrics.
In a letter written in 1753, the English politician Horace Walpole recalled being in a sitting room ‘hung with a blue and white paper in stripes adorned with festoons, and a thousand plump chairs, couches and luxurious settees covered with linen of the same pattern’.
Materials used by Panespol® , however, can take ‘ripping off’ textile patterns and styles to ‘state-of-the-art’ standards. Our Sofelto, Soshagro, Samua, and Aythana models come in many colours and not only offer exotic patterns but even reflect the relief in bold textile creases. Check out our full TEXTILES and TEXTURES ranges and see how far Panespol® panels have moved interior design forward in time.
