Never mind a flock of seagulls, for the past few interior years our horizons have been been filled with flocks of owls, peacocks and flamingos. Surely it’s time another one of our feathered friends got a look in and I’m casting my birdie vote for the beautifully elegant swan. Much like myself, she glides around effortlessly, looking calm and serene whilst her little legs are going ten to the dozen out of view… HA, who am I kidding. The reason I yearn to be a swan is there’s without doubt more of the Beep Beep Roadrunner going on in the Moregeous household. I literally cannot recall a time I felt calm and serene, which is probably why I was so enamoured with the wallpaper I installed in a recent bathroom interiors shoot.
On first seeing their work at Decorex in 2016, I fell instantly in love with Feathr wallpapers. 
Luxuriously heavy, incredibly detailed and so unusual in pattern, the company works with young designers to create what can only be described as works of art for your walls. Here’s what their website says :
We work with a growing global community of independent artists. Together we source, curate & commission stunning contemporary designs, available as wallpaper, fabrics and cushions.
And, they do.
So, when asked by Triton to come up with three styles for a bathroom shoot, it appealed to me to that one of the looks be strong but feminine, elegant but punchy. I knew exactly which paper would be just fabulous as a backdrop. Wild Swan. Designed by Scandinavian artist Hanna-Kaisa KoroLainen, it’s beyond romantic, with a hand painted yet worn feel from the grattage technique employed by the artist. The paint on the original work has been literally scraped back.
It’s great that the client was happy to shoot the room by candlelight, Normally everything has to be so bright and like-it’s-daylight on bathroom shoots, but a softer mood captured this paper wonderfully. The dark shadowy swans stop the paper from being too sugary, as does the vibrant watermelon depth to the pink tones.
I used a pale brick porcelain tile called Montmartre by Johnsons for versatility as the room was transformed twice to get three totally different looks. All three had to work with the tiles, the suite and the floor – no mean feat let me tell you!
What do you think though, I reckon this this paper would also look stunning with black or pale grey subway tiles, or even white marble with grey veining. Let’s face it, it’s so damn gorgeous it’d work with most neutrals.
We bought the bath and basin from Soak, the taps are Triton and the accessories (tooth brush holder, hooks and shelf) from a company called Vardo who work with Triton. Nice quality, I hadn’t come across them before.
I was super happy at the end result, it felt warm and welcoming but pretty cool too. I’d have a bath there. Mind you, I’d have a bath anywhere as our reno still doesn’t have one. 
Can I also just say at this point that it was an absolute dream to hang, because yes, you guessed it, yours truly did the papering and here’s proof! Plus Feathr were absolute stars to get it printed and out to us super fast once we’d got final approval and knew it worked with the tiles.
Yes, it’s pretty luxurious at £129 a roll but think about it. Most bathrooms would only use one roll of wallpaper anyway, or you could create a feature panel easily with one roll. And £115, what’s that, 23 gin and tonics? Two or three meals out? One weekend staying in with Netflix? Also Feathr often do feature sales so you could bag yourself a design bargain.
Worth it for an amazing wallpaper? Damn right. Ok, one last image of some dreamy rose swans and then we’ll even up the playing field little.
If you’re sold on swans but don’t want pink, then Feathr do lots of other colours HERE, but in the interest of fairness to all swans, there are also other papers on the market.
Nina Campbell does a classic paper for Osborne & Little also called Swan Lake, which is featured below in a vibrant yellow. Pretty eclectic bathroom this one but shows that creamy swans can look pretty funky given half a chance.
Design credit (above): Natalie Clayman Interiors
Looks wicked in black as well doesn’t it. We’re all over the black accents this season.
Design Credit (above): Nina Campbell)
If muted tones are more your style then maybe Laura Ashley’s Silver Swan might work for you. I’m not so sure I’d have swans in my living room but if that floats your boat. Or floats your bird? Whatever!
Credit : Laura Ashley Silver Swan wallpaper
Elegant queens in golden sparklers are quite perfect for a princess style bedroom. All swans drift around like they’re permanently wearing jewelled crowns anyway don’t they?
Image credit: Hibou Home
Who knows whether swans will take off. I do hope so, they’re rather lovely and many of us have owl fatigue and are all flamingoed out. But regardless, I loved this scheme and my shadowy birds. Now I have just have to come up with a plan as to what to do with the leftovers…. 😉
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