Elaborate design was evident in all the decorative elements of the Victorian era. Intricate patterns of flowers, fruit and foliage, used in fabrics and tapestries of the period, were carried over into elaborate embossed wallpaper. Nancy Golden, host of DIY Decorating & Design, gives tips on adding Victorian style to your walls with raised wallpaper designs. Lincrusta®, Anaglypta® and embossed wallpaper all have raised design surfaces. Lincrusta, made of linoleum, is the most authentic-looking. Lincrusta is very heavy, difficult to hang and expensive, but its authentic look makes it the choice of purists (figure A). Anaglypta, a heavy embossed paper, is more affordable and easier to work with. Embossed wallpaper is regular-weight wallpaper with a slightly raised design surface. Clay-based wallpaper paste is necessary for hanging both Lincrusta and Anaglypta. When in place on a wall or ceiling, the wallpaper may be finished with paint or glaze. Heavy embossed wallpaper such as Anaglypta can be finished beautifully with paint or glaze. A warm honey-colored latex paint makes a beautiful one-color finish (figure B). It's important to get enough paint on the surface and into the crevices of the paper. The painted wallpaper may then be left as is or finished with an antique glazing medium. Allow the painted surface to dry 24 hours before glazing. Apply glaze medium with a paint roller (figure C), and immediately wipe off the excess with a clean rag, leaving glaze in the recessed areas to accentuate the intricate patterning of the wallpaper (figure D). Another technique, called picking out, illuminates the embossed design in a more subtle way. Dip the end of a paintbrush in glazing medium, and dab off almost all the glaze on a paper towel. Brush lightly on the surface so only a small amount of glaze collects in the crevices of the design (figure E). This technique is more work than a wiped glazed finish and gives a softer look.
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