Naval Ensigns is another of the Icons wallpapers, this one built around the signal flags and pennants of a ship's ensign rather than a floral or a plaid, printed on a smooth non-woven paper. The flags are drawn as bold, flat blocks of colour with the odd emblem worked in, which gives the paper a graphic, almost heraldic character rather than a busy one. It is a design with real naval pedigree, the sort of thing you would find in a proper English study.
The paper is 100 per cent non-woven, 70 centimetres wide, with a 29 centimetre vertical repeat. There are four colourways: Indigo/Red is the boldest and most graphic; Blue is a single-colour, quieter version; Red/Blue is the most classically naval; and Red/Plum is the warmest and least expected. Indigo/Red is the one we reach for in a study that wants some confidence.
We would paper a study, a cloakroom or a passage in it, where the flags can be read at close range, or use it behind a run of framed prints in a hall. It pairs naturally with a plain wool curtain and a leather chair. Sold by the roll; order a sample before committing to a full room.
Hanging note: as a non-woven paper it is normally pasted to the wall and hung dry, but check the leaflet in the roll for the maker's paste and match instruction, and keep the flags level from the first drop, since the eye reads a graphic pattern like this more critically than a floral. On a standard 10 metre roll, expect around four drops at 2.4 metres, so a 4 metre wall needs two rolls. Buy from one batch.
Composition: 100% non-woven
Roll width: 70 cm (28 in)
Pattern repeat: 29 cm vertical
Suitable for: Wallcovering
Care: Spongeable; follow the manufacturer's hanging and care guide
