Peggy Derrick
Wallpaper: Could anything be more boring? And, is it even an artifact? Can’t you just go buy more of the same thing? No, yes and maybe.
Wallpaper is a quintessential element of Victorian interiors. There was an explosion of designs and colors in the mid-1800s, as new fabric printing technologies were applied to the production of wallpaper.
Until then, it had been a laborious process, limited to simple patterns and limited colors. At the same time, the cost of wallpaper was going down, making it the wallcovering of choice for the middle-class homemaker with good taste. It was a practical solution that nevertheless produced a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing home.
Historic Hixon House presently sports nine different wallpapers and one hand-painted mural as wall finishes.
There are two more bedrooms and a servants’ area that most likely also had wallpaper in 1910, the year the house presently interprets.
Some of the wallpapers in the house are reproductions of the originals. Others, such as this one in the family sitting room, are the original papers, now more than 100 years old.
During the 2004 restoration, this paper was professionally cleaned and conserved, and some design elements that had rubbed off were painstakingly touched up with hand painting.
The family sitting room was remodeled in 1900, at the same time as the formal parlor, the dining room and the Turkish Nook. Even more than the parlor, it reflects the touch of Joseph Twyman, the interior decorator from the Toby Furniture Company.
With its interlocking pattern of large swirling leaves and beautiful natural shades of green, this wallpaper is a classic example of the Arts and Crafts movement developed in England by designer William Morris and popularized in the Upper Midwest by his pupil Twyman.
Various curators and researchers have looked for this paper in the catalogs of Morris’ designs and concluded that it is not an original design by him but rather a well-done knock-off.
This is the room that the Hixon family would have used daily. It has comfortable seating and built-in bookcases. The leafy greens of the wallpaper bring nature into the room, and the overall effect is a relaxed, inviting space.
This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on November 30, 2019.
