Tres Bien Wall Upholstery History

In the middle ages, only nobility had enough wealth to make their homes comfortable.

As they were always on the move, the items on which most money or skills was lavished on were the removable or portable hangings.

Woven hangings were a necessity: hung against the damp, cold walls, they kept in the warm, and across doorways in the cheerless halls, they acted as barriers fro draughts. They were found on walls by the bed and the bath tubs, full of color, rich and bold. The simpler houses, where such hangings were out of questions, had plain linen or woolen materials, sometimes crudely painted.

As hangings or tapestries became richer, furniture developed in tandem. The need for removable tapestries slowly disappeared; Walls were for the first time covered with permanent or fixed hangings, woven damask, watered silk, and many other lighter fabrics.

This art flourished in the 17th century as the French court became hugely influential. When Versailles was being created, between 1660 and 1680, descriptions of this marvels influenced not only France, but in England and Holland too.

The homes of wealth house owners of the 18th century had great interiors with fabric wall coverings, curtains and furniture blending together.

Traditionally to decorate the homes of the European aristocracy, wall upholstery remains an art form that requires skilled craftsmanship.