Wallcovering Inspiration: Medieval Modern
Our friends at Sixtysix magazine are committed to chronicling the modern creative zeitgeist, often celebrating and creating aesthetics off the beaten path. Their June 2025 issue was no different, featuring a spread exploring what happens when ancient meets contemporary: Medieval Modern. This entrancing editorial photoshoot blends historic and current design elements from across a variety of disciplines for an otherworldly, yet strangely grounded, atmosphere. Astek wallcoverings serve as the backdrop throughout, offering a touch of texture and completing the immersive effect.
Our concrete-inspired Hyperion mural in a tawny colorway adds a touch of warmth, working alongside the soft lines of the dress, unstyled hair, and motion blur to create a romantic air. Sculptural candlesticks and furniture throughout the spread complement dramatic garments that blend sharp and soft, structured and draped.
The harsh makeup and hairstyling feel untamed and wild, timeless in an enchanting way. The texture of our Exposure 24 mural adds just enough grit to the scene without being overpowering, matching the pitted metal of the helmet. Touches of chainmail and armor pieces throughout the spread act as a strong visual link, bringing the ancient into the contemporary.
Throughout the spread, the pared-back sets feel spartan, letting carefully curated design elements shine. Here, a custom-colored Earthen 4 mural amps up the moody drama, perfect for highlighting the metallic elements of the model’s belt and gauntlets. This clay-inspired mural lets the clothes do the talking.
The distressed appearance of our Exposure 3 mural adds texture and grunge to the shot– this is no damsel. Layered, structured pieces in monochrome white stand out against the mural, feeling quite contemporary, but the bold makeup, strong gaze, and punctured metal pendant lamp keep this from becoming too current.
If the fascinating, unforgiving, and hauntingly beautiful Medieval Modern vision is speaking to you, you’re in luck– we have plenty of gritty, textural wallcoverings to fulfill the fantasy.
Our Encrusted wallcovering is a collage of weathered, rusted paint photographed throughout Los Angeles, challenging the idea that only pristine surfaces can be beautiful. This mural adds texture and an ancient feeling to any space– combined with geometric furniture and a sculptural stone vase, it bridges the antique and the current.
Originally created from a free-flowing, painterly cyanotype print, our Photogram 1 mural has an entirely different feel when customized in shades of gray. Ochre throw pillows echo the gold detailing in the mural, tying the room together with a bit of sparkle. Austere, geometric furniture harks back to Sixtysix’s vision of Medieval Modern.
Moody and dramatic, the wild, sweeping gestures of our Exposure 2 mural add a stormy feeling to this space. Stone vases, one holding a barren tree branch, complement the wooden side table and chair, whose turned arms and dappled upholstery evoke the past.
If you’re looking to create your own Medieval Modern space, we encourage you to explore our Patina, Apperception, and Surface collections; if none of these speak to your vision, reach out to start a custom project.