Vintage & Antique Bird Wallpaper: Timeless Ornithology, Made in Your Colour Way
The Romance of the Old Bird Print
There's a particular beauty to an antique bird illustration — the careful, hand-drawn detail of a Victorian naturalist's plate, the soft, faded colours of an old botanical study, birds observed and rendered with real love. A vintage bird wallpaper captures exactly that: the romance and craftsmanship of a bygone age, brought gently up to date. It brings a room heritage, character and a settled, collected feel, as though the design has been there for generations.
At Claret & Key, every vintage bird design is drawn in-house and printed to order in your chosen colour way, so the mood is yours — softly faded, or richer and more dramatic. Made especially for you in our Cheshire studio.
The charm of a vintage bird
The appeal of an antique bird design is its detail and its softness. Drawn in the style of an old illustrated plate, with fine feathering and gently sun-warmed colour, it feels studied and characterful rather than showy. It's the bird design for people who love heritage and craft — a look that sits beautifully in a period home and lends age and character to a newer one.
Because we print to order, the colour way is yours. Soft, faded, antique tones give the classic vintage look. A warmer, richer palette feels grand and traditional. And a deeper, moodier ground makes the birds and their detail really stand out.
Where vintage bird wallpaper works
Vintage bird designs suit rooms you want to feel characterful and collected. A study or library gains a scholarly, heritage charm. A bedroom feels calm and romantic. A dining room takes an antique bird design with a real sense of history. And a cloakroom clad in a vintage bird becomes an unexpected jewel.
Choose your finish
Every design comes in three finishes: Traditional (150gsm, super-matte), Heavy-Grade (300gsm) for busy walls, and Removable peel-and-stick (180gsm) for renters and easy change. All are printed to order on FSC-approved, PVC- and VOC-free paper.
Antique tones are best judged in the room, so order a sample and see your colour way in your own light first.
This wallpaper is just gorgeous! I used the one that requires glue and it was super easy to i stall. One roll was enough for a 6’ wide laundry closet with 7’5” ceilings. Even on our orange peel walls it set beautifully. I did this behind our new washer dryer set up in our laundry closet with white oak cabinets and it’s perfect! Highly recommend!
Truly love this wallpaper. Looks amazing in both our bathroom (the original project) and as an accent in the back of a cabinet (what we did with the extra). Everyone who sees it comments on how classy and beautiful it is. For these reasons five stars!
However I do want to call out two concerns:
1. The online "calculator" on the site recommend nine roles, which seemed excessive for our less than 100 sq ft bathroom. I even reached out to support to double check and they said to go by the calculator. I'm glad I didn't because I ended up ordering five roles and only needing 4. I will say returning the 5th role was a pretty smooth process, so kudus to Claret and Key for that.
2. Strangely the "autumn" color with pale nutmeg background reads more green than brown in certain light. With bright overhead light it comes across as the soft brown we intended, but in natural light it reads much more green. Not anything to terrible just unexpected.
Beautiful paper! Our decorator commented on its quality and how nice and easy it was to work with compared to other wallpaper he had used in the past. Thank you.
So in love with this wallpaper. We wanted a cosy cottage bedroom vibe so we chose the Eloise. It’s such a pretty design that completely transformed the space. The wallpaper is such great quality .We have very uneven walls but didn’t have any issues. Hanging it was a joy. Highly recommend.
We used Blanche to paper some built in wardrobes that double up as room dividers. It was brilliant to be able to sample several background colour options and we are delighted with the finished result
Thank you. Fabulous Wallpaper.
Great quality paper and easy to hang.
The design is so rich in colour and adds such decadence to my dressing area. Now for the finishing touches.
Poor customer service - rolls are only available as one off 10m runs, so if you need 11m.. unfortunately you’ll be paying double for a second roll! Unless your walls are 8m or less, I’d avoid. Wrongly assumed Claret & Key would be slightly more compassionate about the situation and even help with a slightly discounted second roll, considering we only needed 1m. How wrong we were!
Store owner replied:
Hi Emily,
I'm sorry to hear that you are disappointed with the service.
We sell our wallpaper by the roll, and we are unable to manufacture shorter rolls. This will be the same for most manufacturers as 10m rolls are standard, and most rooms require more than 1 roll to complete the job.
Thanks,
Claret & Key
I really loved this paper and thought it would look nice in my attic space. Delighted with the end result. Great service, excellent quality of paper and it really transforms the room. The eves are very low so the space was not utilised so making a feature with the wallpaper has created a cosy space to relax in. Thank you. M
Love this wallpaper. It’s just enough to show a statement but not so loud that it overpowers the space. Being able to pick the color is such a great thing also. You’re not stuck with 5 options so it can match your style and colors of your space. Would recommend to anyone looking for wallpaper. Very happy and my installer said its super easy to install this pattern.
This wallpaper is thick and sturdy. It’s very easy to work with and easy to apply. It was my first time hanging wallpaper and this paper was very forgiving. Great product!
