Rollout Wallpaper Collection

Calgary-based interior designer Alykhan Velji’s bold new wallpaper collaboration with Rollout — Brutalist Mix Wallpaper Collection — has become one of the Canadian company’s most requested lines. Here, he talks about the creative process behind the wall art.

My love for introducing patterns and texture in my designs is something that I have come to be known for. It adds so much character and life to a space. This can be done through textiles, fabrics and wallcoverings. Layering is key and by using all of these components, you can really create spaces that have personality.

I am a long-time supporter of the Canadian wallpaper company Rollout. I was introduced to it a few years after I started my career in design. I was so impressed by its wide range of unique and customizable patterns.

Back then, murals were something you would use in a commercial setting, however, things have come a long way in design and now there are no iron-clad rules of what you can use where.

Because of Rollout’s long-standing presence in the design world, I contacted Rollout about collaborating on a wallcovering series. The collaboration has been quite a few years in the making and started off in a completely different direction. I wanted the first collection to be about my African heritage, and I wanted to pull inspirations from the shapes and designs found around some of the tribal colonies in Tanzania.

We explored quite a few designs and prototyped many, but we weren’t satisfied. They just weren’t creating that wow factor that I was hoping for, so we shelved the idea for a while.

Fast-forward a year as I was perusing a vintage design magazine and I came across some images of Brutalist architecture.

This style emerged during the 1950s and is characterized by minimalist construction that is more about showcasing a structure’s bare building materials than decorative design.

They were black and white photos that came across as being quite harsh and heavy, but as you looked more closely, some softness in the forms and designs of the buildings became apparent. I began more research online and came across hundreds of images. Then, I started to sketch. My team at Alykhan Velji Designs went through quite a few drawings, colour palettes and interpretations until we finalized our top three designs, which took a few months. Once we had all the pantone colours finalized and the drawings completed, they were sent to the team at Rollout to review and test on their printers.

We approved all the samples of each design and layout to ensure my vision was coming across, and Rollout wanted it to be just right as it cares about the creative nature of wallcovering design.

ELEMENTS

Overlaying soft forms and sharp angles found in Brutalist architecture makes this a study in contrast. Working with colours found in nature and a subtle linen background results in an approachable yet dramatic look.

DUNE

Natural tones of sand, pinks and ochre work together with organic shapes that take inspiration from the desert and Brutalist architecture. They are a stark contrast of areas often thought of as bare, dry and extreme to show a softer side of both.

TERRA

Taking inspiration from the red earth, clear ocean and lush greens found in my native country, Tanzania. The palette has been chosen to evoke the spirit and sensation of tropical latitudes and a lovely casual breeziness.