Winner of first Design & Decorate Challenge announced

At Dulux Academy, our courses don't just specialise in painting. Wallpapering is a specialist skill, and so to highlight this important craft we recently hosted the first ever Design & Decorate Challenge to find the UK's leading wallpaper experts.

The competition involved both wallpaper design and hanging, and Barrie Thompson from Barnet become the inaugural winner of this event.

Winner's wallpaper design to go into production

In conjunction with International Wallpaper Week, Dulux Academy launched the first ever Design & Decorate Challenge, designed to support the skill and craft of wallpaper hanging.

Competitors were required to submit their own wallpaper designs to be judged by industry specialists. Six shortlisted decorators then attended a grand final at the Dulux Academy where their wallpaper hanging skills were put to the test.

The first ever winner of the challenge was Barrie Thompson from Barnet. Not only will his winning wallpaper design go into production, but Barrie will also have the opportunity to visit the Graham & Brown factory to learn about the brand's heritage, wallpaper design, and future trends.

2017 Design & Decorate Challenge winner Barrie, said: "Taking inspiration from my wife's love of flowers, I designed this wallpaper to be hung on a feature wall in either a living room or a bedroom.

"The wallpaper has good lightfast properties which create a different effect in certain lights, and the design can easily be adapted by using different colours or background tones."

Judge Stuart Yates, President PDA, said: "Barrie Thompson wowed the judges with his unique design. The precision used by Barrie to hang wallpaper at the grand final was also a cut above the rest. We can't wait to see his design put into production."

Graham and Brown were just one of our key suppliers at this year's International Wallpaper Week event. Attendees at the Dulux Academy open day also included Vista Digital, Mirka, Coral Tools, ZipWall, Werner, Muraspec and Tesa, as well as appliers from across the industry.

Vickie Mather, Dulux Academy Manager, said: "We've enjoyed supporting International Wallpaper Week, celebrating the craft of paper hanging and highlighting the range of papering courses available.

We hope that the Design & Decorate Challenge acts as inspiration to those looking to nurture their talent, and has encouraged the next generation to keep learning and training to meet the challenges of an ever-changing and expanding sector."

To browse the full range of our wallpaper courses, delivered with the support of our trusted partners, simply visit our website.