One thing we get asked every day is whether or not the wallpaper in our store is original, and the short answer is yes! Our building opened in 1900 as the cafe and refreshment rooms for the Maldon Bakery, which is still trading next door. The building was lavishly decorated throughout in bold wallpaper, however our room is the only one to survive intact.

Heritage interiors consultant Maree Wilding from Interior Productions in Melbourne visited us last year to provide some advice on the paper. The main floral pattern is of a type used over many decades in the Victorian period, however the dado is most certainly from the 1890’s.

Unfortunately the paper is showing it’s age at 118, and several parts are missing or damaged. The jury is still out on whether or not to patch up the missing sections or just leave it to the ravages of time.