Paper to make you feel at home
Motor home vacations are booming, which is hardly surprising considering the combination of complete comfort and freedom they offer. Decor paper producers such as Koehler Paper and mobile home brands like Bürstner ensure the experience is visually appealing too. We dropped by for a chat under blossoming apple trees.
"The sun is streaming through the mobile home’s windows, adorning the table with bright stripes. The cool spring air is drifting in through the open door, along with plenty of pollen. Muddy shoes scuff across the floor of the mobile home, camera equipment and reflectors are set up, heavy bags are set down and hauled over cushions. Water glasses and coffee cups leave their first traces on counter tops.
As idyllic as this scene may be, it makes one thing crystal clear: The interior of a mobile home has to withstand a lot of wear and tear – and this photoshoot in Kehl at mobile home manufacturer Bürstner for this magazine is pretty harmless in that respect. Ultimately, the interior must be able to handle real-life conditions on a road trip along the South African coast or a tour through the snowy mountains of Scandinavia – with all of the elements that brings: direct sunlight, heat and cold, salty sea air or a dry climate, dirt and stresses of all kinds. And on top of all that, the interior furnishings must look good while doing it. "
Tatjana Afra Weßelbaum and Dominik Dahmer discuss the advantages of decor paper.
Decor Paper Offers Flexibility
"“We call it the home-away-from-home feel, or ‘Wohnfühlen’ in German. A crucial part of this is modern interior design,” explains designer and product manager Tatjana Afra Weßelbaum, while getting camping chairs out of the mobile home and placing them in the shade for our interview. Decor paper plays an important role here. Decor paper is specialty paper used to create quality finishes on wooden materials. The single-color paper is impregnated with resin in printed or unprinted form and laid as a laminate on backing material. It can be found on walls, doors, floors, closets, beds, shelves, and table tops. Its use is not limited to caravans; decor paper is widespread throughout the world of furniture, flooring, and even house fronts.
“Decor paper is a high-tech product,” says Dominik Dahmer, Sales Manager at Koehler Decor Paper, showing the photographer some examples in the Bürstner mobile home. He explains it is important that it remains stable in the printing process and absorbs the resin well during impregnation. This is crucial for further processing. Fillers are added to the decor paper to cover dark backing materials. These white and colored pigments are highly light-resistant and also resilient to chemicals. All of these aspects are essential for processors such as decor printers and coaters, and ultimately for customers like Bürstner.
“The look is important to us of course,” explains Ms. Weßelbaum, putting a blanket over her lap while the camera clicks away. “But the quality of the material must be right. Resilient, reproducible decor is essential in the confined space of a mobile home.” "
Decor paper is highly flexible when it comes to design, and versatile to use too. Bürstner is creating a natural, elegant mood with its “happy living” brand.
Focus on a Healthy Indoor Climate
"Sustainability is becoming more and more important too, because, for Bürstner, a “home away from home” starts with a healthy environment. Sustainable raw materials are the basis of this. Koehler decor paper is produced in closed-loop water systems and is mainly made from certified hardwood pulp. “The use of water-based printing ink and coatings is important to us too. The interior climate is becoming an ever-growing focus for customers,” explains Ms. Weßelbaum.
The carpenter and furniture designer, who has worked at Bürstner for 16 years and before then was very at home behind a circular saw, is responsible for the look of the entire interior. She is passionate about the possibilities of decor paper: “Design-wise, there are virtually no limits thanks to digital printing.” The printed designs range from wood and stone patterns through to fantasy designs. It is barely possible to tell them apart from real wood or stone. Mother-of-pearl and metallic effects can also be used. "
The quality of the material must be right. Resilient, reproducible decor is essential in the confined space of a mobile home.
The quality of the material must be right. Resilient, reproducible decor is essential in the confined space of a mobile home.
designer and product manager at
Bürstner
Haptics are Growing in Importance
"Our happy living line is natural and elegant when it comes to the design. But we now also offer sporty vehicles that play with warm colors, copper tones, and black accents,” says Ms. Weßelbaum, who is a camping fan herself. The haptic experience is becoming more and more important too, as it lends an extra something to the decor.
That is a trend Dominik Dahmer is noticing more often too – and which is having an impact on him personally. “My wife sometimes gets really annoyed when we go to a restaurant or furniture shop. But I can’t help myself: I simply have to touch all the surfaces,” he says with a smile, casting a glance at the photographer, who put the camera down some time ago and is now lovingly stroking the inside of the door."
