Biri

Weaving and a range of other traditional crafts have always been practiced at the Semb family farm. Located near Biri, a small village just south of Lillehammer, the farm dates as far back as 1355. When Klare Schee decided to try to use straw in her tapestries in 1938, she was just taking the tradition of her ancestors a step further. The first straw wall covering was used in the farm’s dining room. Mrs. Schee invited friends to come see her handiwork. Two who saw it were the well-known architects Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Paulsson. They were so excited about the straw wall covering that they decided to use it for a project in Oslo City Hall. Thus began the story of Biri Tapet.

Natural and eco-friendly, Biri straw wallpaper brings a small piece of nature’s serenity and softness into daily life. Creating a simple way of using a stack of ‘material’ exposed as part of the overall aesthetic are characteristic of Norwegian design. Straw wallpaper therefore represents a typical Norwegian approach to natural materials. Made at the Norwegian farm Semb Gård, Biri wallpaper has been in continuous production since 1938, and over the decades has earned a reputation as an exclusive, environmentally friendly and timeless wallpaper, admired for the warmth and atmosphere it brings to a room as the straw’s colour gently shifts as the light alters.