The Latest in Colorful Designs and Texture for Your Walls
Several companies that design, produce, and distribute wallcoverings introduced new collections in 2010; others mention new collections without specific dates provided. Included in these collections are many wonderful, colorful, rich, fun, and textural selections. I wish I could show them all, but I can only provide a sampling. However, you can visit the various linked sites to see an abundance of designs and to get ideas for your interior. Visiting the sites can make for a great eye-candy treat.
The use of wallpaper in a room is a great way to add drama, depth, and richness to walls. Use wallpaper as well as to create ambiance and mood in a room.
Wallpaper Patterns and Motifs
Floral and leaf patterns, popular from the earliest use of wallpaper in Europe, sometimes reinterpreted today into fresh, clean, and graphic designs, are among the most popular themes in wallpaper today.
Floral Designs
From Osborne & Little, the bright and delightful Maharani pattern from the Maharani Collection, is shown here in lime and bright pink on yellow. Admittedly more fruit than flower — but from whence come fruit than from flower? — this pattern has a pomegranate motif. The resulting Asian-inspired design creates a very flowery effect.
Stark Wallcovering has recently added a line of wallpaper from the Swedish company Sandberg. This is the Nora pattern in lilac; very fun and contemporary:
Below is the Morristown pattern from the lively Avalon Collection of Thibaut, a collection Thibaut describes as “infused with a retro vibe and carefree spirit…” Shown here in pastel on cream.
A large-scale floral pattern with metallic accents, is Flourish in cream from Graham & Brown:
Leaves and Foliage
The Age of Exploration brought to Europe many plant discoveries from the New World. Drawings that would have documented the cocao plant, with its enormous pods, no doubt inspired this Cocao pattern. This pattern, among others, has been culled from the archives of Cole & Son and is part of the Frontier Collection:
This playful leafy pattern from the Avalon Collection of Thibaut, named Waterbury Trail, is shown here in orange on cream:
From the Modern Nature Collection of Schumacher, the Leaves pattern, a pattern of silhouetted leaves, is shown here in chartreuse, one of the nature-inspired “colorways” (as the color choices are called in the industry).
The Acanthus pattern is from the Baroque Papers collection of Farrow&Ball. Cream on green is among the colorways available.
Designs Inspired by Global Cultures
Global cultures have long provided inspiration for designs that often draw from centuries of traditional motifs, themes, and imagery.
The enchanting Kirkwood pattern is an Asian-inspired design from the Shangri-La Collection of Thibaut, a collection that Thibaut describes as fusing “decorative styles from cultures worldwide”. I’m particularly inspired by the pattern in this bright red-orange colorway:
Of Indian inspiration, the Manali pattern from Osborne & Little is a bold pattern of “an all-over trail of magnolias”. The pattern is from a 2009 collection, but even though less recent I wanted to show it as a striking example of designs inspired from world cultures.
Feather Fan, from Cole & Son, is an engaging geometric pattern drawn from the company’s archives, some of which date to over 300 years. This pattern, one of twelve from the Autumn/Winter 2010 Frontier collection “depicts an era of travel and discovery, in particular the culture, imagery and themes of Colonialism and the Far East”, as described by the company.
Ottoman Flower is a pattern based on a traditional motif in Ottoman textiles — a motif based on a carnation flower. From the Modern Nature collection of Schumacher, the design has been given a modern look. All colorways have metallic ink accents.
Traditional European Motifs
The Orangerie pattern, from the Baroque Papers collection of Farrow&Ball, is an example of a baroque pattern that would have been inspired by Renaissance damask and brocade motifs in silk. The company describes the pattern as “…bursting with extravagant detail encapsulating exotic leaf patterns interspersed with flowers and fruit such as the central pineapple motif.” Indeed, the pattern virtually measures up to the near exuberance of the description.
(An orangerie was a fashionable greenhouse-like building found in the 17th through the 19th centuries, often housing the exotic plants brought back from the New World. Originally used for citrus trees, hence the name.)
Twelve designs inspired by Italian theatre comprise the Teatro collection from Osborne & Little. This is the Manzoni pattern which has a definite Baroque look and feel. Some of the patterns are “printed with a new granular glitter texture.” Sounds trés luxurious (or should I say molto lussuoso).
The Symphony pattern from the recent Damask Resource Volume 3 of Thibaut, is another example of a traditional damask design translated into wallpaper.
From wallpaper company Bradbury & Bradbury, a company offering volumes of period wallpaper designs, this is Seashell Wall, a Victorian inspired design. Color is Jasper.
Geometric Patterns
Geometric patterns tend to be clean and structured, lending a sense of order while still providing wall decoration.
Designers Guild in London represents numerous fabric and wallpaper producers. From Darly we have the Leopold pattern, here in chartreuse:
Also from Designers Guild is the Porden pattern from the Nabucco wallcoverings collection. It has the appearance of a grill — giving it an architectural embellishment effect, especially in the black and white colorway.
This Rings pattern in White on Elephant Manila Hemp is from the Voyage Collection of Phillip-Jeffries Ltd, a company that creates natural textured wallcoverings that are hand-screened.
Stripes
Stripes are a staple in fabric and wallpaper design. However, I found few stripe patterns represented in these latest collections. Those I found are quite conservative, particularly color-wise.
From the Carlu wallcoverings collection through Designers Guild we have the Roumier pattern here, soothingly, in Ocean.
Equally spaced stripes comprise the Wide Stripe pattern from the Voyage Collection of Phillip-Jeffries Ltd. The Navy stripes are on Island Raffia providing a textured surface. (I’ve always liked evenly-spaced stripes. I wonder if that says anything about me.)
An exotic-inspired stripe from the Maharani collection of Osborne & Little provides a more colorful stripe pattern called Kashan and named after a coastal city in Iran.
Textured Wallcoverings
From natural fibers, to animal hide looks, to metallic finishes, textured wallpapers offer an enormous range of options for creating ambiance and mood in an interior space.
This Greater Gator pattern from Thibaut is one of the company’s eco-inspired motifs made from eco-inspired materials. The Espresso color is rich and dramatic.
Phillip-Jeffries Ltd specializes in natural wallcoverings. From the recent Metallic Weaves Collection, this Metallic Paper Weave pattern is a hand-woven texture laminated onto a metallic backing. The combination creates a bit of stylish glam. Handcrafted in Japan. Color: Chocolate on Silver.
The Banyan Basket pattern from Thibaut creates a charming, informal room-on-the-beach look. This room displays the teal colorway.
A Wallpaper Journey
I feel I’ve traveled to distant lands and visited historic eras with this journey through the world of recent wallpaper releases. Many of the collections do reflect the current trend of creating interior spaces with a taste of the exotic or with a sense of tradition.
See you soon….
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