A lot of my clients are choosing designs that harken back to the turn of the (last) century, particularly by William Morris. A lot of those are made by higher-end companies, and the material can be hard to work with. So I was thrilled when my favorite wallpaper sales person, Dorota, showed me these new books at her Sherwin-Williams store in the Rice Village. British Heritage is by Wallquest , a brand I like a lot. Below are room-set photos from those books.This is the very popular Strawberry Thief by William Morris. I’ve hung it before, and have it coming up again soon in the Heights ( Houston ). Arts & Crafts designs are very rhythmic and stylized. Some, like this, have a lot of color and impact.Others, with muted or tone-on-tone color pallets, are more subdued.Revival is another wallpaper selection book with designs of the same theme. A Street Prints is by Brewster, another great company. Most A Street Prints are on a non-woven , paste-the-wall substrate, which makes them quite user-friendly and affordable. CFA Voysey was a designer of the same period. I would say he was far ahead of his time, with some patterns reminiscent of MC Escher, and others bordering on … well, sort of psychedelic. Very progressive for the 1880’s! He continued to design through the Art Nouveau ( 1920’s ) and Art Deco ( 1930’s ) periods. I have his Bat & Poppy in my powder room. Search here to see photos. The fluidity here speaks of the Art Nouveau style. Alphonse Mucha was a European artist known for his elaborate theater and advertising posters in this style. I was lucky enough to have seen a fabulous exhibit at the Taft Museum when I was in Cincinnati for a Wallcovering Installers Association annual convention.
Not all Sherwin-Williams stores have wallpaper books, so call before you head over. Dorota isat the 2525 University store. This store has more wallpaper books than any other in Houston. Her hours vary, and someone may have checked the books out, so call before you head over. (713) 529-6515
I love the Art Nouveau design of this undermount metal sink – and it would go superbly with the “Bat & Poppy” wallpaper in my powder room (so a Search here).
Oh, right, this is a blog about wallpaper. Well, then, look above the sink to see the paper I hung in this powder room in the West University neighborhood of Houston. It is by Exclusive Wallcoverings, a British company, and is a solid vinyl with a paper backing, and is pre-pasted. It was not pleasant to hang, and I fully expect that it will have a relatively short performance life on the homeowner’s walls.
Did I mention that I hate paper-backed solid vinyl wallcoverings?
My “Bat & Poppy” Voysey design by Trustworth Studios arrived today. It’s GORGEOUS! http://trustworth.com/
I can’t wait to put it up, plus I’m doing some other changes to that powder room (new sink from an antique music cabinet & old porcelain bowl), as well as redoing my entry wallpaper with an authentic paper from the 1940’s (blogged about previously). Just need to find a coupla days when I’m not busy hanging paper at someone ELSE’s house.
Please note the careful attention to packaging by the Trustworth company. I have NEVER seen anyone, even very high end products, use packing peanuts before. Thibaut, Schumacher, Seabrook, Graham & Brown, Astex, Phillip Jefferies and all the rest should take a note. If everyone were this careful, we wound not have to deal with banged edges or other damaged goods.
I’ll be sure to post as the decorating project moves ahead.
Chris Murphy of Atlanta, Georgia, a fellow member of the National Guild of Professional Paperhangers (NGPP) shared a link to this company, Trustworth Studios. Click “Wallpapers” on the left, and then scroll through their wonderful collection of actual designs, mostly from Mr. Voysey.
I am crazy about the “Bat & Poppy” and also the one with the fish.
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