Wallpapers of the moment #intww
Not sure if you picked it up but #wallpaperweek has been trending big time on Twitter in the last few days. Everyone is talking about their favourite wallpapers, from BBC1 The One Show to Chris Evans on his radio show. So what is going on? International wallpaper company Graham & Brown is behind all the hype! G&B launched the first ever international wallpaper week, now in its second year!
People got talking about wallpaper outside of the usual channels of home décor and design media. G&B even launched a campaign where models wore outfits made from the latest wallpaper collections of the company. Loved the concept by the way!
Wallpaper is such a fun way to update your interiors in a way that you could never achieve with just paint. Enfant terrible Kylie Jenner has one such unusual wallpaper in her recently listed $3.9M Californian mansion: Barbara Hulanicki's skulls wallpaper covers all walls in her bathroom. This happens to be Andrew Graham's MBE (Chief Executive of Graham & Brown) favourite wallpaper too!
So if we're talking about wallpapers, we might as well talk about the trendiest wallpapers right now. I love them all so no need to number them in any particular order. They're all unique and range from moody, to light to totally in your face.
Talking about Graham & Brown, their latest collection comes straight from their archives and has been given a modern take thanks to 2LovelyGays, the interior designers that are set to making living lovely! The wall below actually shows two wallpapers: the Joy (floral) and the Rebecca (stripes) in blue. I love the combination, it's genius.
Above: Joy and Rebecca in Blue, photo credit Graham & Brown/2LG
Next up, a beautiful and intricate wallpaper design from Laura Allen from The Graduate Collection. It's called "LEMUR". Exotic leaves, bright tropical flowers, butterflies and of course a lemur adorn this richly coloured tropical wallpaper. Laura's detailed illustrations combined with pastel pink coloured background and a linear design create the perfect conversational wallpaper for both traditional and contemporary interiors. The pink background in this colour way is just so girly ad fabulous.
Staying with the TROPICAL theme, Timorous Beasties launched a super wide wallpaper called "Topical Tropical" (below). I prefer it in black background because it makes the colours pop out of the paper!
100% DESIGN 2016: NEW - Addicted to Patterns is a Bristol based creative multidisciplined studio created by Justyna Medon, professional printmaker and surface decoration specialist, and Mani Swiatek web designer and photographer. Combining craftsmanship with digital techniques they are able to deliver best quality and complex design services. Below, from their "Hidden World" collection.
Hidden World Sky At Night Wallpaper. Photo: Addicted to Patterns
Staying with the blue theme here, Little Greene launched CAMELIA in 'smalt' (this intense blue colour). A moody tree and petal damask effect floral on a silken background is all I need for my dining room (more of that next month!).
Photo credit: Camelia by Little Greene in 'Smalt'
NEW - Let's talk tigers for a minute. This design by Voysey is from a watercolour drawing done in 1918 and was found in the archives of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Common Room have taken it out of the archives and applied in their 'Lioness and Palms' wallpaper.
Country theme? Below is a tongue in cheek wallpaper from 17 Patterns. Representing nature’s treasure trove, the Forager collection delivers the beauty of the English countryside into your home. This natural selection is available on luxurious metallic white mica, contemporary non-woven warm grey and stone. For a psychedelic twist, fluorescent ‘magic’ mushrooms are presented on black non-woven papers. Make mine a portobello please.
NEW - Rich jewel tones add luxury and decadence to any interior. Luxury uncoated, non-woven wallpaper, designed and made in the UK by new brand: Charlotte Francis London. This is 'Palma".
Now, a little traditional but with a twist. This encapsulating tree design, with its delicate tones, brings to life the natural world that is sure to be the highlight of any room. Each stem and bloom is intricately designed, with a playful bird hidden within the exquisite branches, bringing the beauty of world outside into your home. Named after the Russian ballerina Feya Balabina, this design perfectly embodies all of its namesake’s grace and sophistication and is available in a selection of colours. "Balabina" by Cole & Son.
NEW - Sep '16: the 40s/ Art Deco inspired Farrow and Ball 'Arcade' wallpaper was launched last month. It has a soft, romantic take on the classic curved motif. The beautifully tactile scallop design gently dances across the length of the paper, creating an inherently sophisticated feel. Available in 7 colour ways, this pink and green is my favourite. Read more about it here.
Finally, a new online brand, Woodchip and Magnolia. Behind it is confirmed wallpaper addict, Nina Marika Tarnowski. After graduating from Leeds College of Art in 1997, Nina worked her way up from a graduate placement to Design Manager. An eighteen-year career at Graham and Brown cemented Nina’s love of design, interiors and supporting emerging British talent. Here I have Ludic Floral Pineapple, a playful paste-the-wall wallpaper showing spontaneous peony filled pineapples.
Inspired from all the talks about wallpaper the last few days, I bought two wallpapers just this afternoon and plan to paper the new studio in my garden, a 3x2m shed. More about this to come! Here are the two papers I chose, the Honolulu and a Charcoal and White plaid both from Graham & Brown. A floral and a geometric. Intrigued? Well stay tuned!