How to choose the perfect wallpaper for your home
From our collection of William Morris designs
At Morris & Co., we have the honour of being the custodians of William Morris’ original nineteenth century wallpaper and fabric designs.
Every tendril, tulip head and willow leaf Morris lovingly hand-crafted is housed within our authentic archive, since he founded this company in 1861.
Today, William Morris patterns need no introduction. Hanging in homes, palaces and estates across the world, Morris’ impact on British design cannot be understated. His designs are an integral part of our iconography, and continue to be a popular choice when it comes to decorating with wallpaper.
With decades of Morris and his contemporaries patterns to peruse, from iconic designs such as Pimpernel to Willow Boughs and Strawberry Thief to his early works in Daisy, Glade and Fruit, making a decision can be overwhelming. We have crafted this helpful guide to help you determine which wallpaper will work best within your space taking into account the natural light, colors and aesthetic within your home.
To feature wall or not to feature wall
One of the first decisions to make is where you want to hang the wallpaper in your space. Do you want it to be a feature wall or envelope the entire space?
For a feature wall, any design that is rich with color and has bold motifs will stand out against the paintwork. The bolder the better. This is a viable option for smaller spaces too, if you would prefer to retain some of the natural light and have a darker-colored wallpaper as an accent.
If you want to maximise the light of your room, choose a wallpaper with a softer palette. Small rooms with little natural light will benefit from this, while larger rooms with more natural light can easily hold those darker, deeper tones without compromising on the illusion of space.
Assess the existing color scheme
An easy way to narrow down our selection of archival wallpaper is to have an existing color scheme in mind. If you’re planning to keep your current decor or have a paint color in mind or have selected your furnishings and fixtures, contemplate which color schemes would compliment this palette.
Neutral walls have the benefit of complimenting any palettes, but other colors could clash with your chosen design and not in an appeasing way. It’s best to double check the final aesthetic of your room before making these design decisions to ensure it achieves your desired finish.
The mood of the room
To create a warm, welcoming space, you might want to include tones of sunshine-yellow in our Sunflower wallpaper, delicate river blue tones in Trent or charming floral patterns found in Daisy.
While for a luxurious finish, there’s a host of verdant shades, inky indigos and regal reds that would add more depth and drama to the tone of your room.
Check the lighting
As with all interior design choices, lighting will play a big factor in which wallpaper will suit your room best.
If there’s lots of natural light in the room, it can hold a much richer wallpaper without compromising on that airy, spacious feeling in the room.
However, if you would prefer a cosier space, craft it through darker wallpaper tones and even hang it on multiple walls as opposed to one feature wall.
