There’s a lot to learn from luxury hotel designers when it comes to interior design. They know a thing or two on how to create an environment that delights every one of our senses to balance luxury and comfort. Main ingredient? Wallpaper. The design formula shared by Kit Kemp, Creative Director and co-owner of Firmdale Hotels, encourages the combination of textures, colours, and patterns of all shapes and sizes. And of course, there’s always a method behind the madness.
It’s no secret that our admiration for vibrant patterns and designs have been written on the walls for a long time. You only need to look to brands such as de Gournay, which has perfection glazed over every detail on their boutique collection of wallpapers since 1980. For them, it’s all about the detail and balance of colours to create a space that effortlessly resembles a piece of art.
De Gournay Japanese inspired wallpaper with interiors by Julie Hillman Studio
Creating a space that’s harmonious takes craft. When it comes to deciding whether to go with wallpaper or paint, it may be this niggling intimidation alone that sways you towards the latter; regardless of all those fancy pattern designs, you have pinned up on Pinterest boards. In many ways mixing patterns brings a beautiful unique feel in a room that balance different textures in a room, but it can be easy to shy away from layering bold designs on your walls; a pillow here and a throw there will do.
That said when you begin to look at your walls and no one colour is doing it anymore, patterned wallpaper is the perfect remedy to appease your artistic eye for design. You can catch the summary by watching our feature video or keep on reading… let me promise you, you won’t be disappointed.
We’ve famously seen Toile used by the biggest of fashion houses (looking at you, Dior) from clothes and bags to bedding and wallpaper. When it comes to choosing our favourite, Gucci’s Toile TNT Wallpaper (£310) is one of dreams. Filled with motifs inspired by Alessandra Michele’s fashion collection, the TNT wallpaper is stunning and will add a refreshing look that would work beautifully in any room. Whether that’s in a bathroom or a nursery, combine the wallpaper with a dusty pink shade such as Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster (£53) for a classic look.
If you prefer a subtler pattern, Nuvolette wallpaper (£350) by Cole & Son is the ultimate, and my favourite, wallpaper of all. I originally saw the wallpaper inside Lydia Millen’s home and immediately fell in love with it; she brought it up from the walls to the ceiling and it created a beautiful ambience in a small bathroom, enhanced with brass and art nouveau inspired elements.
Lydia Millen’s bathroom showing Cole & Son’s Nuvolette wallpaper
A style that never goes out of fashion, and is one that’s hardly up for debate, is geometric patterns. Last month, we picked out our favourite tile designs to date and geometric designs fell into most of them, not only are they wonderfully versatile, but they also work beautifully inside modern homes. The same applies to wallpaper, and here you have a lot more options on where you can add the patterns inside your home.
Whether it one for the bedroom or the living room, I love Graham & Brown’s Yellow Prism wallpaper (£55) for its distinctive design that would work perfectly as a statement wall, coupled with either Farrow & Ball’s Duck Green or Hague Blue.
The main outtakes from our 2021 Trends guide involved a lot of nature and it’s only going to continue to grow over the coming years. A particular trend that falls over the sight of floral prints has been Grandmillenial, showing how the comfort of our childhood homes can resemble that of haute couture.
How? Simone Guidarelli’s Secret Garden Marina wallpaper (£738) shows us how it’s done. The artistry in this wallpaper is beautiful, its boldness and bright designs will freshen up any room. If anything else, simply his approach to design is admirable and one that sparks inspiration for how we could bring our own creative ideas to life, ‘I feel like a child in a Luna Park that grabs all of these elements and puts them magically together’.
Interior design by Louise Holt
For a darker aesthetic, you could stay with Grandmillenial or turn or Japanese inspired designs with nature-infused elements. Graham & Brown’s Meiying Mauve wallpaper (£55) has been hand-painted in their studio, combining a rich moody textured background with soft gold cherry blossoms; a look of beauty difficult to achieve otherwise.
From the land to the sea, Christian Lacroix is another famous name when it comes to unique wallpaper designs. The House of Lacroix’s Bain de Minuit Paste the Wall wallpaper (£96) makes for a stunning addition inside a home; in the bathroom or on a feature wall coupled with gold hardware and a bright white wall such as Farrow & Ball’s All White (£53), and you’ve got me.
Photo credits: 1. Vogue 2. De Gournay 3. Lydia Millen 4. Per Jansson 5. Louise Holt
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