British brand Graham & Brown launches its first capsule wallpaper collection, inspired by the Victoria and Albert Museum’s archive – a national collection unrivalled in its scope and diversity and which spans over 2,000 years of creativity.
Combining the world’s leading museum of art and design with the U.K.’s leading British wallpaper brand, the partnership is a celebration of pattern and ingenuity through the ages.
The full wallpaper collection will feature eight designs, developed from original material dating from the early 19th century to the 1950s, and will represent the vast and varied collections of decorative art and design at the V&A. The collection showcases the evolution of popular tastes for interior design from the vogue of the Arts and Crafts movement through to Scandinavian 1950s style.
Graham & Brown has produced a collection that revives pattern of the past for today’s contemporary home. The company’s in-house design team has carefully and respectfully modernized original archive documents, adapting scale, refined detail and modernized colour palettes to produce a rich, striking and bold collection of wallpapers. Some are embellished with metallic sheens; on-trend colours such as jade, yellow and emerald revive a Chinoiserie design; and new background textures are introduced to add dimension.
Says Nina Taylor, head stylist at Graham & Brown, who visited the V&A to explore their archives before developing Graham & Brown’s modern-day interpretations of the original patterns, “It was an incredibly inspiring experience, looking at design through the ages – and such a privilege to be given access to this national collection. And it was of paramount importance for us to get the right balance in our interpretation – being true to the original design, whilst updating and modernising each pattern for today’s interior style.”
The first four designs to launch in the collection:
VOYSEY
A decorative, romantic linear design, which is an interpretation of an original wallpaper design by celebrated Arts and Crafts designer, C.F.A.Voysey (1857–1941).
CHINOISERIE
Rich in complementary yellow and emerald hues, this design features a trailing peony pattern with bird and butterfly detailing, and is reproduced from a fragment of hand-painted wallpaper from Canton, China, dating back to somewhere between 1800–25.
FOLLY
Composed of Gothic arches and turrets, this architectural design is a sympathetic re-interpretation of a popular wallcovering style synonymous with the early 19th century.
TRELLIS
A traditional pattern in complementary shades, Trellis is reproduced from a 19th-century wallpaper pattern book sample, designed by Owen Jones (1809–74) and produced by John Trumble & Co.
ABOUT GRAHAM & BROWN
Graham & Brown is the home of innovative wall decoration, with a diverse range of designs and colour palettes across wallpaper, paint and wall art. It is an international brand, established in 1946 and now has showrooms across the world including China, Libya, Kazakhstan, Australia and Europe.
For more info, visit grahambrown.com
ABOUT THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM
The Victoria and Albert Museum is the world’s leading museum of art and design, established in 1852 to inspire creativity and make works of art available to all.