Illustration: William Morris. Trellis, 1864.
William Morris wallpapers are probably more popular today than his textile and carpet designs. However, Morris himself did not necessarily treat wallpaper on as equal a footing as the rest of his design work.
Illustration: William Morris. Daisy, 1864.
Morris did not actually like wallpaper and would not live with it in his own interiors. He much preferred to decorate his walls with textiles and always saw wallpaper as a poor imitation, which historically it always was.
However, by the mid-nineteenth century, interiors had radically changed and with the introduction of the mass manufacture of wallpaper, even royalty was persuaded to decorate, at least partially, their interiors with rolls of paper.
However, by the mid-nineteenth century, interiors had radically changed and with the introduction of the mass manufacture of wallpaper, even royalty was persuaded to decorate, at least partially, their interiors with rolls of paper.
Illustration: William Morris. Acanthus, 1875.
Today Morris textile and wallpaper designs are, overall, interchangeable. That was not the case when William Morris was running his company Morris & Co. At first, he kept the number of designs produced for wallpaper manufacturing at a fairly low level. This had more to do with his concern over the quality control of production, rather than his personal dislike of the medium.
As techniques improved, Morris & Co was able to add more designs to their output. However, he was always keen to separate textile and wallpaper design work. He felt, as was the Design Reform remit, that what suited a woven textile would not necessarily suit a paper base.
As techniques improved, Morris & Co was able to add more designs to their output. However, he was always keen to separate textile and wallpaper design work. He felt, as was the Design Reform remit, that what suited a woven textile would not necessarily suit a paper base.
Illustration: William Morris. Chrysanthemum, 1877.
Morris did have some strange interior design ideas of his own. He felt that some of his larger wallpaper design work was best suited to smaller rooms. This is puzzling as most interior designers and critics of the day were of the opinion that a small room deserved a small motif or pattern, as we would assume today. It seems strange that Morris felt differently. He was a very competent interior designer and was often called to give personal help and decisions for his better and wealthier clients. It is assumed that most of these clients did not possess small rooms which needed wallpapering.
Illustration: William Morris. Willow Bough, 1887.
There was not, as you might expect, universal praise for Morris & Co wallpapers. Some critics were divided as to the appropriateness of some of his designs for domestic interior use. Oscar Wilde famously loathed Morris's wallpapers. He felt, as did many others, that Morris's habit of producing wallpaper designs with all over pattern, made for a very restless night. However, perhaps Wilde had spent one too many nights in a small bedroom decorated to one of Morris's more interesting interior standards of 'big pattern-small room'.
Illustration: William Morris. Honeysuckle, 1883.
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