As your gaze gently sinks into the shimmering abyss of this composition, you notice a flurry of well-coordinated activity as fish flit across the inky black ground, with some moving so rapidly that all you catch is the golden gleam of their scales as they zip along. After a moment of being mesmerized by their...
Gently swirling clusters of flowers and their accompanying foliage weave across this delicately colored repeat. Soft blues and greens evoke freshly opened blossoms while the stormy gray background suggests a recent or impending shower. Curving between the main clusters are constellations of small white blooms that highlight the rest of the composition, adding a layer...
Maja is a mid-century paper produced by a German manufacturer, designed by an American artist born in Greece but active in France and the USA. This is one of three papers in the museum collection by Jean de Botton, and while all his wallpaper designs are rather abstract this is the only one with no...
This floral wallpaper was produced in the early 20th century where the large-scale floral motif and scrolling stem and foliage convey the organic and sensuous nature of the art nouveau style. This paper is part of an unbound wallpaper sample book that contained a wide variety of designs in the art nouveau and Mission styles....
I came across this unusual mid-century paper that I thought was designed for use as a focal wall, a very common wall treatment of the period. Initially I passed it by, thinking it was not interesting enough for an Object of the Day blog, but then I found an advertisement in an Interiors magazine that...
In celebration of Women’s History Month, March Object of the Day posts highlight women designers in the collection. Here is a simple wallpaper pattern, a repeating design of insect wings, that I find amusing. You know, those pesky things you might find on your window sill or picnic table during the summer months, that you...
In celebration of Women’s History Month, March Object of the Day posts highlight women designers in the collection. Picture Gallery copies the format of a print room wallpaper. The trend for print rooms was said to have started in Paris during the 1720s, becoming fashionable in England by the 1750s. Print room walls were adorned...
In celebration of Women’s History Month, March Object of the Day posts highlight women designers in the collection. Horn Poppy is a block-printed wallpaper designed by May Morris for Morris & Co. May designed wallpapers and textiles for the Morris & Co. firm and is the younger daughter of designer and craftsman William Morris. This...
In celebration of Women’s History Month, March Object of the Day posts highlight women designers in the collection. Nearing the end of winter, Birds in Spring may be wishful thinking on my part. This charming design of birds, presumably martins, flying around a bird house is rendered in a minimal fashion. Printed on a silvered...
In celebration of Women’s History Month, March Object of the Day posts highlight women designers in the collection. This mid-century design of crystalline structures takes on the appearance of falling snowflakes, with the varying scale of the crystals giving the design some dimension. The design is fresh and still appears modern today with its strong...
This design copies the look of parquet flooring. Being in the Walcrest line of the Stamford Wallpaper Company, the design is machine-printed with engraved rollers using oil-based inks. This is the same printing technique used to make the first wipeable wallpapers in the 1870s. This differs from standard machine prints where printing rollers use a...
This design may look familiar to some of you. A similar piece, In the White Room, was created by the same designer and contains a similar construction. In the White Room has been a very popular piece, having been exhibited twice at Cooper Hewitt, and reproduced in numerous publications and blogs. White Room with Text...
The origins of this unique sample of wallpaper are unknown although it was most likely produced in France or Austria in the 1920s. Paul Frankl, prominent early modernist designer in the United States, gifted the wallpaper sample to Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt in 1930. The wallpaper is remarkable for being Cubist in style. The use...
Pattern, color, scale, and repetition are important aspects when considering a wallpaper design for one’s home. The large, dark-red, asymmetrical medallions, set within light pink vining foliage unintentionally form a design of diamond shapes across the paper. Smaller foliate medallions in lighter shades of pink recede, while the darker larger medallions seem to move forward....
A striking Gothic Revival wallpaper with a fairly large repeat, made possible by the woodblock printing. Inspired by Gothic cathedral architecture this design contains two different views: one showing a very deep perspective looking through a chamber with vaulted ceilings, into another with columns, and arched windows and doors, while the other view is a...
