William Morris Art

William Morris built his patterns from things he could see out of the window: willow boughs, strawberry thieves, acanthus, honeysuckle. That is why his designs still sit comfortably in a modern room - they are drawings of the natural world, not decoration invented from nothing.

The patterns and where they came from

Morris founded his firm in 1861 and spent the next three decades designing wallpapers and textiles against the grain of Victorian mass production. Strawberry Thief, from 1883, came from watching birds steal fruit in his garden at Kelmscott Manor. Willow Bough, Pimpernel and Acanthus work the same way: a repeating structure you only notice after the plants.

Morris died in 1896, so these designs are long out of copyright - which is why you will find William Morris prints everywhere. What differs between them is the printing: the fine linework and the depth of the original colours are easy to lose, and flat, washed-out reproductions are common.

Why the patterns work in modern homes

Morris used restrained, slightly muddied colour - olive, indigo, madder red, ochre - which is far easier to live with than the brightness of most botanical prints. A single framed panel of a repeating pattern also behaves differently from a picture: it reads as texture, so it holds a wall without demanding attention, and it pairs well with plain walls, wood and linen.

Hallways and bedrooms suit them best, and a pair or a set of three works particularly well because the repeat carries the eye from one to the next. If your room already has a patterned rug or curtains, keep the Morris print to one piece and let the colour do the linking.

Start with these

• Tulip Legacy - a Morris tulip motif, good as a pair.
• Orange Flower - warmer palette, works against white or oak.
• Golden Bloom - the brightest of the three, for a darker room.

Sizes, paper and framing

Pattern prints depend on fine linework, so the larger formats hold the detail better. Mark the outside dimensions on your wall with paper or removable tape before ordering, and view it from where you usually sit. Match any frame to the exact print size, as similar-looking metric and inch formats are not interchangeable. We offer framing too, so get in touch for options and prices.

See the wall art size guide to compare formats, and our delivery information and returns and replacements before ordering.

Related collections

• Flower Art Prints - botanical work beyond Morris.
• Vintage Wall Art - the same period feel, other subjects.
• Living Room Wall Art - for the main room of the house.