Wonderful Wallpapers With A Hidden Message

Every now and then you come across something so brilliant that you can’t stop thinking about it and you want to share it, so today I want to tell you about this fabulous wallpaper by Poodle and Blonde that I have been recommending to everyone since I saw it last week. I’m practically stopping people in the supermarket to tell them about it.

Here it is in cushion form, although I first spotted in in the wallpaper. So, at first glance it seems like a typical chinoiserie style with storks flying around and lots of lotus blossom. But look more closely. The birds are actually carrying little boxes of Chinese takeaway.

The idea came about when co-owner Whinnie Williams (who founded the site with Kierra Campbell) was thinking about the myth of storks carrying and delivering babies and from there it was a short leap to the idea of them delivering takeaways. And so Food Babies was born. Whinnie spent three weeks hand-embroidering the original design on silk which was then scanned to give the impression of real silk panels on your walls.

Here is a detail so you can get a better impression of the pattern. It also comes in lagoon and ivory and, in addition to the wallpaper, you can buy the bolster cushions and fabric by the metre in either linen or velvet. Now I have said before, many times, how I think it’s so important to have a bit of fun with your interiors.  I appreciate that it’s an expensive business decorating a home, but that doesn’t mean you have to take it all terribly seriously. This is a perfect example – and there are others coming up below- where you can incorporate a bit of fun and a joke into a scheme.

I would very happily have this in the bedroom but since I’ve just redecorated that’s probably not for now. That said, perhaps I might use the fabric to make some blinds…. or a bedspread.

Now I said I would show you a few more wallpapers that also have more to them than meets the eye so here you are. First up is Paisley Cresent by the ever-talented Mini Moderns.

At first it’s a giant traditional paisley pattern. It also comes in tangerine, pale verdigris (mint), and shades of blue. But look more closely. Zoom if you’re reading on a phone and you can see that the patterns are actually made up of bicycles and neat rows of suburban houses.

Isn’t it great? This is for those who might not feel that a more chinoiserie style fits into their home so this is a more traditional pattern which might suit you better.

But we’re not done with these yet. I’m not sure what to call them – are they trompe l’oeil? They do deceive the eye but nothing is hidden. It’s all there if you just take the time to look closely. Anyway here’s another from Timorous Beasties. They have taken the traditional Toile de Jouy style and infused it with a bit of their native Glasgow and, in a second design, with a bit of London.

As you can see, from a distance this is consistent with the original toile de Jouey fabrics of Napoleonic France, with the traditional balance of floral, architectural, and human contexts. However, look closely and this is a more urban version showing the underbelly of the city with images of drug and alcohol abuse framed in the context of some of Glasgow’s most famous architectural landmarks and public spaces.

There is also a London version. This description is from Cimmerman UK, where you can buy both versions: “It was designed from a love of London and a love of the old toiles that were produced in pre-revolutionary and post-industrial France, in the small town of Jouey in the 1770’s.

“The London Toile was designed using the same techniques as the originals by separating the drawings, producing extra depth and texture by overlapping, and leaving gaps in the artwork to create more tones when the inks overlap one another. Some imagery in the original Toiles was sinister; they depicted scenes that were then ‘contemporary’, but we now see as traditional.

“There were [in the original designs] scenes of the factory at Jouey, and other rural scenes of workers relaxing, drinking, dancing, and womanising. Timorous Beasties have not actually changed much in their concept, but have updated the references to make them more contemporary and more urban.

Lastly we’re going to The House of Mischief. To an orchard of pretty trees with low hanging fruit… or is it? It’s called Skulls and Angels. Zoom in if you can or click here.

And finally. A traditional damask…..you might think….

Well I will say that it’s called Damasutra. And if you want a closer look… then click here and don’t choke on your toast if you’re reading this at breakfast. And if someone is reading this over your shoulder on the bus then they got the shock they deserved.

Poodle and Blonde images styled by Lynsey Fox and shot by Samuel Wiles.