Wallpaper – the greenery edit

As an unsuccessful urban jungle enthusiast, I’ve discovered that wallpaper can be a gorgeous 2D replacement for plants in my life. In this greenery edit, I’m sharing the perfect foliage patterns for your walls and my favourite jungle and leafy wallpapers.

I find it rather surprising how divisive wallpaper can be. It seems to generate the same amount of heated discussion as Marmite. Granted patterned wallpaper seems to scare some people, the worry of not liking it after a while being a key reason. My living room is wallpapered in the most fabulous leafy Zoffany wallpaper, and has been for the last seven years (it might also be part of reason for this greenery edit if I’m honest). Yet in my view, there are few design elements that are as engaging as colourfull wallpaper. Whether we’re talking fully-papered rooms to spaces with wallpaper feature walls, I’m a fan. Yes, of course, it all depends on the scheme, but the simple addition of wallpaper can radically alter a room’s mood. Wallpaper isn’t the only surface finish to do this, paint can do this too but not in the same personalised, layered and nuanced way.

In the last couple of weeks, I have been searching and requesting wallpaper samples left, right and centre. I’m on the hunt for the perfect foliage pattern, to be more precise I’ve been hunting for botanicals with a precise leafy greenery coverage. Something possibly verging on the jungle, a verdant tree motif, a design that will provide a biophilic element but without me having to kill any plants (I’m a well-known house plant killer). The perfect green antidote for this hay-fever suffering urbanist. So as the research has already been done here is my wallpaper greenery edit.

First up in my greenery edit is the Martyn Lawrence Bullard Collection for Cole & Son Wallpaper. Royal Fernery is inspired by the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakesh, where I am planning on visiting on my trip to Marrakesh in October (and I can not wait!). It’s lush, inviting and the depth of colour just makes me want to dive straight in. Hollywood Palm is an instant classic born out of both common Cole and Son motifs and deco Palm Springs design. Both are absolutely gorgeous. In fact, Cole & Son have a lot to offer this greenery edit as their iconic Palm Jungle can not be forgotten from this list, nor the Fornasetti designed Chiavi Segrete. Another often overlooked in my opinion option is the beautiful Great Vine from their Historic Royal Palaces collection.

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“The Original” Martinique Banana Leaf wallpaper was created in 1942 by decorator Don Loper for the Beverly Hills Hotel and has since developed iconic status. It is after all from that quintessential Hollywood Regency period when glamour reigned supreme. It’s now sold exclusively by Designer Wallcoverings who ship worldwide, but it’s certainly a pricey option. It’s featured in many a TV show and movie and has been used in projects by designers such as Nate Berkus. What you may not know is that in 1937 in California, Dorothy Draper’s designed Brazilliance for a hotel project. Which is extremely similar, in fact, it’s easy at first glance to think they are one and the same. BUT there are differences between Don Loper’s Martinique and Dorothy Draper’s Brazilliance wallpaper.  The biggest being that Dorothy Draper’s earlier version has little sea grapes among the leaves. In addition, the green used for the leaves are more vibrant shade of green.

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Pierre Frey are probably best known for their high-end luxury fabrics especially those featuring 18th-century styles. But they also have an adventurous spirit with plenty of colourful and stylized prints. The family-owned company founded in 1935 by designer Pierre Frey continues to innovate the French weaving tradition by reinterpreting vintage patterns and creating an eclectic collection. Kipling has an equatorial forest background, in which animal motifs have been added. There is plenty of detail to discover. Another favourite is from the South African inspired Rituel collection which includes the Pachira wallpaper with it’s brightly coloured lianas trees. And also Vahine with birds set against a background of foliage. Both were debuted in January at Deco Off in Paris, which I wrote about for Interior Design Magazine.

Founded by Nina Marika Tarnowski, Woodchip & Magnolia is a family run business whose wallpaper is printed using water-based inks on FSC-sourced paper. As a self-confessed wallpaper, pattern and colour addict, Nina’s collection packs a powerful punch of eclectic full-throttle colour and not surprisingly has plenty of tropical greenery represented in the range. I think Fern is my favourite as it ticks all those boxes I love in Royal Fernery above, particularly the dark ground in it.

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I was reminded of another French design by Phoebe Oldrey at Smart Style Interiors who saw my stories on Instagram, which is Toucan by Casamance. With tropical birds and dense foliage, you get a glimpse of these magnificent birds peacefully perched on branches. My son was particularly taken with this one I have to say. Definitely a contender for this greenery edit.

British manufacturer and retailer of wallpaper and fabrics, Osborne & Little have plenty to offer this greenery edit whether you’re interested in fabrics or their wallpaper collections. The ones that caught my attention were Palmaria which is part of the Manarola collection, Tiger Leaf, Green Wall and Tropicana from Matthew Williamson for Osborne & Little.

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I couldn’t do a foliage round up without including the leafy goodness that House of Hackney has to offer. From the tropical grasslands of Sri Lanka to the iconic references of Art Deco design in the Palmeral wallpaper, they championed the way in jungle inspired wallcoverings going mainstream.

My friend Stuart has a fantastic palm in his wallpaper collection that is so full of playful joy that his stand at Decorex had a queue of people photographing it. To see all the colourways visit Stuart Rodgers Wallpaper.

The Loft and Us have one of my favourite leafy nature-inspired options which is the Feuilles de Luxe wallpaper. It’s a classic and captivating banana leaf pattern which does have some references to the iconic Beverly Hills version (up above), but this one was painted by stylist and owner Rebecca Loftus.

Lucy Tiffney was a Finalist on BBC2’s ‘The Great Interior Design Challenge’ in 2016 and has become the queen of original, bold large scale murals and wallpapers. Two of my favourite botanical wallpapers from her range are Forest Grande and Sante Fe. Her colours are so wonderfully vibrant, in part from her palette but also as her wallpapers are matt finish it gives the colour more oomph.

Large scale nasturtium leaves are a graphic statement in this modern botanical wallpaper design by Designers Guild. Brahimi Leaf is available in 5 colours but of course I’ve only got eyes for the green option.

These nature-inspired wallpapers should offer plenty of inspiration for every ‘wannabe’ gardener, to all wallpaper addicts and also to the new wave of designers supporting biophilic design. Or to those of us who just love a really good leafy design. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my post on the greenery edit, to read more of my posts on decorating take a look here. Or take a look at my Instagram where I’m sharing my renovation story.