Pure Morris wallpaper collection Morris & Co

Pure Morris wallpaper by Morris & Co in quiet neutrals

Pure Morris wallpaper takes familiar Morris & Co patterns and pares them back, most of them to soft grays, taupes and off-whites, so the drawing does the work instead of the color. Poppies, acorns, willow leaves and sunflowers stay recognizable, yet they sit closer to the wall and read almost like texture from across the room. Several designs come from the original Morris & Co blocks, and others were enlarged or simplified by the studio. The result suits plain plaster, raw wood and stone, much like the rooms shown here.

The designs in the Pure Morris wallpaper collection

Pure Poppy wallpaper, first designed in 1881, covers the wall with large poppy heads, dotted centers and curling leaves, drawn in fine outline and hatching in pale gray on off-white. Pure Acorn wallpaper (1879) is smaller and stricter: oak leaves and acorns mirrored in a symmetrical repeat, gray on off-white. Pure Willow Boughs wallpaper simplifies the familiar willow pattern to three colors, with taupe leaves trailing diagonally over light beige. Pure Sunflower wallpaper enlarges an 1879 block into a single-color tangle of sunflowers, grapes and foliage. Pure Lodden wallpaper turns an 1884 fabric into a large, symmetrical arrangement of stems, flowers and leaves. Pure Bachelors Button wallpaper enlarges an 1892 design into sweeping monochrome leaves painted in the manner of medieval frescoes. Pure Net Ceiling wallpaper, one of five ceiling papers Morris created, dates from 1895 and forms a bold grid, mostly in light colors with a black and gold option.

Styling Morris & Co wallpaper from the Pure range

The room images point the way. The poppy design sits above a dark stone worktop under an enamel pendant, the acorn pattern wraps a hallway around oak doors, and the willow leaves run behind a wooden bench beside a log store. Muted coloring keeps these patterns calm enough for a whole room, and the net ceiling paper takes the idea overhead. Pair them with linen, jute and unpainted wood. Selected Wallpapers carries all seven designs of Pure Morris by Morris & Co, so you can compare scales side by side.