The Unfinished Works wallpaper collection by Morris and Co

Botanical patterns in The Unfinished Works wallpaper collection by Morris and Co wallpaper

The Unfinished Works wallpaper collection by Morris and Co wallpaper brings a densely planted garden onto your walls. Morris & Co took historical sketches by William Morris and developed them into complete patterns, so every design here is built from leaves and flowers. What changes from one to the next is scale, layout and background. One pattern is large and dark, with leaves shaded as if by brush. Another is small and pale, drawn in fine outlines over narrow stripes. Between them sits a flat, mirrored repeat on cream where green and ochre lead.

Designs in The Unfinished Works wallpaper collection by Morris and Co wallpaper

Lent Lily wallpaper works at a large scale. Coral-pink flower heads rise between curling leaves in sage and olive green, while small cream and red blossoms crowd a deep teal ground. Daisy & Oak wallpaper is mirrored around vertical axes, with ochre flower heads, coral tulip buds and dark green oak leaves drawn flat on cream, like a block print. Oak & Blossom wallpaper stays small, setting olive oak leaves and tiny orange flowers in columns between beige stripes. The other names point to their subject. You find tulips in Wild Tulip & Vine wallpaper, Persian Tulip wallpaper and Scrolling Tulip wallpaper, iris and rose in Iris & Rose wallpaper, bluebells and anemones in Woodbell & Anemone wallpaper, and peonies in Peony Trellis wallpaper. Cornflower wallpaper and Chamomile wallpaper follow the flowers they are named for, and Walthamstow wallpaper and Norbury wallpaper round out the range.

Choosing Morris & Co wallpaper by scale and background

Every room setting uses the same props: a wooden console, a terracotta lamp with a pleated shade and a gray pot of greenery. That makes the background easy to judge. Against deep teal, the wood and terracotta stand forward. On cream and beige, they sink into the pattern. Pick a large scale if you want the wall to define the room, or a small one for a calmer backdrop. At Selected Wallpapers you can compare all thirteen Morris & Co designs from The Unfinished Works side by side.