How to incorporate Morris designs into your home

Rebecca Craig, lead designer at Sanderson Design Group, custodians of the Morris & Co archive, shares her styling tips

Be it on wallpaper, textiles or homeware, William Morris patterns are having a renaissance, with Arts & Crafts interiors increasingly popular. We look at how to incorporate these much-loved prints into your home, whether your look is pared-back Nordic or vibrant maximalism, with contemporary styling advice from Rebecca Craig.

Dip your toe in

Morris designs are incredibly popular, but pattern can be scary. ‘There’s a move towards pattern but you have to live with things a bit before you feel comfortable enough to go to the next level in styling,’ says Rebecca. ‘If you have a minimalist Nordic interior, keep everything else quite simple, but just have a Strawberry Thief rug, or a sofa upholstered in Snakeshead which is easy to live with. The Pure Morris collection is a good way to introduce Morris in a more pared-back interior, in monochrome whites and greys.’

Colour choice

‘It’s about how colour works together as much as the design,’ says Rebecca. ‘If you have too many colours it may jar, so pick up on three key colours for your scheme, such as indigo, red, a neutral and a pop of another colour. A lot of the original colourways are on dark grounds and are reminiscent of the tapestries he loved – dark grounds combined with oranges and reds. For paintwork, you could pick that pop of colour – or keep to a deeper navy blue, sludgy green or ochre to complement what you’ve used.’

Traditional designs, new colours

For Morris purists who appreciate authenticity, choose the core Morris designs, such as Strawberry Thief, Fruit and Pimpernel. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the new Ben Pentreath collection.

‘In the 1970s Sanderson produced the Morris designs in very bright colours, relevant for then – bright oranges and turquoise,’ says Rebecca. ‘Ben Pentreath remembered them from his childhood and had seen them in the archive, so wanted to create a new collection in bright 70s colourways. It’s proving to be fantastically popular.’

Small spaces

‘Using Morris designs in small rooms looks fabulous,’ says Rebecca. ‘Large designs are great for home offices or studies, and many Morris designs are gender-neutral. Create edge by adding leathers, dark colours and metallics, or soften with glass, mirrors and gentle tones.’

Budget-friendly options

There are various ways to bring Morris into your home, without breaking the bank. ‘Try a feature wall or a cushion or curtains, or perhaps add a wide strip of a Morris-design fabric at the bottom of plain linen curtains,’ says Rebecca. ‘You could also upholster just the back of a chair or cushion pad, or have a blind over a small window. It’s about bringing in touches of Morris.’

Celebrate maximalism

‘At the moment there’s a move towards maximalism and if you’re going to go for it you have to fully embrace it – tassels on your lampshades and pattern everywhere,’ says Rebecca. ‘The more pattern you have, the more it dissolves in your eye – if you have loads of stuff going on, your eye copes with it better.

‘For a living room, you could have the same or a very similar print, or use the same Morris design but in different colourways. Or, take a large-scale statement design such as Pimpernel, Strawberry Thief or Bullerswood and choose a smaller design such as Bellflowers or Willow Bough to sit with it. If using multiple patterns, you’d need to have some “air” or blocks of colour to break things up. For instance, a footstool in one design, then another design for the curtains.’

Bedroom ideas

‘A popular design for the bedroom is Seaweed in dark blue or green with pops of red,’ says Rebecca. ‘The flow of the design looks fabulous on a duvet. Try a matching pillow and perhaps a plain one in a dark colour to build up the bed. You could add a woolly throw for quite a decorative, rich look too. Or use a Morris fabric on a headboard, with a plain duvet and a Morris rug on the floor. Bring a bit more colour into the scheme with painted furniture and have the pattern on the curtains.’

WORDS: AMY BRATLEY