Mandalay Wallpaper by Little Greene

This tree of life design is drawn directly from the leather wallcoverings in the dining room at Bateman’s, a Jacobean mansion in East Sussex. Elaborate designs such as these were inspired by 17th-century Indian chintzes, which often depicted sinuous flowering trees with birds among their branches. Leather hangings foreran wallpaper as we know it today, and although panels of this kind required a different skill to create, the process by which early wallpapers were hung, and their decorative effect in the room, is very similar. Documented as Dutch in origin, Mr & Mrs Rudyard Kipling paid 100 guineas for them in 1902, having recently bought Bateman’s as their family home. The paper versions are printed on a wide (70cm) roll and the pattern has been adapted to repeat effortlessly and continuously along the wall.

Sold per roll.

‘National Trust Papers II’ is an eclectic collection of contemporary designs based on original patterns from the National Trust’s historic houses. It comprises of 42 colourways across seven designs; the collection is a celebration of enduring design, with the origins of these contemporary wallpapers spanning over 400 years of historic decoration. Each wallpaper in the collection has been redrawn and recoloured, whilst respectfully acknowledging the traditional methods and materials from which they were originally crafted. Design elements are taken from Georgian and Victorian block-printed papers and also from older, decorative objects including a leather wall-hanging and a 15th century tapestry. The contemporary interpretation of each design makes this a truly timeless collection of papers for homes of all architectural styles.