How to get the mural look with hand-painted, large-scale wallpaper
Minimalists, avert your eyes: large-scale, mural-like wallpaper is neither for those who prefer simplicity over ornament, nor is it for the faint of heart (at least when it comes to interiors). But bolder decorators love scenic papers, like hand-painted murals, for their capacity to transport the inhabitants of a room into another world, offering vistas that seem to stretch beyond the walls of a room. As Hannah Cecil Gurney of hand-painted wallpaper and fabrics company, de Gournay, says of her former London flat, she “wanted to create a home where, when [her] friends and family come and visit, it transports them somewhere else.” Indeed, Hannah's ultimate goal was to maximise the potential for each room in her house to “change their mood and make them feel something,” which perfectly encapsulates the power of the scenic wall.
Many mural-style wallpapers reference the same sorts of themes: chinoiserie and tropical scenes that recall the decadent style of 18th- and early 19th-century decoration you might have found in the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, for example, when Europeans were entranced by the scenes they saw in the course of trade and colonisation. Beautiful examples of these papers can be found at wallpaper houses such as de Gournay and Watts 1874. Other companies offer different kinds of scenes, with Iksel Decorative Arts offering a huge array of decorative panels with architectural and scenic subjects. If you want a more graphic style of covering, try Jennifer Shorto or Casamance, where a more contemporary style of art governs the scenes on offer. For a more affordable option, you could try the British company Surface View, which offers custom wallcoverings made from blown-up images–we love the vintage map options.
Where to source scenic wallpapers
- de Gournay
- Iksel
- Cole & Son
- Watts 1874 (formerly Watts of Westminster)
- Fromental
- Gracie Studio
- Zuber
- Pierre Frey
- Élitis
- Osborne & Little
- Andrew Martin
- Casamance
- Jennifer Shorto
- Surface View
Tim Salisbury1/12In her own Brisbane studio, designer Anna Spiro has used a wallpaper she designed for de Gournay, named ‘Island Garden’, which features a tropical scene with a hand-drawn geometric border.
Tim Salisbury2/12The rest of the room at Anna Spiro's studio demonstrates how it is both cocooning and expansive at the same time, with pale colours helping it to retain an airy, cool feel despite the profusion of colour and pattern.
3/12Artist and maker Bridie Hall has made her mark on her Victorian house in north London with eclectic collections of antique finds and her own eye-catching works set against bold blocks of colour. This corner of the landing has been papered in an enlarged vintage map of London, perfect if you want something a little more understated than chinoiserie and tropical scenes. You can order similar pieces from Surface View.
Damian Russell4/12In this summery shoppable scheme, our decoration team has used the ‘French Trellis Botanical’ custom-made wallpaper mural from Iksel to create a beautiful garden room backdrop for a scheme of mint greens and yellows. While wallpaper may seem like it will make a room feel more enveloping, this style actually helps to open it up, suggesting botanical vistas beyond the walls.
Simon Brown5/12De Gournay's 'Early Views of India' lines the hallway walls in Hannah Cecil Gurney's former London flat. Working in the family business at de Gournay, Hannah is a persuasive advocate for the brand's heavenly hand-painted silk papers. 'Silk wallpapers feel softer, richer and more textural, and they're better for acoustics,' she says. ‘Painted walls feel much colder as it becomes part of the architecture, not the decoration.’ Another advantage? 'The joy is that I can take it with me if I move; it just peels right off in full pieces.' The flat exemplifies the idea that these large scale papers transport you into different worlds; you might be on the river in India in the hallway, but in a tropical paradise with peacocks and pomegranates in the sitting room. 'I love that there's always something new to look at, always new things to find,' she says.
Lauryn Ishak6/12In this expansive Singapore apartment, interior designer Elizabeth Hay has also used ‘Early Views of India’ by de Gournay on the walls to create the effect of a mural, though the muted colours give it a subtle, elegant look.
Paul Massey7/12Chinoiserie wallpaper is always a luxurious choice, and here Watts of Westminster’s ‘Walzin Chinoiserie’ paper provides a rich backdrop in a London house by Joanna Plant. Jute flooring by Sinclair Till brings the scheme down to earth.
Ngoc Minh Ngo8/12This 10-year-old boy's bedroom in a Chelsea flat designed by Sophie Ashby features a swirl of clouds billowing across a cerulean sky, a mural by Surface View - a copy of Constable's Study of Cirrus Clouds. It is both cosseting and dramatic.
Simon Brown9/12De Gournay’s reproduction of the design of antique chinoiserie wall panels from the grand cabinet room at Houghton Hall in Norfolk has become the starting point for an elegant and pretty bathroom with an apricot pink ground, accented by woodwork in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Breakfast Room Green.
Nick Mele10/12In this Palm Beach house with Old World charm, interior designer Mark D. Sikes established a sense of place in the dining room by lining the walls in a palm-themed hand-painted paper by Paris-based Iksel Decorative Arts.
Simon Brown11/12In a spare room at her Queen Anne vicarage, Samantha trimmed the headboards in the spare bedroom of the same house with a Brunschwig & Fils brush fringe that picks up on the golden monkeys in de Gournay’s ‘Amazonia’ wallpaper.
Rachel Whiting12/12Venerable French company Zuber has been producing decorative wallcoverings since 1797. Their 'Décor Chinois' design has a rich history, and beautifully contrasts the pink ground.
